Lyde Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Pipe and Lyde

In the civil parish of Pipe and Lyde.
In the historic county of Herefordshire.
Modern Authority of Herefordshire.
1974 county of Hereford and Worcester.
Medieval County of Herefordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO497439
Latitude 52.09206° Longitude -2.73413°

Lyde Castle has been described as a probable Timber Castle, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

Description

The earthworks of a deserted settlement site have been found at NGR SO 498440 in the parish of Pipe and Lyde, lying midway between Upper Lyde and Lyde Arundel. As the Domesday Book mentions four manors in Lyde, some of which were identified by several different names during the Medieval period, the identification of this particular settlement is uncertain. There several clerly-marked rectangular platforms and boundary banks visible. The site may also have been used as a source of building materials as there are some deep holes suggesting the robbing out of foundations of buildings (Skelton) A sketch plan of the alleged deserted medieval village earthworks made in 1979 together with documentary evidence of the 11th, 13th, and 14th centuries has led to the conclusion that this is a motte and bailey of the defended house type as at Eardisley. The most prominent features on the site are (i) an irregular riased platform (the 'motte') surrounded by a ditch on three sides which is separated on the N. from (ii) a larger rectangular enclosure (the 'bailey') also defined by ditches which in turn overlookd (iii) a dried-out fishpond. To the W is (iv) a much larger raised area which terminates in a sunken road leading to the tail of the fishpond (Whitehead). (PastScape)

Enclosure castle & baileys, David Whitehead discovered this one. Looks like a low level wet defended castle site. Lots of loose stone & buried foundations on the site. Substantial pieces of dressed stone partially buried. This is another of those borderline sites. The number of enclosures points to it being a true castle with baileys, but the weakness of the earthworks & the fact that it was church property may mean that it was more like a comfortable manor looking castlelike but lightly defended, Prob bracket 1200-1300+ (Herefordshire SMR ref. Stirling Brown)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 108081.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 11184.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Herefordshire Through Time
Books
- Shoesmith, Ron, 2009 (Rev edn.), Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press) p. 242-3
  Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 50
  Stirling-Brown, R., 1989, Herefordshire Castles (privately published) p. 16
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 213 (possible)
  1981, Herefordshire Countryside Treasures (Hereford and Worcester County Council) p. 35
Periodical Articles
- Sterling Brown, R., 1988, 'Preliminary Results of Castle Survey' Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol. 50 p. 45
  Whitehead, D., 1979, 'Pipe and Lyde, Herefordshire: an unrecorded castle' West Midlands Archaeological news sheet Vol. 22 p. 58-60
  Whitehead, D., 1979, 'Pipe and Lyde, Herefordshire: an unrecorded castle (SO 497 439)' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club Vol. 43.1 p. 40-3 (plan)
  Skelton, R., 1976, 'Deserted Medieval Villages, 1976, Report of Sectional Recorder' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club Vol. 42.1 p. 107

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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