Anstey Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Anstey Hall; Anestie; Anesty

In the civil parish of Anstey.
In the historic county of Hertfordshire.
Modern Authority of Hertfordshire.
1974 county of Hertfordshire.
Medieval County of Hertfordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TL40433296
Latitude 51.97737° Longitude 0.04319°

Anstey Castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle, and also as a certain Masonry Castle.

There are masonry footings remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Anstey Castle is a well-documented example of a Norman castle with historical records dating back to the 11th century. Despite partial excavation, the motte and bailey survive well and will retain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the development of the castle, the landscape in which it was constructed and the economy of its inhabitants.
The monument includes a motte and bailey castle situated at the south end of a broad spur, adjacent to the Norman church of St George's. It survives as a large flat-topped motte which measures 75m north-south by 65m east-west and is c.9m in height. Surrounding the motte is a waterfilled ditch 10m wide with a 5m wide causeway to the south-east. To the north and east of the motte is the L-shaped bailey which is still surrounded on its north-western and north-eastern sides by a dry ditch, 14m wide and 4m deep. Within the projected area of the bailey, just east of the motte, is a square-shaped landscaped mound 22m across and c.3.5m high. It is surrounded by a dry ditch about 8m wide and 3m deep. Its position and shape are incongruous with the bailey and it is considered to be a later ornamental addition. In 1902 excavations carried out by R T Andrews on the eastern edge of the motte summit revealed a trapezoidal foundation of flint dug c.46cm deep into the boulder clay. Fragments of tile and 13th century pottery were also found. The castle is attributed to Eustace, Count of Cologne, who held the manor at Domesday. In 1218 Nicholas de Anstey was ordered to reduce his castle which was in the king's hands in 1225. (Scheduling Report)

The large flat-topped motte is 34 feet hign, with a wet ditch and an L-shaped bailey to the east... A trapezoidal foundation of uncut flints 18 inches deep in the boulder clay of the motte top was found in 1902... The castle is said to have been built by the Domesday owner of the manor, count Eustace of Boulogne; in 1218 Nicholas de Anstey was ordered to reduce his castle, which was in the king's hands in 1225. (Renn)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1009453, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 20650
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 370794.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 27.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- CastleUK.net
Books
- Oliver Creighton and Stephen Rippon, 2017, 'Conquest, colonisation and the countryside: archaeology and the mid-11th- to mid-12th-century rural landscape' in Dawn M Hadley and Christopher Dyer, The Archaeology of the 11th Century Continuities and Transformations (Routledge) p. 57-87
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 38
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 104
  Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p. 134, 187, 356
  Brown, R.Allen, 1989, Castles from the Air (Cambridge University Press) p. 38-9
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 218
  Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p. 178
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 50, 90
  Renn, D.F., 1971, Medieval Castles in Hertfordshire (Chichester: Phillimore) p. 7, 9 (plan), 13
  Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH Hertfordshire Vol. 4 p. 11-12 online copy
  RCHME, 1910, An inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire (London: HMSO) p. 35 online transcription, 37 (plan) online copy
  Montgomerie, 1908, Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hertfordshire Vol. 2 p. 112
Periodical Articles
- Creighton, O.H., 2004, ''The Rich Man in his Castle, The Poor Man at His Gate': Castle Baileys and Settlement Patterns in Norman England' Château Gaillard Vol. 21 p. 25-36
  Coulson, C., 1994, 'Freedom to Crenellate by Licence - An Historiographical Revision' Nottingham Medieval Studies Vol. 38 p. 107
  Beamon, S.P., Doig, T. and Jones, P., 1982, 'Anstey castle mound, Herts. Interim report 1981' Subterranea Britannica Bulletin Vol. 16 p. 16-19
  Brown, R. Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' The English Historical Review Vol. 74 p. 249-280 (Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 90-121) view online copy (subscription required)
  1945-6 Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol. 12.1 p. 44
  Braun, Hugh, 1938, St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Transactions Vol. 5 p. 203-4
  1906, 'Anstey' Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol. 3.2 p. 217-9
  Andrews, R.T., 1903, 'Anstey Castle' Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol. 2.2 p. 114-8
  Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 46 p. 197-217 esp. 205 online copy
  Davys, O.W., 1884, 'Notes on Anstey Castle' Transactions of the St Albans and Hertfordshire Archaeological Society p.29 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Hardy, T.D. (ed), 1833, Rotuli litterarum clausarum in turri Londinensi asservati (Record Commission) Vol. 1 p. 350a online copy
  Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1901, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry III (1216-25) Vol. 1 p. 543 online copy
  Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) (lists sources for 1272-1422) p. 253
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)

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It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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