Castle Bytham

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Biham; Bitham

In the civil parish of Castle Bytham. In the historic county of Lincolnshire (Modern Authority of Lincolnshire, 1974 county of Lincolnshire).

Surface traces of stone buildings are visible on the mound and in the bailey area. The Motte consists of a large mound measuring 100m by 80m with a flattened rectangular area in the centre. A small mound exactly opposite the entrance to the motte may be the site of a Keep. The suggested Keep and Motte are surrounded by a ditch. The bailey is approximately 155m by 80m, and is surrounded by a large ditch roughly 15m wide. There are additional defensive banks along the top of the bailey. The Castle was first mentioned in 1141 when it was owned by William le Gros, who may have founded it. Stone defences were added by William de Fortibus, an infamous robber baron. Henry III captured and destroyed the Castle in 1221, but it was rebuilt by William de Colville. There is also a rectangular embanked enclosure, within the bailey, which may have enclosed some buildings. and may represent a village enclosure. (qv)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK99071859

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 325283
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 30059 '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.ecastles.co.uk/bytham.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p47
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p142
    Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p40-1
    Pevsner, Nikolaus and John Harris; revised by Nicholas Antram, 1989, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Harmondsworth) p493
    White, A.J., 1983, Six Lincolnshire Castle: A visitors Guide (Lincolnshire Museums)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p260
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p197
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Stenton, F.M., 1932, The First Century of English Feudalism (Oxford) p144
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p429-32
    Wild, J., 1871, History of Castle Bytham (Stamford)
• Journal Articles
  • Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p312
    King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
    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
• 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] p289-90
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/lincseng.html#lincs14]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p287
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p23 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl01lelauoft
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • English Heritage, 1996, Revised Scheduling Document 22714 MPP23