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Summary

Medieval castle with a long history; later treated as a Picturesque garden feature

Images

No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council	No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council
No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council	No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council
No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council	No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council
No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council

Monument Types

• CASTLE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• MOTTE AND BAILEY (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• GARDEN FEATURE (Post Medieval - 1501 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)
• COIN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)
• FLOOR TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)
• SHERD (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FLUTE (Post Medieval - 1501 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Events

• Excavation at the Express Dairy, Hertford, 1988-90
• Excavation at 12-14 Parliament Square, Hertford, 1974
• Geophysical survey at Hertford Castle, 1997
• Recording of part of the curtain wall of Hertford Castle, 2005 (Ref: AS 941)
• Excavation in the outer bailey of Hertford Castle, 1972
• Recording of the outer bank of Hertford Castle, 12-14 Parliament Square, Hertford, 1978

Protected Status

• Scheduled Ancient Monument 20629: HERTFORD CASTLE: A MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE SOUTH OF THE RIVER LEA
• Listed Building (I) 461231: GATEHOUSE TO HERTFORD CASTLE (HERTFORD CASTLE DEMOLISHED)

Full description

Hertford Castle was probably constructed soon after the Norman Conquest as a motte-and-bailey. A possible ditch around the motte located by geophysical survey may belong to this phase <5>, but there is no other archaeological evidence for an 11th century castle.
The earliest reference to the Castle is in 1141 <1>. In 1170, there are records of extensive building works begun by Henry II, which included the curtain wall, at least one of the ditches and probably the outer bailey to the south west. The castle was garrisoned in 1174. In 1215 Hertford Castle was held by the Barons for a year, but surrendered to King Louis and an army of French mercenaries supporting King John. Further renovations were carried out in 1225, 1300-2 and 1360. In the 14th century David Bruce, King of Scotland and John, King of France were held prisoner at the Castle <2>.
The brick gatehouse [15821] was built in 1460 by Edward IV. Henry VIII visited on a number of occasions; Elizabeth I moved the law courts to Hertford from London during outbreaks of plague in 1563, 1581 and 1592. Most of the buildings within the castle were pulled down by James I in the later 16th century.
Surviving remains comprise a flat-topped motte 30m in diameter and 6.5m high, a 15th century gatehouse (with 18th-20th century additions); a curtain wall; remains of a 14th century octagonal tower & postern gate at the SW angle; and a broad outer ditch <3>.

Excavation of the inner ditch in 1967, by Hertford Museum, found that it had been recut several times and the banks strengthened, the last revetment containing 18th century pottery. An earlier layer of silt in the ditch contained cattle horn cores, above a complete Bartmann jug dating to c.1660 <12, 13>.

An excavation was carried out in 1972 in the ditch of the outer bailey to test Renn's suggestion that the outer ditch was older than the castle. The slope of the ditch was apparently found, beneath a good deal of late 11th-12th century pottery, animal bones and charcoal. This lay beneath a cobbled layer associated with with St Neots and Stamford ware and a bone die <11>. Nothing predated the Norman castle.

Excavations in 1988 and 1990 confirmed the existence of the outer ward or bailey <4, 7>. This had a 12th-14th century cobbled surface and the foundations of several buildings, probably constructed at the same time as the Gatehouse in 1460. A cellar was found at the SW end of the outer bailey, probably part of a postern tower of the 15th century defences. A large 14th-15th century deposit of food refuse, probably from feasting, included deer, fish, wild and domestic birds, and oyster. Other finds include a penny of Edward II (1317-20), a 15th century French crown-type jetton, and a flute or recorder made from a pig tibia <4, 7>. <10> lists a medieval jug from an excavation at the entrance gates in 1930.

Recording in 2005 of a collapsed section of the facing of the curtain wall found that much of it was a 19th century refacing using earlier bricks, when it was regarded as a 'Picturesque' garden feature; within this were glimpses of an earlier wall face of similar red brick, possibly a wall of similar date to the 'Tudor' bastion north-east of the east gate <8>. See also [6527].

See [15821] for the gatehouse, the only medieval building still standing within the castle walls.

East Hertfordshire Archaeological Group, 1978, (Recording of the east bank of) Hertford Castle (Unpublished document). SHT7669.

Smith, J T, 1993, Hertfordshire houses: selective inventory, - p82 (Bibliographic reference). SHT16660.

<1> Renn, Derek, 1971, Medieval castles in Hertfordshire, - p16, 18 (Bibliographic reference). SHT9405.

<2> Page, W (ed.), 1912, VCH Hertfordshire vol.3, - p505-6 (Bibliographic reference). SHT2329.

<3> Scheduled Monument description (Scheduling record). SHT9990.

<4> Cooper-Reade, Hester, 1989, Excavations at Express Dairy, Hertford, September 1989: a summary, RNO 260 (Report). SHT4503.

<5> Nicholls, John, Hertford Castle geophysical surveys document 2: resistance surveys, RNO 363 (Report). SHT13000.

<5> McCann, W A, & Mackie, P C, 1997, Hertford Castle, Castle Street, Hertford: a geophysical survey. Final report, document 1: ground penetrating radar, RNO 362 (Report). SHT3850.

<6> Petchey, M R, 1977, Excavations in Hertford 1973-4; Hertfordshire Archaeology 5, 157-75, - p163-5 (Article in serial). SHT6790.

<7> Zeepvat, R J, & Cooper-Reade, H, 1996, Excavations within the outer bailey of Hertford Castle; Herts Archaeology 12 (1994-6), 15-40 (Article in serial). SHT16859.

<8> Goldsmith, Amy, 2005, Hertford Castle curtain wall, Hertford, Herts: historic building recording, RNO 1777 (Report). SHT16860.

<9> Newman, Paul, 1986, Material collected for information board (Unpublished document). SHT4619.

<10> Renn, D F, 1968, Further finds of medieval pottery from Elstree: with a survey of unglazed thumb-pressed jugs; Herts Archaeol 1, 124-7, - p126 (Article in serial). SHT4607.

<11> James, Elizabeth M, 1972, Excavations at Hertford Castle 1972 (Unpublished document). SHT9001.

<12> Information from Hertford Museum (Unpublished document). SHT5105.

<13> Hertford Museum Excavations Register, No.70 (Unpublished document). SHT4436.

Sources and further reading

Related records

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