CRAYKE CASTLE

ABOUT THIS MONUMENT

+ / -

EH Visitor Information
Related Monuments
Related Text
Investigation History

More Pictures
Modern Map
Old Map
Aerial Photograph

Monument Types
Sources
Thesaurus
Description

DESCRIPTION

+ / -

Ruins of a fortified residence of the Bishops of Durham of 1441 built on the earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey. The castle is situated at the top of a prominent natural outcrop 3 kilometres south west of the Howardian Hills. The motte lies beneath the later structures and is still visible to the north of the castle as an earthwork mound rising about 2.5 metres above the hilltop, forming a platform on which later buildings were constructed. The inner bailey defences have been altered over the years and only survive as earthworks at the south east side as a short section of bank. Originally the buildings on the motte were constructed of timber but were quickly replaced in stone. Several phases of building and rebuilding are known to have occured, culminating in work undertaken for Bishop Neville in the mid-15th century. Subsequently, the castle was made untenable as a fortress by an act of Parliament in 1646 and by the 18th century the main range was in use as a farmhouse. Small scale excavations within the inner bailey have uncovered a gatehouse and a barn which was listed in a 16th century survey of the castle. Excavations in 1983 also indicated the presence of a medieval pottery kiln at the east side of the inner bailey. Within the outer precinct are the remains of cultivation terraces some of which pre-date the castle.

DETAIL

+ / -

MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

+ / -

(SE 5590 7068). Crayke Castle (NR). (1)

Crayke Castle, a slightly fortified house of the type built by the Medieval bishops, bearing little resemblance to an ordinary castle. It was built by the Bishops of Durham on the site of a motte and bailey castle constructed at the time of Hugh Pudsey (died 1195), traces of which still remain. The castle consists of two separate self-contained blocks (see plan). Of the original hall, tower, kitchen and great chamber of the SW block, only the kitchen basement and the great chamber remain; the latter, 70 x 28ft, has been partly restored and is now in use as a residence. The great chamber and the kitchen were built in 1441: the hall was probably earlier, it being referred to as the "old Hall" at that time. the second block, built later in the 15th cent, also consisted of a hall, great chamber and offices. Only part of the hall and fragments of the rooms beneath survive. Originally there would be a curtain wall and a gatehouse, but no traces remain. The castle was to be made untenable by order of Parliament in 1646. (2)

Both buildings Grade 2. (3)

Additional architectural reference. (4)

Description correct; see photographs. A large mound to the immediate north which looks like part of a motte has in fact been created by a terraced pathway around the summit of the natural hill which the Castle occupies, and there are no artifical earthworks. (5)

No change to reports of authorities 2 and 5. Correctly surveyed on 1:2500 MSD. (6)

Detailed description of Crayke Castle, similar to Authority
2.(7)

Tower house with attached kitchen range to rear on which the vaulted undercroft alone survives and ruins on a further range - 'The New Tower'.

Main range: Early C15 with C18 and C19 alterations and additions, it was built before the kitchen range which is documented to 1441-50. New Tower: probably second half C15. For the Bishops of Durham. Dressed sandstone. Roof of main range concealed, lead roof to kitchen. Main range: rectangular block 70 ft 9 ins x 28 ft 4 ins. Four storeys, each being set back slightly. Bands to floor levels and battlements. Tall, narrow chamfered square headed windows. The entrance to the south side is an C18 alteration, the original entrance being by an external staircase range on the north-east side (now disappeared) to the principal room at 1st floor level. The blocked doorways are 2-centred with hollow chamfers. C19 range attached to north-east. Interior is now subdivided but the moulded cross-beamed ceilings are intact. Fireplaces to ground and 1st floors. C18 features: a cut-string staircase with 2 turned or twisted balusters per tread and curtail with turned newel.

Kitchen range: The west wall is partly rebuilt in later materials but has a corbelled-out embattled round turret for spiral staircase to the north-west corner. Chamfered doorway with key block.

Interior: tunnel vaulted with 13 heavy unmoulded transverse arches or ribs. Now subdivided. (The undercroft is at ground floor level.)

The New Tower: Completely detached building, now ruinous. Once a 3-storey L-shaped block (ground plan 1566-1570). All that remains are the barrel-vaulted undercrofts, stairs to 1st floor level and the walls of the porch. To rear of kitchen remains of foundations of a building that was described as The Old Hall in 1441. Stands on site of Norman Castle. Dismantled in 1647. In the C18 the main range was used as a farmhouse. (8)

The earliest evidence for a castle precinct comes from a pit excavated in 1983 (see SE 57 SE 84) which contained late 13th-early 14th century pottery and an ash deposit. Another pit filled with stone packing and an adjacent feature were interpreted as the hard standing for a gateway with the setting for a gatepost. These imply a north-south edge to the precinct joining the traces of an earthwork wall or precinct boundary running to the east of the present 15th century castle. Associated with the precinct was Love Lane or its predecessor, still visible as an earthwork and located in the 1983 excavation. (9)

SE 5592 7068. Crayke Castle: a motte and bailey and later stone castle of the Bishops of Durham incorporating part of an Anglo-Saxon monastic cemetery. Scheduled RSM No 12602/01 and 12602/02. (10)

Additional reference. (11)

Listed by Cathcart King. (12)

Short note and sketch plan following a survey by EDAS in 2007. (13)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1957

( 2) by John L Illingworth 1970 Yorkshire's ruined castles : an account of their history, asssociations and architecture with a chapter on the fortified houses of the county

Page(s)137-8

( 3) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Easingwold Rural District, APR-1952 Page(s)6

( 4) Associated Architectural Societies' reports and papers [Lincoln, York, Northampton, Bedford, Worcester, Leicester and Sheffield ]

Rev Canon Raine 10, 1869-70 Page(s)69

( 5) Field Investigators Comments

F1 RE 15-JUL-73

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F2 CDA 03-NOV-76

( 7) edited by William Page 1923 The Victoria history of the county of York, North Riding, volume two

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)120-2

( 8) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Hambleton, 27-SEP-1984 200 Page(s)6

(9) Council for Archaeology: Bulletin of the C.B.A. Churches Committee

Adams K. Excavation and Fieldwork at Crayke 1984 Page(s)3-6

(10) Scheduled Monument Notification

07-JUN-1995

(11) Scheduled Monument Notification

17-JUN-1999

(12) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

2- 1983 Page(s)516

(13) The Castle Studies Group Journal

21, 2007-8 Page(s)158

MONUMENT TYPES

+ / -

COMMENTS

+ / -

Please help us keep our information accurate let us know if you see any errors on this page.

Further information about monuments may be obtained by contacting NMR Enquiry and Research Services , through the English Heritage website.

EH Prints
English Heritage
Heritage Explorer
Heritage Gateway
Images of England
NMR
ViewFinder