Brandon Castle

In the civil parish of Brandon and Bretford. In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Warwickshire, 1974 county of Warwickshire).

Very extensive earthworks marking the site of an important Medieval castle which formerly stood here. Defences appear to have consisted mainly of broad moats and sheets of water dammed by artificial banks and fed by sluices from the Avon. earthworks cover 1.8 or 2.1 ha. The central moated mound, upon which the castle itself stood, is an almost square plateau which contains 0.4 ha; it has irregular additions and another small square on the E side; only fragments of walls of masonry now survive, and Dugdale wrote of it as 'moats and heaps of rubbish'. Built in C12 and long the seat of the Verdon family; it was garrisoned in 1195. Waterworks were probably strengthened in 1226 by Nicholas de Verdon. It is said to have been 'pulled down' by the baronial troops from Kenilworth castle in 1265 because John de Verdon was an active supporter of the king. In 1279 a castle and a park are recorded and it was still used as a residence in 1309, but how much later it continued to function is uncertain. Excavations in 1947 uncovered a small rectangular keep which surmounts a moated mount. Dugdale noted moats and heaps of rubbish when he visited the site in 1656. Finds recovered from the excavations included pottery, iron objects and coins.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP408759

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 337610
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 4251; 5547 '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.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/140/brandoncastle.htm
    http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA4251
    http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA5547
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/brandon.html
• Books
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p263 [slight]
    Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p32
    Salter, Mike, 1992, Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire (Malvern) p20
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p481
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p194
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Salzman, L.F. (ed), 1951 VCH Warwickshire Vol6 p273-6
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Willoughby Gardner, 1904, in Doubleday, H.A. and Page, Wm (eds), VCH Warwickshire Vol1 p359-60
• Journal Articles
  • Mackenzie I, 1985, Moated Site Research Group Vol12 p29
    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
    Chatwin, P.B., 1955, Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society Vol73 p63-83
    Chatwin, P.B., 1947-8, 'Castles in Warwickshire' Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society Vol67 p19-20
    Whitley, 1883, The Builder Vol45 p142-3, 148
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p453
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p477
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol5 p11 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl05lelauoft