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Castlethorpe Castle stood in the village of
Castlethorpe Castlethorpe is a village and civil parish with a population of about 1000 in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is about north-east of Stony Stratford, north-west of Newport Pagnell and n ...
, to the north of
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. This was originally 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 ...
castle with a timber structure built by Winemar, the Flemish Lord of Hanslope in the 11th or 12th Century. It was at that time known as Hanslope Castle. The castle was destroyed in 1215 by Faulkes de Breauté during the
First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...
and was never rebuilt. Today only the earthworks remain.


Location

Castlethorpe Castle stood in the village of Castlethorpe, which was part of the manor of Hanslope in mediaeval times.“Castlethorpe Castle”
/ref> It is situated to the north of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.


History

Castlethorpe Castle belonged to lord of Hanslope and was constructed in the 12th century, or possibly slightly earlier. In 1066
William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...
granted the manor of Hanslope to Winemar the Fleming, who built the fortifications. In 1086 it was in the hundred of Bunsty and ownership was the same. During the reign of
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
it was the baronial castle of Winemar's descendant William Mauduit, chamberlain to the king. During period known as
The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...
(1138–1153) the Mauduit family, who owned the castle at that time, supported
Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
against King Stephen. In disputes between King John and the barons, Robert Mauduit sided with the barons against the king. In the autumn of 1215 Faulkes de Breauté, general of King John, attacked the castle and destroyed it, taking the manor of Hanslope. Although Robert Mauduit eventually regained the manor the castle was never rebuilt. The
Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
name Castlethorpe means “farm or secondary settlement of the castle”. The site is now a scheduled ancient monument,“Milton Keynes Local Plan”
/ref> although only earthworks remain,“Milton Keynes Council”
/ref> with no traces of masonry.“British History Online”
/ref>


Layout

The site consists of high motte (large mound of earth) with a timber keep on top. This is on the south of the inner bailey (flat enclosure) of , which is surrounded by an outer bailey and ditches up to wide and a bank. The family probably lived in hall within the inner bailey, which has entrances on the west and northwest, and there are signs that there were extensive buildings on the site


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 10 ...
*
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 ...


References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980. {{bots, deny=InternetArchiveBot Castles in Buckinghamshire