Studley Castle

In the civil parish of Bramshaw. In the historic county of Hampshire (Modern Authority of Hampshire, 1974 county of Hampshire).

In 1358 Edward III assumed control of the New Forest and immediately set about creating four hunting lodges, all of which were probably within the newly enclosed park (SU30NW6) he had created in 1354-5. A royal hunting lodge dating to the medieval period, situated in the New Forest on a south-facing spur at the north east end of Islands Thorns Enclosure. The moat surrounding the lodge survives as a shallow ditch and a low inner bank enclosing a square area, 35m across. Both the ditch and bank are 4-5m wide and the bank stands on average 0.4m above the interior but rises slightly higher at the sharp corners. The interior is divided roughly in half by a slight ditch running in a north-south direction across it, and there is a faint indication of a low central platform situated immediately west of this ditch, approximately 12m in diameter, which may have formed a foundation for the lodge. No visible traces survive of the lodge itself, although pieces of slate and medieval tile have been observed on the site and further buried remains can be expected to survive. Historical records indicate that the original structure was built between 1358 and 1361, that it included a kitchen, and was of timber frame and plaster construction, with a roof of Purbeck and Cornish slates. It formed part of a set of four lodges constructed at the same time in the New Forest for Edward III, the principal one of which, Hatheburg, was situated near Lyndhurst and was constructed on a grander scale.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SU22201601

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 222673; 1393743
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 19815 '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.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/entries/v05p022e02.html
• Books
  • Stamper, P.A., 1983, Medieval Hampshire - studies in landscape history p113
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p984-6
    Williams-Freeman, J.P., 1915, An introduction to field archaeology as illustrated by Hampshire p367
• Journal Articles
  • Smith, N., 1999, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society p25-26
    Pasmore, A.H., 1970, Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Newsletter p150-3
    Pasmore, A.H., 1969, Hampshire Field Club New Forest Section reports Vol8 p6
    Piggott, S., 1931, Antiquity Vol5 p482