Axminster

In the civil parish of Axminster. In the historic county of Devon (Modern Authority of Devon, 1974 county of Devon).

Alleged site of a castle and/or hillfort. Conclusion based on sections of flint wall found in buildings and trenches near the alleged site in C19, and reported observations of a ditch. Unusual location for a hillfort. Would be a typical location for a medieval castle in important town, on major crossroad and by river crossing. William Brewer was granted a licence to crenellate in 1200 'In whichever Devon property he wishes' Higham suggests this was at Axminster.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.

Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SY29689860

PastScape Defra ELS number; 449542

Books

Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43

Journal Articles

Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
Higham, R.A., 1986, 'Was there a castle at Axminster?' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol44
Rev R Kirwan, 1871, Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol4 p648

Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)

Rotuli Chartarum, 1199-1216 (Hardy, T.D. ed., 1837, Record Commission), 70

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 commerical purposes. The owner of this site does not receive any income from this site and funds it himself.

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.

¤¤¤¤¤

Axminster

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SY29689860

Sources of information, references and further reading