Oxford Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Jews Mount; St Georges Tower

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

Motte and bailey founded 1071, later shell keep. Ruinous by 1331. The site was largely cleared and new buildings completed in 1805. Although built on an uninhabited site excavation has revealed numerous Saxon pits and traces of habitation under the motte where C10 pottery was found. A secular college, St George in the Castle, was founded 1074 and absorbed by Osney Abbey 1144. The abbey established a college for scholars as well as chaplains circa 1480. Dissolved 1539. The crypt remains, but it has been demolished and reconstructed first in 1794 and again in 1848. Masonry defences now mainly gone except for unusual St Georges Tower, which may be Saxon in origin.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 245997; 245996; 246003)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP509063

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 1121224; 338353
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 3637; 3201; 6093; 6089 and others '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.oxfordcastle.com/oxford_castle_history.html
    http://www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk/
    http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/index/things_to_do/oxfordshire_museums_service/oxfordcastleprison.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/164/oxfordcastle.htm
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/oxford.html
• Books
  • Davies, M.J., 2005, Stories of Oxford Castle: From Dungeon to Dunghill (Oxford Towpath Press)
    Gravett, C., 2003, Norman Stone Castles 1 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing) p43-4
    Dodd, Anne (ed), 2003, Oxford before the university: the late Saxon and Norman archaeology of the Thames crossing, the defences and the town (Oxford Archaeology: Thames Valley landscape monograph 17) [esp chap4 by Julian Munby and David Wilkinson]
    Creighton, O., 2002, Castles and Landscapes (London and New York: Continuum) p134-5
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p73
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p205-6
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p386
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p273
    Cooper, J., 1979, ‘Castle’, in Crossley, A. (ed), VCH Oxfordshire Vol4, The City of Oxford (OUP for the Institute of Historical Research) p296-300 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22809
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p771-5
    RCHME, 1939, Inventory-City of Oxford (HMSO) p156-8 plates 211-13
    Squires, 1928, In West Oxford (London and Oxford) p52-84
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p41-4
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p180-1
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England (New York: Macmillan) Vol1 p159-163 http://www.archive.org/stream/castlesofengland01mack#page/159/mode/1up
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p408-10 http://www.archive.org/details/abbeyscastlesanc00timbrich
    Ackermann, Rudolph, 1814, History of Oxford
    King, Edward, 1796, Vestiges of Oxford Castle (London)
    Buck, Samual and Buck, Nathaniel, 1774, Buck's Antiquities or Venerable remains of above four hundred castles, monasteries, palaces etc. Vol2 (London) p241
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol4 p182-5
    Burghers, M., 1719, Conspectus Quadruplex Castri sive arcis oxoniensis
• Journal Articles
  • 2006, South Midlands Archaeology Vol36 p48-9
    Guy, Neil, 2005-6, 'Oxford Castle' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol 19 p152-178
    2005-6, 'Oxford Castle Redevelopment' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol 19 p118-21
    2005, South Midlands Archaeology Vol35 p83-4
    2004, South Midlands Archaeology Vol34 p71-2
    2003, South Midlands Archaeology Vol33 p77
    Booth, P., 2003, 'The west gate of Oxford Castle: excavations at Boreham's Yard, Tidmarsh Lane, Oxford, 1994-1995' Oxoniensia Vol68 p363-422
    2000, South Midlands Archaeology Vol30 p67-8
    1995, South Midlands Archaeology Vol25 p60, 67
    1992, South Midlands Archaeology Vol22 p50
    Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106 p371-392 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28199104%29106%3A419%3C371%3AAHOCRI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q
    1990, South Midlands Archaeology Vol20 p86
    1989, South Midlands Archaeology Vol19 p53
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' The Archaeological Journal Vol143 p309, 315
    Youngs, S.M. and Clark, J., 1981, ‘Medieval Britain in 1980' Medieval Archaeology Vol25 p212 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1979, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol9 p130-2
    Hassall, T.G., 1978, ‘Oxford Castle' The Archaeological Journal Vol135 p268-9
    1977, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol7 p56
    Hassall, T.G., 1976, 'Excavations at Oxford Castle , 1965-1973' Oxoniensia Vol41 p232-308
    1974, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol4 p23
    Hassall, T.G., 1973, Oxoniensia Vol38 p280-5
    Hassall, T.G., 1971, Oxoniensia Vol36 p9-10
    1971, Medieval Archaeology Vol15 p148 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1971, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol1 p23-4
    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
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
    Jope, E.M., 1952, 'Late Saxon Pits under Oxford Castle Mound: Excavations in 1952' Oxoniensia Vol17 p77-111
    Lynam, Charles, 1911, 'The Crypts of the Churches of St Peter in the East, and of St George within the Castle, Oxford' The Archaeological Journal Vol68 p209-17
    Hope, W.H.St John, 1910, The Archaeological Journal Vol67 p363-6
    Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol46 p197-217 esp210 http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo46brit#page/197/mode/1up
    Parker, 1886, Oxford Architectural Society [new ser] Vol5 p14-20
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1851, 'The castle, and 'the provisions of Oxford'' The Archaeological Journal Vol8 p354-65
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1850, Archaeological Institute p135-43
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Annales monasterii de Oseneia (1016-1297) in Annales Monastici IV p. 9. Cottonian Library
    The Anglo-saxon Chronicle; Laud Chronicle AD1140 http://omacl.org/Anglo/ [Text based on Everyman Press edn of 1912]
    Sewell, R.C. (ed), 1846, Gesta Stephani, Regis Anglorum et Ducis Normannorum p88 http://books.google.com/books?id=MK8KAAAAYAAJ
    Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p384-8
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/gloceng.html#oxon11]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p365