Braybrooke Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Braybrok; Braibrok

In the civil parish of Braybrooke. In the historic county of Northamptonshire (Modern Authority of Northamptonshire, 1974 county of Northamptonshire).

The earthwork and buried remains of a medieval moated manor known as Braybrooke Castle and its associated enclosures and water control features. In 1304 Thomas de Latimer was granted a licence to strengthen his manor house at Braybrooke and documentary sources indicate that the moated house was constructed at this time. Described as a castle in 1361. The manor passed to the Griffin family in the early C15, but by the mid-C16 the buildings were in a poor condition. They were finally pulled down in 1633. The earthwork and buried remains of the moated site, which measures 80m square, lie within a larger rectangular enclosure which is bounded by a ditch to the east, by a ditch and bank to the south and a pond to the west and north. These enclosure ditches form part of a water managment system associated with the moated manor and include ponds, fish breeding tanks and further water channels.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP77868447

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

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 343946
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.

• Web site links
  • http://www.ecastles.co.uk/braybrooke.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p73
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p183
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p169 [slight]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p315
    RCHME, 1979, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northampton Vol2, Central Northamptonshire (HMSO) p11-13
    Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1961, Buildings of England: Northamptonshire (Penguin) p114
    Baildon, 1923, Braybrooke, its Castle, Manor and Lords (Privately printed) esp p94-100
    Downman, E.A., 1906, in Serjeantson, R.M., Ryland, W. and Adkins, D. (eds), VCH Northampton Vol2 p414-5
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p404
    Rachel Shaw, Braybrooke Castle and fishponds: teachers' guide (Northamptonshire Heritage)
• Journal Articles
  • 1971, Northamptonshire past and present p306
• 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 (1301-7) p209
    Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p336
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#norts15]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p328, 428