Elmley Castle was a late 11th-century earthwork and timber castle which received stone additions in the 12th and possibly 13th centuries, located south of the village of

Elmley Castle Elmley Castle is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, in England, United Kingdom. It is located on the north side of Bredon Hill 3 miles south east of Pershore in the local government district of Wychavon. Amenities and history It ha ...

and southeast of the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

. Nothing but the earthworks survive.

History

The ruins of this important

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle, built within the former manor of Elmley, are located on the flanks of

Bredon Hill Bredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The summit of the hill is in the parish of Kemerton, and it extends over parts of eight other parishes (listed below). The hill is geologically par ...

, 1/2 mile to the south of the village to which it gives its name. The site is likely to have been an Iron Age camp, close to other Conderton. The castle is believed to have been built by Robert ''le Despenser'' d'Abetot, Steward to King William II. Robert died childless in about 1098, when his sole heir was his brother

Urse d'Abetot Urse d'Abetot ( - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the ...

( 1040 –1108), first feudal baron of

Salwarpe Salwarpe is a small village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England, less than two miles south west of Droitwich, but in open country. The name is also spelled Salwarp, and in the time of John Leland was recorded as S ...

Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the ...

in about 1069, whose daughter Emmeline married Walter de Beauchamp. It remained the seat of the Beauchamp family until 1268 when

William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick (c. 1238 – 1298) was the eldest of eight children of William de Beauchamp of Elmley and his wife Isabel de Mauduit. He was an English nobleman and soldier, described as a “vigorous and innovative mili ...

inherited the Earldom of Warwick together with

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...

from his maternal uncle William Maudit, 8th Earl of Warwick. Thereafter, Elmley Castle remained a secondary possession of the Earls of Warwick until it was surrendered to the Crown in 1487. In 1528 the Castle seems to have been still habitable, as Walter Walshe was then appointed constable and keeper. In 1544, prior to its grant by the Crown to Sir William Herbert and Christopher Savage, a survey was made of the manor and castle of Elmley which found that the castle was completely uncovered and in decay. John Leland wrote at about this time: :''"Ther stondithe now but one tower, and that partly broken. As I went by I saw carts carienge stone thens to amend Persore (

Pershore Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town is ...

) Bridge about ii miles of. It is set on the tope of a hill full of wood, and a townelet hard by."'' Only earthworks now survive, which are designated as a

Scheduled 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 outline of the former medieval deer park surrounding the castle survives.

References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980. * * ;Notes Castles in Worcestershire {{England-castle-stub

History

See also

References