Sturminster Newton Castle is a site consisting of the remains of a medieval manor house within an Iron Age hillfort, near

Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England. The ruins are privately owned.

Description

The manor house is thought to date from the 14th century. The southern end of the building survives as a two-storey ruin with no roof; it is probably the service range of the house, with a room above that is perhaps a

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

. It is built of rubble with ashlar dressings. Architectural details can be seen, such as a fireplace in the supposed solar, and arched doorways. South-west of the ruin there is level ground, perhaps the site of the garden of the manor house.'Sturminster Newton', in ''An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central'' (London, 1970), pp. 269-286
British History Online. Retrieved 12 September 2021. The medieval ruins are within the earthwork remains of an

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 ...

promontory fort A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to da ...

. The fort, area about , is on a steep-sided triangular spur of

corallian limestone The Corallian Group or Corallian Limestone is a geologic group in England. It is predominantly a coralliferous sedimentary rock, laid down in the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic. It is a hard variety of "coral rag". Building stones from this geol ...

next to the River Stour to the north, and with a deep

combe A combe (; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through wh ...

to the east and south. There is a curved rampart, up to high and wide, with an outer bank up to deep and wide. It separates the triangular spur from land to the west."Portly and strong"
''Dorset Life'', April 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2021.

History

The manor house is that of the manor of Newton; it was given to

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

by King

Edmund Ironside Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by ...

in 1016. The manor of Sturminster, north of the river, had been given to the Abbey by King

Edgar the Peaceful Edgar ( ang, Ēadgār ; 8 July 975), known as the Peaceful or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. The younger son of King Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, he came to the throne as a teenager following ...

in 968. The manor house was rebuilt in the 14th century, as recorded by the Abbot of Glastonbury, Walter de Monyton (1342–1375). The manor was retained by the Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539."Sturminster Castle: the house of Neweton"
''Dorset Life'', September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2021. By 1562, only the manor house and surrounding lands formed the Newton Estate. In subsequent documents it was referred to as an "impropriate rectory" or "impropriate parsonage", being an ecclesiastical property owned by a layman. The manor house was occupied until 1834, but was a ruin by the late 19th century.

References

{{Reflist Scheduled monuments in Dorset Archaeological sites in Dorset Grade II* listed buildings in Dorset Castles in Dorset Hill forts in Dorset