Ravenstone Castle

In the civil parish of Ravenstone With Snibstone. In the historic county of Leicestershire (Modern Authority of Leicestershire, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

Vanished. A `castle' at Ravenstone is documented in 1149-53 when, in a Treaty between the Earls of Chester and Leicester, it was agreed to destroy it. Renn locates this at SK411131, which McWhirr and Winter writes belongs to moated site and not this, otherwise unlocated, castle. PastScape record reads "Possible Medieval moat, suggested castle site, and fishponds. A castle is mentioned at Ravenstone between 1148 and 1153. Field investigation in 1972 found only a marshy tract and the fragmentary remains of fishponds. If a ditch for a moat ever existed it must have been mainly dry." Nichols (1804) writes "on the north side of the town stood an ancient castle which was destroyed... in the reign of King Henry II" This location would site the castle at or near the site of Ravenstone Hall (SK401138) which, in my opinion, would be a more likely site.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK40051395

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 920575; 1391682
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
  • Hartley, R. F., 1984, The Mediaeval Earthworks of North West Leicestershire, A survey (Leicester)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p256
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Wall, 1907, in Page, Wm, (ed), VCH Leicestershire Vol1 p264
    Nichols, J., 1804, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicestershire Vol2 p2
• Journal Articles
  • McWhirr, A.D. and Winter, M.J., 1978-79, 'Medieval Castles Additional Information' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol54 p74-75 http://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/ALRPagesfromvolumeLIV-8.pdf
    Cantor, Leonard, 1977-8, 'The Medieval Castles of Leicestershire' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol53 p37 http://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/CastlesPagesfromvolumeLIII-4.pdf