Lidgate Castle is 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 ...

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 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 ...

in the village of

Lidgate St Mary's church Lidgate is a small village and a civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. Lidgate is located on the B1063 road in between the towns of Newmarket and Clare. The population of Lidgate is around ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

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 ...

, built to an unusual quadrangular design.

Details

Lidgate Castle was built in the village of Lidgate, Suffolk, probably around 1143, during the years of the civil war 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 ...

.
Lidgate Castle
'', National Monuments Record,

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, accessed 3 July 2011. At this time King

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 u ...

was engaged in a campaign against the rebel baron Geoffrey de Mandeville, and the castle may have been built as part of the campaign to contain his advances in the region. The castle was built on a natural rise, and takes the form of an unusual, quadrangular

design.
Lidgate Castle
'', National Monuments Record,

, accessed 3 July 2011; Wall, p.600. The motte is square, 20 m across and is today around 2 m high, with two adjacent protective platforms alongside it; the main bailey to the south is protected by a protective ditch, 20 m wide and 5 m deep, and a 3.2 m high outer bank. The castle was probably abandoned in the 1260s, and at some point in the 13th or 14th century, St Mary's Church was built inside the bailey, against the earthworks. The church's nave was probably the original castle chapel – the south side of the castle was largely destroyed to make way for the growth of the village and agriculture. Today the castle 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 ...

.
Lidgate Castle
', Gatehouse website, accessed 3 July 2011.

References

Bibliography

*Bailey, Mark. (2010)
Medieval Suffolk: An Economic and Social History, 1200-1500.
' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. . *Page, William. (ed) (1911) ''The Victoria History of Suffolk, Vol. 1.'' London: University of London. *Pettifer, Adrian. (2002)
English Castles: a Guide by Counties
'' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. {{ISBN, 978-0-85115-782-5. *Wall, J. C. (1911) "Ancient Earthworks," in Page (ed) (1911). Castles in Suffolk Borough of St Edmundsbury

Details

See also

References

Bibliography