Wressle Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Wressill; Wreshil

In the civil parish of Wressle. In the historic county of Yorkshire East Riding (Modern Authority of East Riding of Yorkshire, 1974 county of Humberside).

Moated castle constructed 1380-90 for Sir Henry Percy, it fell into decay by 1537 and was largely demolished in 1650 by an act of parliament, except for the south range, which was occupied until 1796. The medieval moat survives as an earthwork, with some ruins of the castle still standing. Another moat lies to the north of the first moat, originally visible as an earthwork, but levelled and visible as a cropmark on later photography. There is some suggestion of internal features within the moated enclosure. The precise square form of this moated enclosure suggests it is a formal garden moat and terraced area.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 165373)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE70683154

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 59470
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website, or elsewhere.

• Books
  • Hislop, M., 2007, John Lewyn of Durham: a medieval mason in practice (Oxford: John and Erica Hedges: BAR British series no438)
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p112-3
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p88-9
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p414
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p282
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p528
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p230
    Loughlin, Neil and Miller, Keith, 1979, A survey of archaeological sites in Humberside carried out for the Humberside Joint Archaeological Committee p45
    Le Patourel, H.E. Jean, 1973, The Moated Sites of Yorkshire (The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph Series 5) p6, 117
    Pevsner N., 1972, Buildings of England: York and the East Riding (London)
    Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield) p144-5
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p275-7
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p212-3
    Savage, 1805, History of the Castle and Parish of Wressle (London)
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol6 p164-71
• Journal Articles
  • Neave, D., 1984, 'Wressle Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol141 p 58-60
    Bilson, J., 1913, 'Proceedings in 1912, Wressle Castle', The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol22 p182-93
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p503
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/yorkseng.html#yorks32]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p538-9, 568
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p52-3 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl01lelauoft