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Summary

Restormel Castle was constructed from the C12 to the C13, and was refortified during the civil war.

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 15004: RESTORMEL CASTLE: MOTTE, BAILEY AND SHELL KEEP

Other References/Statuses

• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SX16SW 3
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 6730
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SX16SW 32

Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

Restormel Castle appears to have constructed in three main phases. The initial phase comprised construction of a ringwork with probable timber defences and internal buildings, which may have been by Baldwin, son of Turstin the Sheriff, who held the manor of Bodardle (within which Restormel lay) in 1086 (6730.01). About 100 years later, Robert de Cardinan (of Cardinham) was associated with the castle; a stone gatehouse built into the bank of the ringwork (6730.02) may belong to this period. CAU survey indicates that the keep was renewed in stone in the later C13, probably associated with the transfer of the castle to the Earls of Cornwall. Construction of the stone keep is integral with an elaborate range of internal buildings (6730.03). The chapel (6730.04) which juts from the NE side of the keep is also contemporary with the shell keep, but has been extensively modified both in the medieval period and later. Although by then ruinous, Restormel castle was re-fortified and briefly held by a Parliamentarian force in the Civil War (6730.06). The deep ditch surrounding the keep appears to be mainly a product of the C13 remodelling. Remains of a bailey survive to the west of the keep; this appears to have only had earthwork and timber defences (6730.05). The medieval bailey gateway appears to have been sited on the south side, adjacent to the keep. The 1337 Caption of Seisin records a range of buildings within the bailey, including a Great Hall and related structures. Platforms and hummocks suggest positions of former buildings. No recorded archaeological excavation has taken place at Restormel; the keep was extensively consolidated when the site was taken into state Guardianship in the 1920s. Glass fragments found in the castle moat in 1880 are now housed at the British Museum (3).

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Site history:
1: 1993. THOMAS, N/CAU
2: 1993. THOMAS, N/CAU
3: 1995. THOMAS, N/CAU
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JAT, JAT FILM 6/34A/35 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22542.

JAT, JAT FILM 6/35A/36 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22526.

JAT, JAT FILM 6/36A/37 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22540.

MCLAUCHLAN, H, Notes on the Duchy Manors in Cornwall, and the Castles & Earth-works on them (Notebook). SCO27510.

Cambridge University Centre for Aerial Photography, 16/6/49, CUC CF 073 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22543.

Buck, C, 1993, Restormel Castle. Historical and Documentary Register (Cornwall Event Report). SCO328.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2016, Restormel Castle Lightning Conductor, Cornwall (Report). SCO27569.

Cambridge University Centre for Aerial Photography, 26/6/55, CUC QD 25 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22544.

Cambridge University Centre for Aerial Photography, 26/7/73, CUC 7OH-F 38 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22546.

Cambridge University Centre for Aerial Photography, 26/7/73, CUC BON 62 (Aerial Photograph). SCO22545.

<1> Radford, CAR, 1980, Restormel Castle, Cornwall (Bibliographic reference). SCO4212.

<3> Tyson, R, 2001, Medieval Glass Vessels Found in England cAD1200–1500 (Bibliographic reference). SCO24032.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds

• FCO7726 - FLASK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FCO7727 - VESSEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• ECO1821 - Restormel Castle, Fabric Analysis and Source Matter
• ECO7 - Restormel Castle
• ECO4703 - Restormel Castle Lightning Conductor, Cornwall (Ref: 2016R081)

Related records

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