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Hamstead Marshall 3 (conquest castle)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Newbury

In the civil parish of Hamstead Marshall. In the historic county of Berkshire (Modern Authority of West Berkshire, 1974 county of Berkshire).

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
  This site was certainly a medieval fortification or palace.   Earthworks remains.
Medieval bailey, two mottes, moat and fish pond seen as earthworks in Hamstead Marshall Park. One of the mottes is an oval mound, approximately 60m across, and is surrounded on the western side by a wide ditch, probably a moat. The bailey is an oblong mound, 130m by 65m in size. (PastScape)
The dating of the mottes is a matter for some speculation. Myres considers that the mottes are neither to be dated between 1066 and 1154 where they could be associated with the probably illicit activities of Hugolin Stirman and the early Marshals, nor to the 13th century. Certainly there must have been buildings on the site in 1218 as King Henry III was entertained there. The date of the pottery from the bottom of the hill on which the mottes are situated might be seen as supporting the idea of an early date for the construction of the mottes. (PastScape–ref. field investigators comments 1963)
The site comprises two mounds one 40m by 50m and 4.7m in height the other 60m in diameter and 6.8m high. The smaller of the pair is surrounded by a ditch with a maximum depth of 2m. The summit is heel-shaped and has been damaged by trees. Below the top of the mound the profile is interrupted by a step, this is either the original surface or the result of later alterations. The other larger mound is slightly oval in plan and has traces of a low ring bank on the NW side. The mound is surrounded except to the N by a 2.7m deep ditch. (PastScape–ref. Catherall et al, 1984)
May be the 'Newbury' castle besieged in 1152 (Higgot, 1998), See Newbury Castle (qv) for discussion.
I share, with PastScape, the opinion that this and Hampstead Marshall 2 (qv) are one castle with two mottes and not two separate castles as often said.
See also Hampstead Marshall palace (qv), the, now lost, successor manor house to the castle, which was briefly a royal palace used on a few occasions by Edward III.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SU42106690

Air Photo from multimap logo

Air Photo and general mapping

1st edition OS Map from old maps logo

Mid to late 19th century maps

Modern Map from Ordnance Survey logo

Landscape form and features

Modern Map from streetmap logo

General location and route planning

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 233243
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.

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
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This record last updated on Monday, June 15, 2009

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