BRIMPSFIELD CASTLE

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DESCRIPTION

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The castle was built in the 12th or 13th century and was destroyed by Edward 11 in 1321. The remains comprise a mound with an outer bank and ditch and the foundations of a gatehouse have been exposed. A squarish depression may indicate the site of the keep. Scheduled. Visible on aerial photographs.

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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

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(SO 940127) Castle (NR) (Site of) (1)

Brimpsfield Castle dates from the 12th or 13th centuries, the site being chosen in preference to the lower position originally selected for a Norman motte and fosse (SO 91 SW 11). It was said to have had a massive central keep with four smaller towers at the angles, and the discovery in the ruins of finely carved stone heads of about AD 1240, now in Gloucester Museum, suggests the existence of a chapel within the walls. The castle was destroyed in AD 1321 by Edward II, and all that remains to mark its site is a mound with an outer bank surrounding an area of several acres, and the base of the main gate-way. (2-4)

The south and east sides are bounded by steeply sloping ground, but the north and west were defended by a large, deep and presumably dry moat. On the southern side of the castle are the remains of a 13th century gate-house uncovered c1920 and again in 1936. In the Upper Bancroft field are traces of buildings which may represent the site of a walled court outside the bailey, occupied by buildings for cattle and retainers. (5)

Brimpsfield Castle comprises a deep dry moat enclosing an area subdivided into three parts.

At the E end a squarish depression may indicate the site of the keep. This is on higher ground but cannot be described as a motte. To the W of this the central area appears to be a ward. Another ward occupies the western end with a gatehouse entrance at the SW corner where portcullis grooves are visible in the excavated masonry.

The gap and causeway in the NW angle is probably a modern access. The owner Mr Ticehurst, Castle Cottage, has some museum-identified finds, viz, an Ed II penny, and Ed III groat, and a 14th century spur. Authority 5 refers to traces of buildings in Upper Bancroft field. These almost certainly represent the deserted village and are not part of the castle complex. (See SO 91 SW 45)
Surveyed at 1:2500. (6)

Scheduled as 'Brimpsfield Castle'. (7)

Listed by Cathcart King. (8)

This site is visible on aerial photographs. (9, 10)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1955

( 2) Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

(R F Butler) 76 - 1957 Page(s)76

( 3) Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

(W Bazeley) 20 - 1895-7 Page(s)235

( 4) General reference

Little Guide Glos 1949 58 (J C Cox)

( 5) Cotteswold Naturalists Field Club proceedings

(R F Butler) 33 - 1959 Page(s)113-121

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 NVQ 10-MAY-72

( 7) Scheduled Monument Notification

DOE (AM's) List 31 12 77 41

( 8) by David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery

1 Page(s)180

(9) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

RAF CPE/UK/1913 3075, 3076 30-DEC-1946

(10) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

NMR OS/89083 017-018 21-APR-1989

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