Modbury Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Medebury

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

Licence to crenellate granted in 1334 to Richard Champernowne. The castle was attacked during the Civil War and finally demolished for building materials in 1702. Some slight remains, said to be that of a dining-room, surviving as a hayloft were recorded in Lysons but no physical remains recently noted. Location, adjacent to church, is now built over. It is likely that the defences of this mansion were slight but it was besieged in the Civil War and this may suggest the house was, at least, moated.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX65625164

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 441314
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular '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, or elsewhere.

• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p695
    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) p87 [slight]
    Hoskins, W.G., 1954, A New Survey of England: Devon (London: Collins) p435
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p355-6, 410
    Lysons, D. and S., 1822, Magna Britannia Vol6 Devon p342- http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50584#s19
• Journal Articles
  • Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1330-34) p554