Bengeworth castle, Evesham (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Evesham.
In the historic county of Worcestershire.
Modern Authority of Worcestershire.
1974 county of Hereford and Worcester.
Medieval County of Worcestershire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SP04114367
Latitude 52.09136° Longitude -1.94141°

Bengeworth castle, Evesham has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The estate of Bengeworth, to the east of Evesham, was disputed between the abbeys of Evesham and Worcester in the medieval period and its early history is obscure. In Domesday Book it was split between the Abbot of Evesham and Urse d'Abitot, the Sheriff of Worcester (VCH Worcs 2, 397-8). The latter part of Bengeworth was subsequently held by the Beauchamp family, the hereditary sheriffs of Worcestershire, and a castle was built near the bridge in the mid-12th century (ibid, 398). Bengeworth castle was subsequently captured and demolished by the abbot (ibid, 399). (Dalwood and Bryant)

The Beauchamps had by this time fortified their position by erecting a castle at the head of the bridge which connected Evesham and Bengeworth, and during the abbacy of William de Andeville (1149-59) considerable friction seems to have existed between his house and that of Walter de Beauchamp, son and successor of William. The latter, taking advantage of the wars in Stephen's reign, crossed the Avon into the abbot's territory, destroyed the walls of the abbey cemetery, and laid waste other property of the church; (Chron. de Evesham (Rolls Ser.), 100) for these sacrilegious acts he was at once excommunicated with his accomplices by Abbot William, of whose courage the chronicler is very proud.(ibid) An encounter followed between the abbot's men and those of William de Beauchamp, in which many of the latter were killed, among them a knight named Abetot, who was buried, unreconciled to the Church, outside the cemetery at Elmley.(ibid) The abbot carried his victory still further, took possession of William de Beauchamp's castle, and destroyed it to the foundations; and, having done so, he made and consecrated a cemetery there.(ibid) A plot of ground adjacent to the north-east angle of the bridge was still known in the early part of the nineteenth century as 'the castle,' and probably pointed out the site of the Beauchamps' stronghold. Considerable traces of the moat were also to be seen, though said to be arched over. (May) The cemetery which the abbot made there must therefore have disappeared, since it could not have occupied the same situation as the cemetery, now closed, which surrounded the old church. (VCH)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 328415.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) WSM00277.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 76
  Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p. 30
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 508
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 353
  Page, Wm and Willis-Bund, J.W. (eds), 1906, VCH Worcestershire Vol. 2 p. 397-9 online copy
  May, G., 1845, A Descriptive History of the Town of Evesham (Evesham: George May) p. 164 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Marcay, W.D. (ed.), 1863, Chronicon abbatiae de Evesham adannum 1418 (London: Longman Rolls Series 29) p. 100 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)
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Dalwood, H. and Bryant, V. (eds), 2005, The Central Marches Historic Towns Survey 1992-6 Download 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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