Egglescliffe Castleholmes (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Castle Holm; Castelholme

In the civil parish of Egglescliffe.
In the historic county of Durham.
Modern Authority of Stockton on Tees.
1974 county of Cleveland.
Medieval County of County Palatinate of Durham.

OS Map Grid Reference: NZ424131
Latitude 54.51205° Longitude -1.34628°

Egglescliffe Castleholmes has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Somewhere in the vicinity of Egglescliffe "castleholmes" was a place-name in 1554, and a visitor in the 1780s wrote of a "piece of ground called Castle Holm - no remains appear, nor have we received any account of a castle here". By the early C19 the location of Castle Holm was "not certainly known". (Jackson)

There is little to say of the early history of Egglescliffe. Though a piece of land with which the manor was thought to descend was called Castle Holme, (The site is now not certainly known.) there is no record of the building of any castle here, but it has been suggested that the Devil's Hill was a fortified mound. (VCH)

The ancient owners of Egglescliff were the Aslakbys, lords of the adjoining vill of the same name, where their descent is traced. The heiress of the chief line of the family, Agnes, daughter of Walter de Aslakby (Inq. p. m. Walter de Aslakby, 5 Langley), intermarried about 1420 with Hugh Asteley, who jointly with his wife settled the estates in 14 .. William Astley, the descendant of Hugh and Agnes, died seised of the manor of Egglescliffe in 1552 (Inq. p. m. 25 Tunstall) , leaving William his son and heir, who, by charter 4 Aug. 1554, granted the Castleholmes to James Garnet. This estate seems to be identified with the manor, for in 1564 Garnet (Inq. p. m. Jac. Garnet, 6 Eliz) is stated to die seised of the Castelholme, a free fishery, and the tenement called Holehouse, held of the Bishop by homage and half a knight's fee, which is the exact tenure of the manor of Egglescliffe in the old inquests. (Surtees)

Comments

Surtees identifies Castleholmes with the manor of Egglescliffe and it seems likely the manor house site was at the location of Old Hall (at given map reference) Certainly this position would be entirely consistent with a castle location although it is a little way from the north end of Yarm bridge. However, in all likelihood, the castle name comes from the site being a centre of administration rather than being a fortification. The mound Devil's Hill has a separated record but was not a motte, is of recent origin and can not have been the documented Castleholme.

Sources of information, references and further reading

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

Books
- Jackson, M.J., 1996, Castles of Durham and Cleveland (Carlisle) p. 72
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 139 (possible)
  Page, Wm (ed), 1928, VCH Durham Vol. 3 p. 222-3 online transcription
  Surtees, R., 1816-40 (1972 Reprint), The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham (London) Vol. 3 online transcription
  Hutchinson, Wm, 1785-94, The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham Vol. 3 p. 169 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Constable, Christopher, 2003, Aspects of the archaeology of the castle in the north of England C 1066-1216 (Doctoral thesis, Durham University) Available at Durham E-Theses Online

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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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