Grantham Castle

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

Supposedly a Medieval castle at Grantham was granted to Edmund, Duke of York, in 1363 and stood north east of the church near the then confluence of the Wowbeck and Witham. There is now no trace of the castle. The lack of remains might imply this was a timber castle, although at this late date that seems unlikely. A possible scenario is that the original bailey hall was replaced by Grantham House, which has some parts dating back to 1380. David Roffe informs me "Grantham Castle and defences are entirely a mis-reading of various C14 Patent Roll entries referring to the 'castle (castra) and towns of Stamford and Grantham'. There is a Castlegate in Grantham, but it is late and, I suspect, a function of conscious antiquianizing. There may have been humps and bumps in the open space to the east of the church, but these would have related to the manor house." He is of the opinion that the tenurial profile of Grantham would not favour a castle here. I still feel an early short-lived castle is a possibility in the immediate post-Conquest period, as Grantham was a significant town on the Great North Road, but the linking of a folk memory of the possible site and the grant to Edmund in the C14 is probably fanciful.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK915361

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 325641
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 30492 '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
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p69 [slight]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p265
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p227
• Journal Articles
  • Street, B., 1867, Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers Vol9 p39
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • David Roffe, 28-2-2006, pers corr