Gannocks Castle is located in the village of

Tempsford Tempsford is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about east north-east of the county town of Bedford. The village is split by the A1 Great North Road and is located just befo ...

, in the county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located 6 miles east of

Great Barford Castle Great Barford Castle, later known as "Creakers Manor", was a Norman castle located in the village of Great Barford, in the county of Bedfordshire, England (). Great Barford Castle was a Motte and bailey castle, made of timber, and surrounded ...

and 9 miles east of Bedford Castle.

History

Though called a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, it was in truth 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 ...

fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

with a manorial complex, built by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

in the late 12th, or early 13th, century. It was built as a rectangular ward, enclosed by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, with a

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

. The small motte, located in the north-east section of the ward, is believed to have been the site of a beacon or timber

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

. There is belief that the castle was built on the site of a 10th-century Danish Viking fort. This belief is because the

Danish Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, who had landed in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

in 865, participated in a battle at

in 921, on the possible location upon which Gannocks castle was later built, although this is conjectural.

Present

There is still some evidence of the castle, in the form of

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

, and the

still remains. Currently, the site is owned by Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is 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 ...

, protected by law. A

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the E ...

of the castle site and adjoining playing field was organised by the Friends of Gannock Castle and carried out on 29 June 2004, by geophysical

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

s, in the form of a Resistivity and

Magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

survey. A second

of the surrounding fields to the west and south of the site was organised by the Friends of Gannocks Castle, and carried out on 1 December 2006, by geophysical

s, in the form of a Fluxgate Gradiometer survey.

Restoration

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of Gannocks Castle was begun in 1998, with an opening day Medieval fair on 19 June 2006. The local

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, Mr Alistair Burt MP, was a guest speaker. The fair featured a

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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

re-enactment Reenactment or re-enactment may refer to: Legislation * Consolidation bill, a bill that consolidates several Acts of Parliament into a single Act in the United Kingdom * Repeal with reenactment, where a law is replaced with one more suitable Oth ...

group, as well as wandering

minstrels A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

and dancers. Numerous stalls were set up, with demonstrations of crafts,

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, and medieval combat. Additional improvements to the site include the installation of benches and bird/bat

boxes A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

; restoration of a wildflower area; tree and scrub management; installation of an interpretation board and creation of a 'Heritage' trail leaflet. The Heritage Trail leaflet can be downloaded from the Tempsford websites below. A

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

was built across the Gannocks Castle

, which is wet throughout the year, to allow greater access to the site. The

was not dug into the site, allowing it to be removed at a future date with no damage to the site. The site contained extensive scrub which was cleared by the Friends of Gannocks Castle, Tempsford villagers and the Ivel & Ouse Countryside Project volunteers. Specialists were used when required. The wood was logged, dried, and used as fire wood by local villagers. Smaller cuttings were mulched and spread across the site. The site is freely accessible in daylight hours. Car parking is by the side of Church Road,

and the site is signposted from the road.

External links

Local Heritage Gannock Castle Restoration PageTempsford Village website

References

{{reflist Castles in Bedfordshire Tourist attractions in Bedfordshire Scheduled monuments in Bedfordshire