COVENTRY CASTLE

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Site of Coventry Castle. A castle existed in Coventry by the mid 12th century, and possibly earlier. In 1147, when Ranulf, 2nd Earl of Chester besieged the town, the King's men withdrew to the castle, and following the lifting of the siege, it is said that King Stephen destroyed the castle. However, it must have been repairable since it is mentioned, as a viable fortification, in 1182, 1200 and 1208. It is possible that the Red Ditch, a previously unexplained earthwork, may be the southern and western defence perimeter of the bailey. Excavations discovered late 12th century pottery in the primary fill of the ditch, but there is no conclusive proof that it was part of the bailey.

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(SP33597895. Castle sited from authy.2 and OS1250 1971.)

Suggested site of Coventry Castle. Possible motte and bailey.(1)

A castle existed in Coventry by the mid C12th, and possibly earlier. In 1147, when Ranulf, 2nd Earl of Chester besieged the town, the King's men withdrew to the castle, and following the lifting of the siege, it is said that King Stephen destroyed the castle. However, it must have been repairable since it is mentioned, as a viable fortification, in 1182, 1200, and 1208.
It is suggested that the Red Ditch, a previously unexplained earthwork, may be the Southern and Western defensive perimeter of the bailey. A reconstruction from deeds and surveys shows a suggestive pattern which, when related to the line of Bayley Lane and Pepper Lane, forms the outer ditch of an almost square fortification. Red Ditch is known to have run from the East side of Broadgate near Pepper and Derby Lanes southward behind the houses on the East side of Greyfriar's Lane. From there, it turned eastwards behind the houses on the South side of Earl Street, and then northwards behind houses on the West side of Much Park Street opposite Bayley Lane. In the NW near Broadgate, (the name derived from the Castle gate), there is also tentative evidence of a stone wall with the ditch.

The builders of St Mary's Hall, (SP37NW70), utilised stone from the castle, and indeed Caesar's Tower at St Mary's Hall may be built directly on the foundations of former castle buildings. Earl Street, first mentioned in the late C12th, later ran right through the site on an E-W axis. Houses soon appeared on the street, and sometime after 1250, the Earls of Chester moved their residence from the castle to Cheylesmore Manor, (SP37NW41), allowing the castle to decay and let out as tenements.(2)

The Red Ditch was excavated at ca.SP337789 to the West of Much Park Street and South of Bayley Lane. It is estimated to be 3.5m - 4.0m deep, and 7.6m wide. Pottery suggests that the ditch was open in the C13th. It probably extended further to the East.(3)

The NW corner of the C11th Red Ditch was excavated at SP335790, being 6.0m wide by 5.0m deep. Archaeological evidence of leather working confirms Medieval documentary references to houses of cobblers and leather workers in the vicinity.(4,5)

A section through the Red Ditch at an unstated location found two sherds from a Nuneaton vessel lying precisely at the bottom of the primary silt, confirming the post-Conquest date of the ditch.(6)

MA Stokes completed excavation of a section across the Red Ditch in Earl Street begun in 1980. The ditch is 6.0m wide and 4.0m deep at this point. The primary silt contained pottery of the last quarter of the C12th, and was cut by a V-shaped recut which contrasts with the stepped profile of the original cut, probably dictated by the nature of the bedrock. At least half of the ditch was backfilled when two C14th cellars were constructed over it, at which time, it had been succeeded by a 1.0m wide culvert.(7)

Listed by Cathcart King as a vanished castle. (8)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society transactions

(Chatwin PB) 53 - 1928

(2) edited by W. B. Stephens 1969 A history of the county of Warwick: volume VIII: the City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick

The Victoria history of the counties of England 8 - 1969 Page(s)18

(3) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

16 - 1972 Page(s)183

(4) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

19 - 1975 Page(s)274

(5) Department of the Environment Archaeological excavations

(Rylett M) 1975 Page(s)117-8

(6) CBA Regional Group 8 West Midlands archaeology

(Coates B and Rylett M) 29 - 1986 Page(s)71

(7) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

26 - 1982 Page(s)212

( 8) 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 Page(s)485

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