Reasons for Designation
Motte and bailey castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain
by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the
motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,
adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal
administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte and
bailey castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their
immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive
monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape.
Over 600 motte castles or motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally,
with examples known from most regions. As one of a restricted range of
recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for
the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although
many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to
be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they
were superseded by other types of castle.
Despite alteration over the years, Huntingdon Castle is largely well
preserved. The documentary evidence for the foundation, ownership and later
reuse of the castle is good, and enables the surviving remains to be
identified within their historic context. Partial excavation (within the area
now overlain by the Huntingdon bypass) has demonstrated the survival of buried
remains related to the occupation of the castle and the subsequent
remodelling of the defences during the English Civil War. Detailed survey
work has also shown that both the bailey and the summit of the motte retain
evidence of former structures; and documentary evidence indicates that further
masonry foundations and the remains of timber fortifications will survive as
buried features. Environmental evidence, pertaining to the economic status of
the site and its inhabitants, may be recovered from the accumulated silts
within the ditches and on the river foreshore. The foreshore may also retain
the remains of waterfront structures which would provide timbers suitable for
dendrochronological dating. The importance of the castle is enhanced by its
location within Huntingdon, an historically important town, and it is
therefore associated with a wide diversity of contemporary and later
monuments.
Details
Huntingdon Castle lies on the southern edge of the modern town of Huntingdon,
adjacent to the River Great Ouse at the point where the Alconbury Brook joins
the main stream. The castle consists of a large defensive mound or motte and a
roughly rectangular bailey with rounded corners, measuring 180m north east to
south west by 140m across, which extends to the west and north west of it.
Although the southern side of the castle was extensively altered by both
railway and road construction (and is consequently excluded from the
scheduling) the former earthworks in this part are well recorded, and more
than three quarters of the original area of the bailey remains.
The motte is an earthen mound, oval in plan, although slightly modified at the
south by the railway cutting. It measures 75m north west to south east and 60m
south west to north east at the base, and averages 35m in diameter at the top.
Undulations on the summit of the mound indicate the remains of structures
associated with the original and subsequent use of the site, including the
position of a windmill which was erected before 1807. The motte is 4.6m high
and is separated from the bailey by a 20m wide, 2m deep ditch. A 6m wide
causeway spans the ditch forming part of an approach which extends from the
entrance in the north eastern part of the bailey, to the top of the motte.
The bailey is defended by an earthen rampart which is between 10m and 20m wide
and stands up to 5m above the level of the bailey. The rampart on the
northern side of the bailey was partially terraced in the late 19th century
when it formed part of the garden belonging to Castle Hill House, and a small
grotto was inserted in the north western face. Nevertheless, it retains its
overall appearance and the landscaping has not detracted from the integrity of
the bank. A 30m wide gap in the north east side represents a post-medieval
widening of the original entrance. On the south eastern side, the outer scarp
of the rampart descends 8m or so to the level of the river. In recent years
there has been some minor landscaping of this slope and some concrete steps
have been provided. An outer ditch runs up from the river on the north eastern
side of the bailey. This is about 10m wide, but its outer edge has been
altered to some extent by the curtilage wall of the Old Bridge Hotel. Where
the outer ditch approaches the Castle Moat Road it is largely infilled and
lies partly beneath the carriageway. The line of the outer ditch can be traced
as a depression up to 0.5m deep along the north western side of the bailey and
it is considered to survive as a buried feature beneath the car parks to the
rear of Huntingdon Glass showrooms and the Spiritualist Church. The interior
of the bailey retains evidence of stone buildings with grassed-over wall
footings surviving up to 0.3m in height. The most prominent of these is an
interrupted wall which flanks the southern side of the causeway leading from
the entrance to the motte. This is considered to be the frontage of a range of
buildings constructed along the south side of the old roadway forming a
continuation of Castle Hill Lane which leads towards the High Street. The
buildings occupied an area roughly 40m square in the eastern corner of the
bailey. To the south of this area the land falls away markedly.
A rectangular depression, 8m by 4m, cut into the back of the bailey in the
south east corner represents a gun platform, part of the refortification of
the castle as an artillery works during the Civil War (1642-8)
Part of the southern corner of the site was excavated in the early 1970's, in
advance of the construction of the bypass. Evidence was found demonstrating
reconstruction of the ramparts in the 17th century, and burials were located
which indicate the location of the castle chapel.
The castle has a long history of use, beginning in 1068 when it was built for
William the Conqueror following his return from York. The Domesday Book
records the castle in the possession of Judith, the niece of William I. It
later passed to David I of Scotland who, through his marriage to Maud de
Senlis, became Earl of Huntingdon in about 1113. David lent his support to his
niece, the Empress Matilda, during the 12th century civil wars known as the
Anarchy. Despite his defeat at the hands of the successful protagonist,
Stephen, David's grandson and successor Malcolm IV managed to retain the
title, albeit in exchange for the restoration of the northern English counties
to the English throne. Malcolm's brother and successor, William I of Scotland,
sided with Henry, the rebel English prince, against his father Henry II in
1173. Huntingdon Castle was besieged by the King's Justiciar, Richard de Luci,
and Simon de St Lis. However, the castle remained uncaptured for nearly a
month, eventually surrendering on the arrival of Henry II from Canterbury
where he had undertaken penance at the tomb of Thomas a Becket. Henry ordered
the castle to be dismantled, and an entry in the pipe rolls recording the cost
of hooks for pulling down the timber fortifications, suggests that his orders
were at least in part carried out. However, the castle was not destroyed,
since in 1327 a chapel within the castle was granted to Huntingdon priory. The
county gaol was maintained on the site and warders of the castle were
appointed throughout the 15th and 16th centuries; although by the mid 16th
century (when John Leyland noted that only traces of the masonry remained)
this appointment may have become largely honorary. The castle was refortified
during the English Civil War when the bailey rampart was altered to support
artillery guarding the Ouse crossing. In 1866, William, Duke of Manchester,
sold the northern part of the bailey to Mr D Veasey, of Castle Hill House who
incorporated it within an ornamental garden. The main part of the site was
also leased to Mr Veasey with the exception of a windmill standing upon the
motte and the right of way to it. Mr Veasey bought the leasehold of the mill
in 1871, and in 1875 the mill was demolished. The southern side of the castle
was destroyed in the 19th century with the construction of the railway
cutting. After the closure of the railway the route was adopted for the line
of the present A604 Huntingdon bypass. The castle is now largely within a
public park belonging to the Town Council. The fire beacon crowning the
eastern rampart was erected in 1988 to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish
Armada.
The following items are excluded from the scheduling: the electricity
substation in the northern part of the bailey; the surfaces of footpaths,
concrete steps and the bases for benches; the surfaces of Castle Moat Road and
its associated footpath, the car park of the Spiritualist Church and of The
Huntingdon Glass Company building; the wooden gate and information board at
the site entrance, the fire beacon on the bailey rampart; the wooden fence
along the south side of the monument and that to the north of the motte. The
ground beneath these features is included in order to protect buried features.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
