Montfichet's Tower (also known as Montfichet's Castle and/or spelt Mountfitchet's or Mountfiquit's) was a Norman fortress on

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. The area include ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, between where

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

and

City Thameslink railway station City Thameslink is a central London railway station within the City of London, with entrances on Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct. The station is on the Thameslink route between to the south and to the north. The station opened in 1990 t ...

now stand. First documented in the 1130s, it was probably built in the late 11th century. The defences were strengthened during the revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II. It was demolished in 1213 by King John and the site sold in 1275 to build the great Dominican priory of Blackfriars. Archaeological excavations in 1986–90 uncovered waste pits and the remains of ditches between Carter Lane and Ludgate Hill.

Background

Today the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds an ...

has been reduced to a trickle in a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

under New Bridge Street that emerges under

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Ch ...

, but before the development of London it was the biggest river in the area, after the Thames. It formed the western boundary of the Roman city of London and the strategic importance of the junction of the Fleet and the Thames means that the area was probably fortified from early times. The Normans reinforced the area by building two castles inside the Roman walls that ran north–south, giving their name to the street of

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

and then roughly following the modern Blackfriars Lane down to the Thames.

Baynard's Castle Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard ( 1086), 1st feudal ...

was built where the wall met the river overlooking the mouth of the Fleet, roughly where the Bank of New York's Mellon Centre stands at 160 Queen Victoria Street. Montfichet's Tower was further north on

overlooking the strategic route west, through

Ludgate Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished in 1760. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of Fleet Street, Ludgate Circus and Ludgate Square. Etym ...

and over the Fleet, that would become

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

Construction

Little is known about the construction of Montfichet's Tower. The first documentary evidence is a reference to the lord of Montfichet's Tower in a charter of c1136 in relation to river rights. cited by Watson The tower was probably built in the late 11th century; the name appears to derive from the

Montfichet family The de Montfitchet (de Montfichet, de Mountfitchet) family were of Norman origin, probably from the town of Montfiquet. He received land in Essex in reward for his service and the family were subsequently based there, initially in the castle at St ...

from

Stansted Mountfitchet Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census. The v ...

in Essex, who occupied the tower in the 12th century. A William Mountfichet lived during the reign (1100–1135) 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 N ...

and witnessed a charter for the sheriffs of London. The 16th-century historian

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The ...

ascribes construction to a Baron of Mountfichet, who came to England during the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

Stow is an important source for the medieval history of London, but wrote in an era before standardisation of spelling; he spells ''Montfichet'' as ''Mountfiquit''.

Montfiquet Montfiquet () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 528 communes An intentional community is a ...

is a village in Normandy between

Bayeux Bayeux () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England. It is also known as the first major tow ...

and Saint-Lô. The family built

Stansted Mountfitchet Castle Stansted Mountfitchet Castle, also termed simply Mountfitchet Castle, is a Norman ringwork and bailey fortification in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England. The site is currently in use as a Living history museum. History The castle ...

at Stansted Mountfitchet, which has now been recreated as a tourist attraction; the two castles are easily confused, particularly given the variable spelling of Montfichet/Mountfitchet in documents. The last mention of the tower as a place of military significance comes in

Jordan Fantosme Jordan Fantosme (died c. 1185) was an Anglo-Norman historian and poet. He was a cleric and probably the spiritual chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester. His major work is an Anglo-Norman verse chronicle of the war between Henry II of England ...

's chronicle of the revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II. Fantosme relates how Gilbert de Munfichet (sic) strengthened his castle in London and become allies with "Clarreaus"identified as his cousin

Walter Fitz Robert Walter Fitz Robert of Woodham Walter (c. 1124–1198), lord of Little Dunmow, Essex, was steward under Stephen of England, having succeeded to that position upon the death of his father, Robert Fitz Richard. Walter died in 1198 and was buried at ...

of Baynard's Castle, grandson of the Lord of Clare.

King John

Robert Fitzwalter Robert FitzwalterAlso spelled Fitzwater, FitzWalter, fitzWalter, etc. (died 9 December 1235) was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition against King John, and one of the twenty-five sureties of ''Magna Carta''. He was feudal baron of Lit ...

of Baynard's Castle was the leader of the barons' revolt against King John which culminated in the

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...

of 1215. Fitzwalter plotted against King John in 1212, but John got wind of the plot and exiled Fitzwalter. Fitzwalter fled to France and on 14 January 1213 King John destroyed Castle Baynard. Stow reports that Robert Montfichet was also banished in 1213 and at least one of the Montfichet castles was demolished. Fitzwalter was forgiven under the terms of the king's submission to

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

in May 1213. His estates were restored on 19 July 1213 and according to Stow he was given licence to repair Castle Baynard. It is not clear to what extent either castle was rebuilt after 1213, or indeed whether the sites were amalgamated in some way. The tower was certainly in ruins by 1278, according to a deed drawn up between the Bishop of London, the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's and the Dominicans about the proposed locations of the new friary church.Watson cites a document copied into the ''Liber Pilosus'' of St Paul's, Guildhall Library MS 25,501, f107.

Blackfriars priory

In 1275Stow (1598), pp269-283. Kingsford'
notes
on Stow's text. Fitzwalter's grandson, also called Robert, was given licence to sell Baynard's Castle to

Robert Kilwardby Robert Kilwardby ( c. 1215 – 11 September 1279) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in England and a cardinal. Kilwardby was the first member of a mendicant order to attain a high ecclesiastical office in the English Church. Life Kilwardby s ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

for the precinct of the great Dominican Priory at Blackfriars that started construction in 1276.Page (1923) p139 Montfichet's Tower was included in the sale. The building of the priory required the Roman walls to be rerouted in 1282, and the military functions of the castles were taken up by a new "tower" in the river at the end of the walls. Started under the great castle-builder Edward I, it was completed during the reign of Edward II (1307–1327) and demolished in 1502. The Bishop of London had first pick of the stones for the 'New Work' (1256–1314) reconstructing

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, the cathedral was perhaps the fourth ...

. The remainder were used in the construction of the new priory church.

Archaeology

The deed of 1278 mentioned above provides the best documentary evidence for the location of Montfichet's Tower. It makes it clear that the tower was between

and the river, inside the line of the city walls. Baynard's Castle lay to the south, adjacent to

St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe is a Church of England church located on Queen Victoria Street, London in the City of London, near Blackfriars station. History First mentioned around 1170, St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe was almost certainly founded consi ...

. A 1980s study of the topography of medieval London suggested a location bounded by Ludgate Hill and Carter Lane to the north and south, and St Paul's deanery and the city wall to the east and west respectively. Cited by Watson, see also the External Links section below. Redevelopment gave the Department of Urban Archaeology of the Museum of London the opportunity to excavate the area, between 1986 and 1990. They found two ditches running east–west on the north side of Carter Lane, between 52–66, interpreted as the southern defences of the tower. There was of an earlier ditch, estimated at deep originally, and of a later, V-shaped ditch that was about wide and deep originally. Another ditch was found on Ludgate Hill, some north of the southern ditches. It was estimated at wide and deep originally. Pits and a well were found between the ditches, interpreted as the bailey of the castle, but no sign of a keep or other masonry. Watson suggests that a motte and keep may have existed to the east of the Ludgate Hill entrance of Ludgate Square.

Notes and references

External links

* Has Mary Lobel's reconstructions of maps of the area in c1270 (Figure 4 on p36) * * {{coord , 51, 30, 49, N, 0, 6, 5, W, type:landmark_region:GB-LND, display=title Castles in London Former buildings and structures in the City of London Medieval London