Benniworth Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Beningwrd'

In the civil parish of Benniworth.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire.
Modern Authority of Lincolnshire.
1974 county of Lincolnshire.
Medieval County of Lincolnshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TF20938176
Latitude 53.31820° Longitude -0.18583°

Benniworth Castle has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

A Constable of Beningwrd' is mentioned in 1216. (King)

The settlement of Benniworth, in the wapentake of Wraggoe, has two entries in the Domesday Survey and one in the Lindsey Survey. The main landholder at the time of Domesday was the Archbishop of York, who held a manor. Godwin had two carucates of land assessed to the geld. There was land for three and a half teams, which Osbern the priest had of the Archbishop. There was a church, one mill and sixty acres of meadow. The second largest landholder was Ivo Taillebois, with two manors. Siward and Turgot had three and a half carucates of land assessed to the geld, and there were 140 acres of meadow. The entry for the Lindsey Survey has the Archbishop of York having two carucates and four bovates held by Richard of Lincoln, and Ranulf Mischin holding three carucates and four bovates (Foster and Longley).
Physical evidence for the medieval settlement is in the form of ridge and furrow and field boundaries north-west of the village. The post-medieval period is represented by earthwork ditches, a mound and a field boundary. (Lincolnshire HER)

Comments

There is no obvious site for whatever form of building the constable was responsible although there are remains of rig and furrow. Does this suggest the 'castle' was actually a fairly modest building without much in the way of earthworks? Certainly it seems a large motte and bailey is unlikely. Is it possible the 'constable' was just a steward in a simple house little different from the other village dwellings? Presumably the site has now been built over by one of the few farmsteads in the parish. The given may reference is for the parish church of St Julian which does date to the C12, although it is much rebuilt.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1391199; 1048901.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 44234 (general record for settlement).

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 69 (slight)
  Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p. 40-1
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 264
  Foster, C.W. and Longley, T., 1924, Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey (Lincoln Record Society)
Periodical Articles
- 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)
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. 264 online copy

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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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Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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