MONUMENT NO. 328152

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The monument includes the remains of Hailes Castle, a ringwork castle whose extent was partly incorporated into Hailes Abbey inner precinct (SP 03 SE 11). Little is known of the ringwork to the north of the abbey, although the site is known both from earthworks, recorded on early editions of Ordnance Survey maps, and now from aerial photographs.

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(SP 051301) Castle (NR) (Site of) (1)
Moat (NR) (2)

A castle built at Hailes c1139-48 AD, probably lay close to the existing 12th cent. church, and was destroyed when the abbey was founded in 1246. (3)

The small castle already in existence at Hailes, was strengthened between 1138 and 1150 AD by Ralph of Worcester, who also built the church adjoining it. It must have been demolished before AD 1245 when Richard Earl of Cornwall possessed the manor, or his child Richard by his second wife Sanchia, would have been born there. The moated site can still be traced at a distance of 150 yards due east of the church, and a road, often mistaken for a ditch, can be traced leading across Hailes Field from the direction of the Monk's Pool and the Salt-way, to the castle entrance. (4)

The moat has now been completely filled in. The documentary evidence for the castle is insufficient to establish the exact site. The reference in the Landboc of Winchcombe Abbey states that Ralph of Worcester 'fortified the camp'. There is documentary evidence for depopulation at Hailes (b). Mr Musty (c) knew of no archaeological evidence which would suggest the OS siting.

The site is in a low-lying position and not well situated for
defence. The nearest suitable ground is in fact the earthwork in Hailes Wood (SP 03 SE 12) which may be an early Norman adaptation of an earlier work. Neither Mrs Winkless nor Mr Musty could offer any arguments against this hypothesis except the probability that the church would probably have been nearer the castle. The 'moat' could have formed the enclosure for the village which may have existed here before the foundation of the abbey in 1246.
Published survey (25") revised. (5)

SP050302 Hailes. Possible Deserted Medieval Village listed in Deserted Medieval Villages of Gloucestershire (6)

The remains of a Stephanic castle at Hailes, documented as extant in 1135-50. (7)

Scheduled (8)

The earthwork remains of the defensive earthwork or moat of the former castle at Hailes described by the previous authorities were seen centred at SP 0515 3024. This feature was recorded as an earthwork on RAF vertical photographs taken in 1947, but have now been levelled through ploughing. The feature identified as the moat could be traced in an arc between SP 0505 3029 and SP 0521 3010 to the north of the site of the later abbey.Traces of further linear banks and ditches to the south may be associated whith the castle and linears to the east of the moat are thought possibly to to former field boundaries of Medieval or later date.

These features were all mapped at 1:10,000 from aerial photographs scale as part of the English Heritage: Gloucestershire NMP project (9)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1955

( 2) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1924

( 3a) General reference

The Landboc of Winchcombe Abbey 1 65

( 3) D F Renn 1968 Norman Castles in Britain

Page(s)199

( 4b) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 4c) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 4) General reference

St Clair Baddeley W. 1908. A Cotteswold Shrine, 8-17

( 5) Field Investigators Comments

F1 DJC 18-APR-73

(6) Glevensis : Gloucestershire and District Archaeological Research Group review

15 (1981) Page(s)28

(7) 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

Page(s)184

(8) Scheduled Monument Notification

18-SEP-1998

(9) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

RAF CPE/UK/1929 4091-2 16-JAN-1947

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HAILES ABBEY
STANWAY

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The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1245 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in thanksgiving for deliverance from shipwreck. The abbey church was b...

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