Beaudesert Castle was on a high mound overlooking the village of
Beaudesert to the east of
Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden (also known as simply Henley) is a town in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date ...
,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
(). It is a
scheduled ancient monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
The remains found on the site show that it was originally an Iron Age fort which gave the mount its ancient name, Donnilee. The hilltop and the surrounding area was "sculpted" to form a
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...
fortification with its timber Hall following the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
. It was followed by the construction of a stone castle. According to sources it was Thurston De Montfort who built the stone castle here in 1140 during the reign of Henry II, and it remained the De Montfort seat for more than a hundred years. Peter de Montfort also resided at the castle. The Earl of Warwick took possession of the De Montfort's land in approximately 1369, and subsequently the castle's importance declined. According to some accounts it was repaired in 1411 but later abandoned. During the early years of the War of the Roses, between York and Lancaster, the castle, which was then unoccupied and had fallen into disrepair, was dismantled, and its heavy timbers were, according to some sources, used for the construction of stately houses at Henley. A single stone and earthworks remain today, along with evidence of two fishponds and some remains of the motte and bailey fortification.
The site was investigated by the archaeologists of ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
'' in
series 9
The ninth series of the children's television series '' Hi-5'' aired between 11 June 2007 and 10 August 2007 on the Nine Network in Australia. The series was produced by Kids Like Us for Nine with Helena Harris as executive producer.
This was t ...
(2002).
''Time Team''; programme 11 of series 9
/ref>
See also
*Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050 ...
*List of castles in England
This list of castles in England is not a list of every building and site that has "castle" as part of its name, nor does it list only buildings that conform to a strict definition of a castle as a medieval fortified residence. It is not a li ...
Notes
{{Authority control
Castles in Warwickshire
Scheduled monuments in Warwickshire