List of castles in Gloucestershire
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There are numerous castles in Gloucestershire, a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...
. They consist of motte-and-baileys, 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 ...
s,
ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the sit ...
, and ring-mottes. A motte-and-bailey castle has two elements, the motte is an artificial conical mound with a wooden stockade and stronghold on top, usually a stone keep or tower. A bailey is a defended enclosure below the motte, surrounded by a ditch. Motte-and-bailey castles were the most common type of castle in England following 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 Con ...
. Ringworks are similar to motte-and-baileys although lack the characteristic motte; across England they are an uncommon form of fortification but were popular in the west of Gloucestershire in the 11th century. A ring-motte is a ring-work with a raised centre. A shell keep was a motte with a stone wall rather than a wooden stockade on top; there would have been no tower within the walls. The first wave of castle building in Gloucestershire occurred after the Norman invasion of 1066, with
William FitzOsbern William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford ...
, the Earl of Hereford, given the initial responsibility for occupying Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and probably Worcestershire. FitzOsbern probably built the first castle at Gloucester, and pushed westwards to build the castle at
Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...
; other early castles were built in the
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...
to shield the city of Gloucester from Welsh incursions. Many of these castles were abandoned soon after the conquest as security improved. To the south of Gloucestershire,
Bristol Castle Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the reign of William the Conqueror, and later owned by Ro ...
formed the next substantial fortification, with another network of castles in Herefordshire providing defence to the north. After the fall of FitzOsbern's son, Walter de Gloucester rose to power in the region, followed by his son, Miles de Gloucester.Walker, p.10. In the final years before the outbreak of the civil war of the Anarchy, the Gloucesters were extensively developing their primary castle at Gloucester. Gloucester was a key battleground in the conflict from 1139–53 between the rival rulers of
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 Empress Matilda. Warfare in England at the time centred on castles and attrition warfare and the largely pro-Angevin supporters of Matilda in Gloucestershire responded with a rush of castle-building. Many of these were destroyed by Stephen during the war, or after the conflict when Henry II attempted to restore royal control over these critical fortifications, although recent scholarship has indicated that less Gloucestershire castles were destroyed in the 1150s than once thought. In the 13th and 14th century, fortified manor houses became a more popular form of fortification. By the 16th century, most Gloucestershire castles were in disuse, although some, such as Gloucester and
St Briavels St Briavels (pronounced ''Brevels'', once known as 'Ledenia Parva' (Little Lydney)), is a medium-sized village and civil parish in the Royal Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England; close to the England-Wales border, and south of Colef ...
remained in use as administrative centres or gaols. Several castles in Gloucestershire were damaged or
slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...
in the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
from 1642–9. In the 18th and 19th century, prison reform brought an end to the use of Gloucestershire castles as gaols, leaving only a handful of occupied castles as private homes in the 21st century.Heighway, p.143; Thomas, p.59.


List of castles


References


Bibliography

*Amt, Emilie. (1993)
The Accession of Henry II in England: royal government restored, 1149-1159.
' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. . *Bradbury, Jim. (2009) ''Stephen and Matilda: the Civil War of 1139-53.'' Stroud, UK: The History Press. . *Clarke, Benjamin. (1852)
The British Gazetteer: Political, Commercial, Ecclesiastical, and Historical.
' London: Collins. *Curnow, P.E. and E.A. Johnson. (1985) "St Briavels Castle," in ''Chateau Gaillard: études de castellologie médiévale.'' Caen: Centre de Recherches Archéologiques Médiévales. . *Friar, Stephen. (2003) ''The Sutton Companion to Castles.'' Stroud: Sutton Publishing. . *Heighway, Carolyn. (1985) ''Gloucester: a History and Guide.'' Gloucester, UK: Alan Sutton. . *King, David James Cathcart. (1988) ''The Castle in England and Wales: an Interpretive History.'' Beckenhem, UK: Croom Helm. . *Lindley, E. S. (1954) "Wotton under Edge Notes," in ''Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society'', 1954, Vol 73. *Pettifer, Adrian. (1995)
English Castles: A Guide by Counties.
' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. . *Pounds, Norman John Greville. (1990) ''The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . *Remfry, P.M. ''Saint Briavels Castle, 1066 to 1331.'' Worcester, UK: SCS Publishing. . *Renn, Derek Frank. (1968)
Norman castles in Britain.
' London: Baker. *Rowley, Trevor. (1997) ''Norman England.'' Batsford and English Heritage. . *Rushford and Knowles. (1931)
Proceedings at the Annual Meeting held at Cirencester
" in ''Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society'', 1931, Vol. 52. *Scott-Garrett, C.
Littledean Camp
" in ''Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society'', 1958, Vol. 77. *Steane, John M. (1985)
The Archaeology of Medieval England and Wales, Volume 1985, Part 2.
' Beckenhem, UK: Croom Helm. . *Thomas, William Heard. (1839) ''Tinterne and its Vicinity.'' Bristol: Hamilton and Adams. *Verey, David and Alan Brooks. (2002) ''Pevsner Architectural Guide, Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean.'' New Haven, US: Yale University Press. . *Walker, David.
Gloucestershire Castles
" in ''Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society'', 1991, Vol. 109.


Further reading

*Rawes, Barbara. (1977)
A check list of castles and other fortified sites of medieval date in Gloucestershire
" in ''Glevensis'', 1977, Vol 11. {{bots, deny=InternetArchiveBot History of Gloucestershire *
Castles 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 ...
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...