Hartland Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Blegberry

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

Castle is documented at Hartland in 1201 when it was licensed to Alan of Hartland. Blegberry is a farmhouse with Civil War loopholes cut into the fabric of the wall (These loops may actually be from 1606 and represent a defence against pirates), given as a location for this castle. There may be castle placenames in the vincinity of Blegberry but these might refer to an possible IA hillfort. Hartland town is at SS260244 and may be another possible location for this castle.

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

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

Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS233263

PastScape Defra ELS number; 897011

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
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p121 [possible]
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
Jope, E.M., 1961, 'Cornish Houses 1400-1700' in Jope, E.M. (ed) Studies in Building History p192-222

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
Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p233
Chope, R.P., 1902, 'The Early History of the Manor of Hartland' Report of the Transactions of the Devonshire Association Vol34 p418-54

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), 103

Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)

Higham, R.A., 1979, 'The Castles of Medieval Devon' PhD Thesis Univ. Exeter p148-51

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Hartland Castle

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS233263

Sources of information, references and further reading