Beaumys Castle, also known as Beams Castle, was a 14th-century fortified
manor house in the parish of
Swallowfield
Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, about south of Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire.
Geography
The civil parish of Swallowfield also includes the nearby villages of Riseley and Farley Hi ...
in the
English county of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.
History
Beaumys Castle was a manor in the parish of Swallowfied, given to Sir
Nicholas de la Beche in 1335. De la Beche received a
licence to crenellate in 1338 and produced a fortified
manor house.
[Mackenzie, p.170.] The castle was rectangular, protected by earthworks approximately 130m by 110m across, surrounded by a water-filled moat, with the castle accessed from an entrance to the north-west.
Beaumys Castle Monument No. 237298
'', National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 18 August 2012.
De la Beche died, leaving the manor to his wife Margery, who in turn remarried,
to Thomas Arderne.
On Arderne's death in 1347, however, John de Dalton and a small group of followers broke into the castle, where they killed Michael de Poynings, an important nobleman; terrified
Lionel, the son of
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
who was staying there at the time; stole £1,000 worth of goods, and seized Margaret, whom, as a wealthy widow, was forced to marry John.
The surrounding manor was broken up in 1420; the surviving earthworks are a
scheduled monument.
Beaumys Castle
'', National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 13 June 2011
See also
*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
*
List of castles in England
Bibliography
*MacKenzie, James Dixon. (1896/2009) ''The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure.'' General Books LLC. .
References
External links
Investigation History
{{Authority control
Castles in Berkshire
Borough of Wokingham