Buckingham Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Church of St Peter and St Paul

In the civil parish of Buckingham. In the historic county of Buckinghamshire (Modern Authority of Buckinghamshire, 1974 county of Buckinghamshire).

The parish church is built in on what is thought to be a motte. A castle at this site was first mentioned in documentary sources in 1154-64 and was possibly demolished 1208-1215, although a Constable of Buckingham is documented in 1280. Levelled in 1777 for the churchyard which now occupies it. In 1877 excavations at the back of the Wesleyan chapel exposed foundations probably associated with the castle. (PastScape)
On the hill where stands to-day the parish church there formerly stood a Norman castle, the seat of the Giffards, which was erected shortly after the Conquest. (E. S. Armitage, Early Norman Castles, 40.) Comparatively little mention of it has been found, but an early tradition connects the castle with the story of Hereward, who is said to have been taken by the craft of Ivo Taillebois and lodged here for a time. (a 'De Gestis Herwardi' in Gaimar, Chron. (Caxton Soc.), App. 106.) In 1279 under the heading of the castle William de Braose is said to hold 3 carucates of land in demesne with a free fishery. (Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 343) Giles de Braose, his son, died seised in 1305 of a 'capital messuage called the Castle of Buckingham, worth nothing.' (Chan. Inq. p.m. 33 Edw. I, no. 73.) In 1307 and again in 1312 the name of Buckingham appears in lists of castles to be defended and victualled. (Cal. Close, 1307–13, pp. 50, 402.) In 1453 the site of the castle (where the courts of the manor were still held) was leased to Thomas Smythe, (Mins. Accts. bdle. 759, no. 27.) and the accounts of the manor for 1473 include the cost of various tiles, tile pins, nails, &c., required for the repair of the cook's chamber, the stables, and 'le Garet' within the castle. (Mins. Accts. bdle. 759, no. 27.) Camden speaks of the castle 'seated in the middle of the town upon a great mount, of the very ruins of which scarce anything now remains.' (Camden) Thomas Baskerville, who flourished under Charles II, also makes mention of the ruins. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii, App. ii, 289.) On the erection in 1777–81 of the present parish church on Castle Hill all trace of the castle was finally lost (In 1877, during excavation operations abutting on the Castle Hill, traces of ancient masonry were found which were conjectured at the time to belong to the castle (Harrison, 44).) except the oval keep mound, which still stands, though fragments of foundations are from time to time discovered when digging on the site. (VCH)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP69463373

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 341179
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 0175500000 '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://ubp.buckscc.gov.uk/ResultsDetails.aspx?UID=MBC5251
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p34
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p10 [slight]
    Pevsner, Nikolaus and Elizabeth Williamson with Geoffrey K Brandwood, 1994, The buildings of England: Buckinghamshire (Harmondsworth) p73
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p27
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p196
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Page, Wm (ed), 1925, VCH Buckinghamshire Vol3 p476 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42600#s2]
    RCHME, 1913, An inventory of the historical monuments in Buckinghamshire Vol2 [north] p16, 72 http://www.archive.org/details/inventoryofhisto02greauoft
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p112-3
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Harrison, J.T., 1909, Leisure hour notes on historical Buckingham p41-4 [reprinted 1972 by Paul Minet: Chicheley]
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England (New York: Macmillan) Vol1 p145 http://www.archive.org/stream/castlesofengland01mack#page/145/mode/1up
    Browne Willis, 1755, History and Antiquites of Buckingham p49-51
• Journal Articles
  • 2003, South Midlands Archaeology Vol33 p33-5
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol46 p197-217 esp200 http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo46brit#page/197/mode/1up
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p108
    Guizot, M. (ed), 1825, Histoire des ducs de Normandie p181 http://books.google.com/books?id=rr6rv2R_SAIC [Reference in PastScape but seems to be wrong]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/buckseng.html#bucks8]