Ludgershall Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Description

Ludgershall Castle consists of the remains of a flint tower and extensive earthworks dating to between the 11th and 13th centuries. The earthworks include two contiguous enclosures; the northern enclosure, a ringwork, was a medieval fortification which was later used as a royal residence. It appears that the bank and ditch of the ringwork also formed part of a garden feature. The southern enclosure comprises a double bank and ditch which has been extensively quarried in the south-west area; in the south-east area modern housing and a farm track obscures the earthworks. This has been interpreted as a 'bailey'. Additional features include a hollow way to the west of the castle, and a massive ditch to the east which has been variously described as a deer park boundary and town defences. Excavations were carried out between 1964 and 1971. These identified the development of residential buildings from the 11th to 13th century within the north ringwork. A great hall is thought to have been added in the 1240s, and by the late 12th century mural towers, an undercroft and latrine towers were constructed. Excavations within the south ringwork identified three phases of 12th century timber buildings, a dewpond and a large timber-lined cellar. (PastScape)

Ludgershall Castle ... principally consists of a double-ditched, double ringwork which was excavated by Peter Addyman in 1964-72. The excavations found mid 12th century timber buildings and defences which were superseded by flint and mortar buildings in the 13th and 14th centuries, the remains of one of which still survives as a standing structure. It has royal associations from 1103, and was the scene of action during the Anarchy struggle (para. 4.4). After the mid 12th century a series of high-status buildings were erected within the northern ringwork, and towards the later Medieval period the castle appears to have primarily served as a royal hunting lodge, with royal parks to north and south. Maintenance of the castle appears to have ceased in the later 15th century, and by the time Leland visited Ludgershall in the 1550s it was either ruinous or demolished. (Mcmahon p. 7)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1009912, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 10070
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 224349.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) SU25SE450.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- English Heritage
  CastlesFortsBattle.co.uk
  Wikipedia entry
  Elizabeth Chadwick: Living the History Blog
  Charles Taylor's ecastles
  Abaroth's World
Books
- Endacott, Alan and Kelleher, Susan (eds), 2004, Heritage Unlocked; Guide to free sites in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire (London: English Heritage) p. 76-9 (plan)
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 92-3
  Ellis, Peter (ed), 2000, Ludgershall Castle: a report on the excavations by Peter Addyman 1964-1972 (Devizes: Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society monographs No. 2)
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 275
  Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p. 174, 185, 190, 191, 358
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 499
  Wilcox, R.P., 1981, Timber and iron reinforcement in early buildings (Society of Antiquaries of London occasional papers 5) p. 17-18, 20, 23, 35
  Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p. 256-7
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 232
  Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol. 2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p. 729-31
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p. 226-8 online copy
  Grose, Francis, 1785 (new edn orig 1756), Antiquities of England and Wales (London) Vol. 6 p. 29-31 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Cherry, J. and Ellis, P., 2001, 'Ludgershall Castle: two addenda' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 94 p. 234-5 online copy
  Everson, P., 2000, 'Ludgershall Castle, Wiltshire: public access to research' Conservation Bulletin Vol. 39 p. 18-9
  Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 93 p. 107 online copy
  Stevenson, J.H., 1992, 'The castles of Marlborough and Ludgershall in the Middle Ages' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 85 p. 70-79 online copy
  Addyman, P.V., 1973 'Excavations at Ludgershall Castle, Wilshire, England (1964-1972)' Château Gaillard Vol. 6 p. 7-14
  Wilcox, R., 1972, 'Timber Reinforcement in Medieval Castles' Château Gaillard Vol. 5 p. 193-202
  King, D.J.Cathcart, 1972, 'The Field Archaeology of mottes; Eine kurze übersicht' Château Gaillard Vol. 5 p. 101-112
  (Addyman), 1972, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 16 p. 183-4 download copy
  Addyman, P.V., 1971, CBA Group 12 and 13 Archaeological Review p. 44
  (Addyman), 1970, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 14 p. 176-7 download copy
  (Addyman), 1969, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 13 p. 261 online copy
  Addyman, P.V., 1969, 'Excavations at Ludgershall Castle, Wilshire' Château Gaillard Vol. 4 p. 9-12
  Addyman, P.V., 1969, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 64 p. 124-6 online copy
  King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  (Addyman), 1968, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 12 p. 179-80 download copy
  (Addyman), 1967, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 11 p. 286-8 download copy
  Addyman, P.V., 1967, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 62 p. 127-8 online copy
  (Addyman), 1966, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 10 p. 191-2 download copy
  Addyman, P.V., 1966, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 61 p. 104-5 online copy
  (Addyman), 1965, Medieval Archaeology Vol. 9 p. 192 download copy
  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)
  Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' The English Historical Review Vol. 70 (Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)) p. 19-64
  Awdry, W.H., 1884, 'Ludgershall Castle and its History' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 21 p. 317-30 (history only and very poor) online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 504
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 5 p. 6 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Tatler, S. and Bellamy, P.S., 2007, Gate and fencing repairs, Ludgershall Castle, Ludgershall, Wiltshire: Archaeological observations and recording, February 2007 (Terrain Archaeology) online copy
  Mcmahon, Phil, 2004, The Archaeology of Wiltshire's Towns An Extensive Urban Survey Ludgershall (Wiltshire County Archaeology Service) online copy
  RCHME, 1998, An earthwork survey at Ludgershall Castle, Wiltshire (RCHME) Unpublished Report

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