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Summary

Bottreaux Castle was located on a steeply sloping spur, overlooking a deep valley at the north end of the Boscastle

Protected Status

• Conservation Area: BOSCASTLE
• Scheduled Monument CO913: Bottreaux Castle

Other References/Statuses

• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SX09SE 5
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 705
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SX09SE 5

Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

Bottreaux Castle was located on a steeply sloping spur, overlooking a deep valley at the north end of the Boscastle. It was the principal residence of the Bottreaux family, who settled here in the reign of Henry II (1154-1189), but was not actually recorded until 1284 (b8) as 'Castello Boterel'. William, Lord of Bottreaux, the last of the family, died in 1462 (b1). The Castle was probably decastellated by an early date, for William Worcester, in circa 1478 mentions it only as a manor house (b10) and Carew added that it was used as a prison (b11,b6). In 1814 Lysons said of the Castle that 'only a mount now remains'. Sheppard notes that some stonework was recovered from the mound in 1812, and that both inner and outer walls were then easily distinguishable (b6). These remains were examined and surveyed by Mclauchlan in 1852 (b4). He noted that 'about half the entrenched mound at the end of the promontory still remains, from which it seems probable that there was an outwork extending down the slope towards the mill'. Most recently, the OS reported that, 'the castle presumably stood on the level site now occupied by a cottage & garden (at SX 0994 9081). It was probably isolated from the high grounds to the south by a ditch across the spur but all trace of this is now effaced by the dwellings and gardens in Fore Street. The surviving earthworks on the north are somewhat enigmatic. The steep, natural slopes of the spur have been scarped approximately 10m below the top to form a crescentic terrace (or a now silted ditch) up to 6m wide; an inturned entrance cuts into this terrace but its purpose is obscure as there is apparently no access from here to the spur top. The evidence of scarping ends abruptly on the spur and gives way instead to steep natural slopes (f2)

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Site history:
1: 1973. DOE (MERCER)
2: 1976. SA/OS
3: 1980. DOE (SHEPPARD)
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<1> Lysons, D & S, 1814, Magna Britannia, VOL 3, CORNWALL, 236 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3885.

<2> Page, W (Editor), 1906, Victoria History of the County of Cornwall, VOL I, 467 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4068.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 19--, Object Note Book (Second Revision 1:2500), 10NE 1907, 9 (Cartographic materials). SCO5193.

<4> Maclaughlan, H, 1849, Notes on Restormel Castle, 19, PL XXXI, FIG 2 (Article in Serial). SCO3894.

<5> UNKNOWN, 1---, UNKNOWN TITLE, VOL 38, 265 (Unedited Source). SCO5340.

<6> Sheppard, PA, 1980, The Historic Towns of Cornwall, 71 (Cornwall Event Report). SCO4422.

<7> Pounds, N, 1937, The Medieval Castle in Cornwall (Article in Serial). SCO4152.

<8> Gover, JEB, 1948, Place-Names of Cornwall (Bibliographic reference). SCO3402.

<9> Harvey, J (Ed), 1969, Itineraries of William of Worcestre (Bibliographic reference). SCO3466.

<10> Chope, R Pearse (Ed), 1967, Early Tours in Devon and Cornwall, 2 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3058.

<11> Carew, R, 1969, The Survey of Cornwall 1602 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3044.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Related records: none recorded

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