Cheveley Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Chevele; The Moats

In the civil parish of Cheveley. In the historic county of Cambridgeshire (Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire, 1974 county of Cambridgeshire).

The castle building stood on a rectangular platform which measures some 45m north west to south east by 38m, and is surrounded by a formidable V-shaped moat. The moat which was probably always dry, ranges from 20m to 25m in width and between 5m and 6m in depth. The considerable quantity of upcast from its construction must have been removed from the site as the island platform is only raised by about 1m above the level of its surroundings. The platform, or ward, was enclosed by a curtain wall of bonded flint rubble, perhaps with dressed stonework for architectural details. Fragments of the coarse stone foundations still remain visible, partly buried in a slight bank along the edges of the two longer sides, and slight rounded protrusions at the four corners clearly indicate the position of corner turrets. Three of the corner turrets are marked by rounded depressions within these projections, and the lower coarse around the outer wall of the eastern turret can still be seen. The surface of the platform is generally level showing no signs of collapsed building materials or wall foundations. It is thought that it originally contained a variety of timber structures, including the lord's main hall and other buildings such as a chapel, kitchens, store rooms and accommodation for guests and retainers, some of which were probably set against the inner face of the curtain wall. The ward has not been excavated or significantly disturbed, and the buried remains of these buildings are considered to survive well. Access to the interior was provided by a drawbridge across the centre of the north western arm of the moat. This has since been replaced by a causeway, although the rubble foundations for the bridge supports remain standing to heights of about 1.5m to either side of the causeway where it abuts the platform. The castle is thought to have been built by Sir John de Pulteney, financier and four times Mayor of London, who was granted a licence to crenellate the dwelling place of his manor in Cheveley in 1341. The resulting structure, which is the only Edwardian castle in Cambridgeshire, is more likely to have served as a mark of Pulteney's status than as a military stronghold, and to have provided a prestigious hunting lodge as the centre piece of a deer park established shortly thereafter. (EH scheduling report 1996)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL67876131

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 377410
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 01763 '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.

• Books
  • Wareham, A.F., Wright, A.P.M., 2002, 'Cheveley: Manors and estate' VCH Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Vol10 p46-9 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=18781
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern) p18
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) [Shown on map of fortified houses of East Anglia]
    Taylor, Alison, 1986, Castles of Cambridgeshire (Cambridge)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p39
    Roach, J.P.C (ed), 1967, VCH Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely Vol3 p24-25, 73
    Phillips, 1948, in Salzman, L.F. (ed), VCH Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Vol2 p15-16
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p413
• Journal Articles
  • 1894, Royal Historical Society studies in history pp298-305
    Clark, G.T., 1881, 'The castles of England and Wales at the Latter part of the Twelfth Century' The Archaeological Journal Vol38 p258-76, 336-35 esp268 http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo38brit#page/268/mode/1up
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1340-43) p331
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • English Heritage, 1996, Scheduling record Cheveley Castle, 350 north west of Old Hall Farm, SAM 27187