Studley Old Castle

In the civil parish of Studley. In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Warwickshire, 1974 county of Warwickshire).

Site of a motte castle variously described as a motte and bailey, moated site, ringwork or castle now surviving as earthworks and buried remains. A ditch surrounding the motte has a V-shaped profile and measures 13m wide and approximately 0.7m deep. The flat topped mound has been artificially raised to a height of 4m above the surrounding ground surface. It is roughly circular in plan and has a diameter of approximately 77m across its summit. The castle, parts of which were still upstanding in the mid C17, is thought to have been built circa 1135-40 possibly by William Corbucion. A small scale excavation in 1867 recovered fragments of pottery dating from the mid C12 to mid C13. Part of the site is now occupied by Castle Cottages. Studley was long held by the family of the same name descended from William Corbucion. Part of the moat around a round enclosure lies north of the church. The present house within was built early in C16 by Thomas Atwood and was then called Corpsons.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP08126383

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 328752
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 570 '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://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA570
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/studley.html
• Books
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p263 [slight]
    Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p73
    Salter, Mike, 1992, Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire (Malvern) p44
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p485
    Hooke D.,1980, Studley Parish Survey p54-5
    Salzman, L.F. (ed), 1945, VCH Warwickshire Vol3 p178-9
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England (New York: Macmillan) Vol1 p361 http://www.archive.org/stream/castlesofengland01mack#page/361/mode/1up
    Dugdale, William (2edn rev by Wm Thomas), 1730, The Antiquities of Warwickshire (London) Vol2 p741
• Journal Articles
  • Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' The Archaeological Journal Vol143 p316
    Hooke, D., 1983, Moated Sites Research Group report Vol10 p35, 38
    King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
    Chatwin, P.B., 1947-8, 'Castles in Warwickshire' Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society Vol67 p13
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/warkseng.html#warks9]