Spofforth Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Spofford

In the civil parish of Spofforth With Stockeld. In the historic county of Yorkshire West Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Rmains of C13 manor house and the buried remains of other buildings, including those of an earlier C11 residence. The extant west range is of two storeys, the oldest part being C13 undercroft. Above this is the great hall and the private rooms, built and modified in C14 and C15 after licence to crenellate was granted to Henry Percy in 1309. Underlying the deposits of the later medieval house are those of the Norman foundation. The first house on the site was built some time after 1067 by William de Percy, whose family were gifted eighty-six lordships by William the Conqueror. It remained the principal seat of the Percys until C14, when Henry Percy bought the manor of Alnwick. As his family increased in power and influence in the north-east, so the residence at Spofforth lost favour and fell into disrepair.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 330538)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE36035110

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 53376
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is MNY18703 '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.castles-abbeys.co.uk/various-pictures3.html
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/spofforth/spofforth.php#castle
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.383
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/104/spofforth.htm
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/spofforth.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p102
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p100-1
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p399, 421
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p309
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p532 [possible]
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p300-2
    Pevsner, N., 1959. The Buildings of England: Yorkshire, West Riding (London) p487-8
    Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield) p143-4
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p267-8
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p405
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1853, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol2 p234
    King, Edward, 1782, Observations on Antient Castles (London) p161-9
• Journal Articles
  • 1934, Archaeological Journal Vol91 p389
• Guidebooks
  • Bunnett, R.J.A., Weaver, O.J. and Gilyard-Beer, R., 1965, Spofforth Castle (HMSO)
• 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 (1307-13) p144
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p562
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Humble, E., 2003. Yorkshire courtyard castles and social identities c 1360 - 1420: ambitions and anxieties (University of York)