Bampton Ham Court

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bampton Castle

In the civil parish of Bampton. In the historic county of Oxfordshire (Modern Authority of Oxfordshire, 1974 county of Oxfordshire).

The gatehouse and curtain wall of an early C14 castle built for Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1315. The castle was adapted into a dwelling in C17, and was extended in C18 and C19. A documentary source of C17 describes the castle as being quadrangular in plan and moated, with towers at the corners and gatehouses to the east and west, and possibly to the north and south. The west gatehouse and the lodging range adjoining it to the north were converted into a farmhouse before 1660 and the remainder of the castle was subsequently demolished. The upper floor of the gatehouse was dismantled some time before 1821, leaving a two storey structure. The farmhouse was extended before 1876 by the addition of a two storey extension to the south, behind the curtain wall. The early C14 castle may have succeeded an earlier house on the site, built circa 1256.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP30960306

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 334520
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 4591; 25117 '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/bampton.html
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p55-8
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p63
    Crossley, Alan, and Currie, C.R.J. (eds), 1996, 'Bampton and Weald: Manors and castle' VCH Oxfordshire Vol13 p23-5 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=15915
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p203
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p385
    Pevsner, N. and Sherwood, J., 1974, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (London) p433
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p28
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Potts, W., 1907, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Oxfordshire Vol2 p331
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p149-50
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p407
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1853, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol2 p260
• Journal Articles
  • Blair, J., 1988, ‘The Bampton research project: second report, 1986–8' South Midlands Archaeology Vol18 p89–93
    Youngs, S.M. et al, 1988 ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1987' Medieval Archaeology Vol32 p268-9 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1986, South Midlands Archaeology Vol16 p88-9
    1946 July 19, Country Life p120-1
• Guidebooks
  • Blair, J., 1988, Bampton Castle. (Oxford: J. Blair)
• 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 (1313-17) p278