The Gatehouse website record for Newbury Castle

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

The site of a castle built in 1152 which was a fragmentary ruin by 1626-7. It was completely demolished circa 1723 when the canal basin was constructed, which has now been filled in.
David Nash Ford- probably from Higgot, 1998, writes probable Hamstead (qv). Higgot's hypothesis apparently built upon;
a) the total lack of any archaeological evidence for a castle on Newbury Wharf
b) the only reference to the castle relates to a siege by King Stephen in 1152 - mentioned in a poem on the life of the William the Marshall (unpublished work by Pail Cannon in 1990 refuted all other sources cited by Walter Money).
c) William the Marshall owned Hampstead Marshall
d) the existence not only of castle remains at Hampstead Marshall but also siege works.
ergo - if the Marshall was besieged in the Newbury area it is most likely to be in his own castle - which was almost certainly besieged in the period. (info from Phil Wood)
The evidence of siege works at Hampstead Marshall can be questioned but the tenurial history is highly suggestive that the 'Newbury' castle besieged in 1152 was Hampstead Marshall. However this does not mean that there was not a medieval manorial centre of some sort at Newbury itself, presumably based on the Saxon thengal burh from which the town must take its name, which may represent the 'castle' located by Money.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SU47296721

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 233079
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.

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

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.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.