Southoe (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Boughton

In the historic county of Huntingdonshire.
Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire.
1974 county of Cambridgeshire.
Medieval County of Huntingdonshire.

Southoe has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are uncertain remains.

Description

Mentioned 1140 and 1153. (King)

Odo de Dammartin was granted 'as much land as the site of the castle comprises' at Boughton in Southoe by the Earl of Northampton between 1140-53 (B.M. Add. Charters 11233, quoted by F.M. Stenton, The First Century of English Feudalism, p. 197). (Renn 1973)

The only indication of the presence of a castle at Boughton in Southoe parish is a passing mention in a charter of the mid-twelfth century. Sometime between 1140 and 1153, Earl Simon de Senlis of Northampton granted to Odo de Damartin land at Boughton in Southoe manor near St. Neots, consisting of as much land "as the site of the castle comprises." King suggests that a moated site at Diddington may represent the castle, but this is only a guess. (Lowerre)

Comments

King suggested Diddington TL198647). However, probably one of the two Southoe sites recorded by Renn of which Manor Farm is the most likely and Southoe Town Orchard less so.
Lowerre (2005) believes there 'was no castle at Broughton in Southoe in the late-eleventh century' but the granting of an abandoned site in 1140 suggest the castle was old by then. However, Dammartin's 'castle' may not have been the sort of castle site Lowerre apparently narrowly defines.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Books
- Lowerre, A.G., 2005, Placing Castles in the Conquest. Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in the South-Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100 (Oxford: John and Erica Hedges Ltd: BAR British Series 385) p. 238
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 225
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 314-15
  Senton, F.M., 1961, First Century of English Feudalism, 1066-1166 (Clarendon Press) p. 197
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- British Library Additional Charter 11233
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Lowerre, A.G., 2004, Placing Castles in the Conquest. Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in the South-Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100 (PhD thesis: Boston College) p. 506-8

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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.
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