Old Sarum Castle, formerly known as Seresberi Castle, is an 11th century

motte-and-bailey castle 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, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

built in

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. It was originally built in timber and it was eventually built in stone, of which the ruins can be seen today. Only the mound and foundations of the castle survive today. The castle is owned by the

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 ...

and it is open to the public, along with the rest of Old Sarum.

History

In 1069, after recognising the defensive qualities of Seresberi, now known as Old Sarum,

William the Conqueror 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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

built a motte-and-bailey castle within an older

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

known as ''Sorviodunum'', constructed around 400 BC. The courtyard was added around 1100 by Bishop Roger and he also began work on a royal palace during the 1130s, prior to his arrest by Henry's successor

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

. and directed the

royal administration Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and

exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

along with his extended family. This palace was long thought to have been the small structure whose ruins are located in the small central bailey; it may, however, have been the large palace recently discovered in the southeast quadrant of the outer bailey.Keys, David
"Archaeologists find vast medieval palace buried under prehistoric fortress at Old Sarum"
in ''The Independent'', 3 Dec 2014. Accessed 1 Jan 2015. This palace was , surrounded a large central courtyard, and had walls up to thick. A room was probably a

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...

and there seems to have been a large tower. At the time of Roger's arrest by , the bishop administered the castle on the king's behalf;''A Description...'' (1774)
p. 2
it was thereafter allowed to fall into disrepair but the sheriff and castellan continued to administer the area under the king's authority.Storer, James
''History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Churches of Great Britain'', Vol. IV, p. 73
Rivingtons (London), 1819. Old Sarum Castle reconstruction

In 1171, King Henry II ordered that improvements are made to Old Sarum (which last until 1189), including a new gatehouse, drawbridge, inner bailey walls and a treasury constructed within the keep of the castle. In addition to this work refurbishment of the quarters for Queen

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

are completed for the period of her house arrest at Old Sarum, which would last also until 1189. Following continued repairs and maintenance, a new hall, kitchen and bakehouse are built for the sheriff starting from 1201 and ending before 1215. After most of the population of Old Sarum had relocated to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

by 1220, the castle became unused and was in ruins by 1240 but it was eventually repaired, only to be demolished by King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

in 1322.No. 1248682: "Remains of Old Sarum castle and cathedral"
English Heritage (London), 2014. Accessed 3 Jan 2015. Edward III eventually ordered £700 to be spent on repairs and maintenance of the castle within Old Sarum around 1350, but the additional £600 required to repair the keep was never spent and the state of the castle started to deteriorate over time. The castle grounds were sold by in 1514."Old Sarum archaeologists reveal plan of medieval city"
at the BBC. 3 Dec 2014. Accessed 2 Jan 2015. Old Sarum castle ditch

The site of the castle and

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

ruins at Old Sarum are considered a highly important

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

monument: it was among the 26

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

locations scheduled by the 1882 Ancient Monuments Protection Act,Ancient Monuments Protection Act, 1882 5 & 46 Vict. Ch. 73 reprinted in Robert Hunter's ''The Preservation of Places of Interest or Beauty'', App. A: "The Ancient Monument Protection Acts", p. 37. University Press (Manchester), 1907. Hosted at

Wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...

. Accessed 3 Jan 2014. the first such British legislation. That protection has subsequently continued, expanding to include some suburban areas west and south-east of the outer bailey.No. 1015675: "Old Sarum"
English Heritage (London), 2014. Accessed 3 Jan 2015. It was also

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

as a Grade I site in 1972. Old Sarum Castle, along with the cathedral ruins, is now administered by

. Its paved

carpark A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

and grass overflow carpark are located in the eastern area of the outer bailey.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century Castles in Wiltshire Motte-and-bailey castles Grade I listed castles