Castle Cary Siege Work (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Castle Cary.
In the historic county of Somerset.
Modern Authority of Somerset.
1974 county of Somerset.
Medieval County of Somerset.

OS Map Grid Reference: ST644320
Latitude 51.08658° Longitude -2.50848°

Castle Cary Siege Work has been described as a certain Siege Work.

There are no visible remains.

Description

A siege castle was built at Castle Cary in 1147 and promptly destroyed. (PastScape ref. King 1983)

The castle {Castle Cary} surrendered to Stephen for lack of food in 1138, and Robert of Gloucester levelled a siege-castle being built before it by Henry de Tracy in 1147. (Renn 1973)

Henricus namque de Traceio, vir bellicosus, et in militari exercitio expertissimus, qui et regis partibus parebat, ante castellum, quod Cari dicitur, et aliud firmabat, quo et comitem Glaorniae per hoc facilius arceret, (et) diffusioris provinciae dominium possideret: cum, ecce, ipse comes, talibus, fama intimante, perceptis, cum immenso repente supervenit exercitu, incoeptumque Henrici municipium fundotenus, ipsumque, cum suis inglorium, cedere coegit. (Sewell)

On a hill to the SE of the castle (PRN 53640) is a bank 18-20ft high and 60 yards long with a ditch on the W side. To the E is a second and lower bank 100 yards long turning at right angles at its N end (VCH)
Marked "Earthworks" on OSAD 6" map.
The larger bank described by VCH is a steep but apparently natural scarp along the W edge of the flat platform above the castle. The ditch is a trackway leading to a quarry. The lower bank is artificial - O.8m high and both ends terminate against a modern field wall. Although in a good position for a siege work against the castle, its appearance suggests a modern field bank (OS Arch. Div. 1966). (Somerset HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1392152.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 53641.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 69 (mention)
  Dunning, Robert, 1995, Somerset Castles (Somerset Books) p. 32
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 445
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 136
  Bothamley, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Somerset Vol. 2 p. 522
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Potter, G.R. (ed), 1955, Gesta Stephani (Nelson) p. 44-6, 140
  Sewell, R.C. (ed), 1846, Gesta Stephani, Regis Anglorum et Ducis Normannorum p. 43, 132 online copy (The newer edition and translation by Potter, K.R. (ed), 1976 (2edn), Gesta Stephani (Oxford University Press) should be consulted for serious study. See also Speight, S., 2000, 'Castle Warfare in the Gesta Stephani' , Château Gaillard Vol. 19 see online transcription)

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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.

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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