Torksey Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Torkesey

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SK836787
Latitude 53.29940° Longitude -0.74688°

Torksey Castle has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Country house, now a ruin. The west facade and part of the rear wall only survive. 1560. Coursed lias and limestone rubble, red brick in English bond, all with ashlar dressings and some diaper work in blue brick headers. 3 storey 7 bay front, arranged with 4 single projecting facetted bays which rise full height and were taller than the 3 intervening bays which were topped by crow stepped gables, only the left hand one of which survives. Plinth, moulded first floor string course and bands to towers. The lowest storey is in stone and has an irregular pattern of fenestration comprising single, 2, and 3 light windows. The central bay is missing at ground level and the upper work is supported on a later brick pier. Above the central bay to either side are 2 corbelled out chimney backs with moulded stone corbels, between these is set a 3 light window. To the left are 2 similar windows, one contained in a projecting tower. The furthermost projecting tower has a 4 light window flanked by single similar windows on the facets. To the right the first tower has single openings with hood moulds, the second tower has 2 light windows with hood moulds to front face and facets; between the towers is a further 3 light window. To the second floor two 2 light windows survive in 2 of the gables,and 2 light and single openings to 3 of the towers. All windows are stone cross mullioned except the 2 in the gables. The inside wall shows 2 original fireplaces, one with a 4 centred moulded arched surround with sunk spandrels. The other with flat lintels and moulded ashlar surround having a slightly projecting ledge. In the tower, to the left of the central bay are the sockets for a turning stair which emerged at first floor level through a 4 centred arched doorway. To the rear at ground floor level is a broad 4 centred arched kitchen fireplace. At first floor is a 4 centred arched fireplace with moulded surround terminating in Tudor rose stops with foliated spandrels. The house was built by Sir Robert Jermyn and slighted during the Civil War. A drawing by Nattes of 1793 in the Banks collection shows the west facade in its ruinous condition. (Listed Building Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1005056, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number li15
National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1064079
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 324673.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 54206.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Heritage Lincolnshire
  Wikipedia entry
  CastleUK.net
  Captain Ahab's Watery Tales
  CastlesFortsBattle.co.uk
  The Heslam Trust (1835 watercolour of the ruins before flood bank construction)
  British Library online gallery (1809 watercolour)
Books
- Goodall, John, 2011, The English Castle 1066-1650 (Yale University Press) p. 458
  Osborne, Mike, 2010, Defending Lincolnshire: A Military History from Conquest to Cold War (The History Press) p. 21, 24, 86, 87
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 68
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 265 (reject)
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1964, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Harmondsworth) p. 406-7 (later building)
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 233 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Barley, M.W., 1964, 'The Medieval Borough of Torksey: Excavations, 1960-2' Antiquaries Journal Vol. 44 p. 168
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Historic England, 2016, Heritage at Risk East Midlands Register 2016 (London: Historic England) p. 44 online copy
  Historic England, 2015, Heritage at Risk East Midlands Register 2015 (London: Historic England) p. 45 online copy
  English Heritage, 2014, Heritage at Risk Register 2014 East Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 45 online copy
  English Heritage, 2013, Heritage at Risk Register 2013 East Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 46 online copy
  English Heritage, 2012, Heritage at Risk Register 2012 East Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 56 online copy
  English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011 East Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 51 online copy
  English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010 East Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 17 online copy
  English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009 East Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 51 online copy

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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.

Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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