Trowbridge Castle

In the civil parish of Trowbridge. In the historic county of Wiltshire (Modern Authority of Wiltshire, 1974 county of Wiltshire).

Castle, first mentioned in documentary sources in 1139 as fortified by Humphrey de Bohun, and probably abandoned by C14. Leland referred to it as 'clene down' in 1540 and in 1670 Aubrey said it was a 'ruinated castle' Fragments of the ditch and tower and ramparts were extant in the early C19. A large ditch, pottery finds and part of the motte have been uncovered during building work. and small scale excavations. Probably started as a saxon thegnal burh. There are `Traditional' claims of sections of castle wall in various nearby buildings.
A castle had been built on the site of the Saxo-Norman settlement in c.1139. This comprised an inner bailey, to the north and east of which lay an outer bailey, the extent of which can be inferred by the line of some of the known Medieval streets. Although there was no archaeological evidence for a motte, cartographic and historical sources indicate the presence of one in the north-west corner of the inner bailey. Indeed, in the late 18th century the motte was apparently tall and steep enough for a drunkard to be killed rolling down its side (Rogers 1984). The excavations demonstrated the size of the moat and the width of the defensive banks, although there was only limited evidence of their structure. The inner bailey lay on the crest of the Cornbrash ridge, and its banks sealed the ditches of the Saxo-Norman manorial complex. (Mcmahon)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST85575786

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 207686
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is ST85NE450 '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://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/smr/getsmr.php?id=1209
• Books
  • Mcmahon, Phil, 2004, The Archaeology of Wiltshire’s Towns An Extensive Urban Survey Malmesbury (Wiltshire County Archaeology Service) http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-906-1/dissemination/pdf/EUS_Texts/Trowbridge.pdf
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p100
    Salter, Mike, 2002, Index and Amendments to Mike Salter's English Castles Books (Malvern) p11
    Graham, A.H. and Davies, S.M., 1993, Excavations in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, 1977 and 1986-1988 (Salisbury: Wessex Archaeological Report No2) p57-77, 146-8
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford)
    Rogers, K., 1984. The book of Trowbridge (Barracuda Books Ltd)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p502
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles)
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pugh, R.B. and Crittall, Elizabeth (ed), 1953, VCH Wiltshire Vol7 p131-2 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=115466#s3
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England (New York: Macmillan) Vol1 p235 http://www.archive.org/stream/castlesofengland01mack#page/234/mode/1up
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p12 http://www.archive.org/stream/abbeyscastlesanc00timbrich#page/12/mode/2up
• Journal Articles
  • Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol93 p107
    Youngs, S.M. et al, 1988 ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1987' Medieval Archaeology Vol32 p289-90 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Borthwick, A., 1988, CBA Group 12 Newsletter p21-3
    1988, ‘Excavations and fieldwork in Wiltshire 1987' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol82 p178–80
    Youngs, S.M., Clark, J. and Barry, T., 1987, ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1986' Medieval Archaeology Vol31 p168 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1978, ‘Medieval Britain in 1977' Medieval Archaeology Vol22 p169 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1973, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol68 p138
    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
    Goddard, E., 1926, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol43 p345
    Goddard, E., 1905-6, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol34 p218
    Jones, W.H., 1875, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol15 p215-9
• 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] p471
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/wilshireeng.html#wilts8]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p492
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p137 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl01
    Harvey, J.H. (ed), 1969, Itineraries (of) William Worcestre (Clarendon Press) p140