Eggesford Castle, Wembworthy

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Heywood Wood

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

Ringwork and bailey castle situated above a ford to the west of the River Taw at Eggesford. It survives as an oval mound which measures 31m long by 20m wide and is 3.5m high with a surrounding bank up to 1.5m high. Part of the ringwork has been levelled by C19 ornamental gardening. The bailey, which lies to the north-north-east, measures 71m long by 24.5m wide internally and is surrounded by a bank which is up to 3.8m wide and 2.3m high. Surrounding the whole is a ditch which measures 2m wide and from 1.6m to 3.5m deep on the north eastern side. The history of the castle is not clear, although a date of 1130s to the 1140s seems most likely.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.

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

Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS67831191

PastScape Defra ELS number; 34357

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
Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p86
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p120
Allcroft, A. Hadrian, 1908, Earthwork of England (London) p405-7
Wall, C., 1906, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Devon Vol1 p621-22

Journal Articles

Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
Higham, R.A., 1982, 'Early Castles in Devon' Château Gaillard Vol9-10 p101-116
King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
Vatchell, E.T., 1963, 'Eggesford and Heywood Castles' Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol95 p197-207
Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol33 p106-12

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Eggesford Castle, Wembworthy

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS67831191

Sources of information, references and further reading