Longtown Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ewyas Lacy; Ewias Lacy; Newcastle; Novum Castrum

In the civil parish of Longtown. In the historic county of Herefordshire (Modern Authority of Herefordshire, 1974 county of Hereford and Worcester).

Castle extant by 1187 with the remains of a circular, two-storey, stone keep. Has a pentagonal inner bailey, with masonry curtain wall and gate, and an outer bailey 46m beyond it and a large eastern bailey beyond the modern road, enclosed by a high rampart perhaps of Roman origin. Tower excavated in 1978 but no material found which was able to date tower which may date from c.1187 or 1213-23.
Phillips is of the opinion that the 'motte', recorded in the SMR, is a mound built around the tower and that no castle existed before the building of the tower in the late C12 or early C13. The form of the bailey is suggestive of Roman origin.
Probably a late C12 replacement for the Pont Hendre castle built on an old Roman site or, just possibly, in a deliberate echo of a Roman style.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO32092916

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
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 105674
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 1036 '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.

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/longtown.html
    http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/longtown.htm
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/longtown/longtown.php#castle
    http://www.castles99.ukprint.com/Essays/longtown.html
    http://accessibility.english-heritage.org.uk/default.asp?wci=Node&wce=8027
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.345
    http://www.archenfield.com/Longtown.htm
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/longtown.html
• Books
  • Prior, Stuart, 2006, A Few Well-Positioned Castles: The Norman Art of War (Tempus) p110-164
    Phillips, Neil, 2005, Earthwork Castles of Gwent and Ergyng AD 1050-1250 (University of Wales) [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?phillips_phd_2005] p246-8
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p476
    Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern) p48-9
    Remfry, Paul M., 1997, Longtown Castle, 1048 to 1241 (SCS Publishing: Worcestershire)
    Shoesmith, Ron, 1996, Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p100
    Morriss, Richard, and Williams, Robert, 1991, Longtown, Herefordshire – Notes on the History of Longtown or Ewyas Lacy, and the structural development of its castle. (City of Hereford Archaeology Unit, Hereford Archaeology Series 104)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p208, 213
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p256
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, N., 1963, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire (Harmondsworth)
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p107-8
    Toy, Sidney, 1939, Castles: A short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600 (London) p97-8
    RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire. Vol1: south-west p182-4, 242
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p149
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Chalkley Gould, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hereford Vol1 p242
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p111-2
    Robinson, Rev C.J., 1867, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (Logaston Press, 2002 reprint) p97-100
• Journal Articles
  • Ellis, P., 1997, 'Longtown Castle: A report on excavations by J Nicholls, 1978'. Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalist Field Club Vol49.1 p64-84
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p317
    Attfield, C.E. (ed), 1978, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol35, 3/8
    Shoesmith, R. (ed), 1973, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol26, 6
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Wilson and Hurst, 1966, 'Medieval Britain in 1965: II Post-conquest' Medieval Archaeology Vol10 p199 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Stanford, S.C.,1965, 'Archaeology, Report of Sectional Recorder' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club Vol39.2 p156
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
    Renn, D.F., 1961, 'The round keeps of the Brecon region' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol110 p141 and plate
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
• Guidebooks
  • Remfry, P.M., 1997, Longtown Castle – 1048-1241 (SCS Publishing, Worcester)
• 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] p246-7