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Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument () 20539: Cawood Castle and Castle Garth: residence of the medieval Archbishops of York and associated enclosure containing gardens, five fishponds and a quarry pit
• Conservation Area: Cawood Conservation Area

Monument Type(s):

• PALACE (12th CENTURY to 17th Century - 1181 AD? to 1648 AD?)
• CASTLE (13th CENTURY to 17th Century - 1271 AD? to 1648 AD?)

Other References/Statuses

• AMIE Reference / HOB UID: 56254 CAWOOD CASTLE
• National Monuments Record: SE53NE2
• Old Sites & Monuments Record Number: 9699.02

Full description

In 1646 the House of Commons decreed it be made untenable. Dismantled 1648. Comprised a castle, gatehouse and ranges within 2 broad moats. The area to the north of the gatehouse range contained the main complex of castle buildings. It stretched from the gatehouse to the northern wall that can still be seen on the south side of old coach road. There is a substantial ground level difference between the n and s sides of this wall. (0?)

The residence of the Archbishops of York first mentioned in 1181 was rebuilt and crenellated c.1271.Further rebuilding and additions occurred in 1305, 1311, the early fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (Wolsey). The buildings were dismantled in 1648 as well as the defences; in c1778 the extensive foundations were dug up. All that remains is the fifteenth century gate house and a barn (thought by some to have served originally as the chapel). A great deal of the building material reused in and about the palace at Bishopthorpe. The site now comprises an inner and outer moated enclosure with traces of fishponds and foundations. (1,16,21)

Cawood was originally one of the chief residences of the Archbishops of York. First mentioned in 1181, it was transformed into a castle of the later plan by Archbishop Neville (d. 1391). All that remains, is the Gatehouse dating to 1426-51 which is scheduled. The remaining earthworks are two broad and rectangular unramparted moats. An outer enclosure of 15 acres has traces of foundations and fishponds, an inner one of 5 1/2 acres has three ponds. Besides the earthworks, the only remains of Cawood Castle are the gatehouse and the remains of a chapel (previously published on OS 25"), both now used as domestic and farm buildings and in a good state of repair. The earthworks have been resurveyed at 1:2500. It appears that the outer ditch, of which only the southern side now survives, formerly extended along Bishop's Dyke on the west. Broad Lane on the east and Thorpe Lane on the north. The Castle seems to have extended further east and extensive foundations of former buildings existed until circa 1778. (See early 18th century engraving on illustration card). The earthworks of two wards; probably some sort of quadrangular castle. Built 1374-88 -'(a) - Archbishop Nevill added some towers and other buildings to the archiepiscopal palace, but it seems this was the beginning of the castle. (2,16,21)

Part of the south west range including the gatehouse survives to full height. The northern half of the palace has been demolished to make way for a housing development, still bounded by part of the original precinct wall. The Garth is undeveloped and retains well preserved medieval fishponds and garden earthworks.(3)

Missing Sources, (4,5,6,7,8,10,11,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26)

A geophysical survey in 1993 in the north eastern part of the Castle Garth identified features already visible as earthworks and limited evidence of previously recorded buried linear and other features. These did not clearly comprise recognisable elements of a formal garden arrangement. (Payne, A)(9)

An article was published in the YAJ in 1992 about the RCHM survey of the earthworks in Castle Garth. The remains in the Castle Garth are the presumed site of the outer court and gardens of one of the palaces of the medieval archbishops of York. A detailed history and description is included in the article. (Blood, NK & Taylor, CC) (12)

A chapter about Cawood is in a book published in 1902 called The Old Kingdom of Elmet. This chapter includes section describing the Castle and tracing some of its history. At that time it states that apart from the gateway and tower and remnants of Norman Gothic windows in the farm buildings, little remains of the palace. The exact area of the walled and moated enclosure could still be seen. The former banqueting hall survived as a large barn south of the gateway. (Bogg, E)(15)

An auger survey in 2007 in the Castle Garth investigated the relationship between the New Cut and the Bishop's Dyke, the nature of the New Cut, the Moat and a feature near Broad Lane. There was some potential for palaeoenvironmental remains to understand the past environment of the New Cut, but there was little evidence for the feature near Broad Lane, any connection between the Bishop Dyke and the New Cut or anything significant found in the moat (Neal, C) (27)

A resistivity survey in front of the Gatehouse, between the Castle and Thorpe Lane in 2019 identified a number of linear and circular anomalies, some may relate to 18th-19th century buildings. Most of them are likely to relate to wall foundations and spiral staircases of the original medieval structure. (Durdin, P) (28)

<1> Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1977 - 1980, Yorkshire Studies Card, SE53NE 2191 (Card Index). SNY2.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Various, Ordnance Survey Record Card, SE53NE002 (Card Index). SNY1.

<3> English Heritage, 12/10/1994, Cawood Castle and Castle Garth: residence of the medieval Archbishops of York and associated enclosure containing gardens, five fishponds and a quarry pit (Scheduled Monument Notification). SNY8647.

<4> 06/1982, The History of Cawood Castle (Manuscript). SNY8659.

<5> North Yorkshire County Council, 09/06/1997, The Archiepiscopal Palace at Cawood Castle: Land in the ownership of Cawood Parish Council (Report). SNY8658.

<6> Interim: Bulletin of the York Archaeological Trust, 1986, Cawood Castle (Article). SNY8657.

<7> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments in England, nd, Historical Account (Manuscript). SNY1514.

<8> 1989, Cawood Castle Unpublished Report (Manuscript). SNY2038.

<9> Ancient Monuments Laboratory, 03/1993, Cawood Castle Garth N Yorks report on a Geophysical Survey (Report). SNY8654.

<10> North Yorkshire County Council, 27/04/1993, Cawood castle (Field recording Form). SNY8060.

<11> 1988, An Archaeological study of Cawood Parish: The Castle Garth (Manuscript). SNY8653.

<12> Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 1992, Cawood: an Archiepiscopal Landscape (Article). SNY8655.

<13> 1910, ENGLISH EPISCOPAL PALACES (Monograph). SNY1897.

<14> Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, 1920-1924, Cawood Castle (Article). SNY8693.

<15> 1902, THE OLD KINGDOM OF ELMET (Monograph). SNY1318.

<16> 1831, A New History of The County of York (Volume III), p 309 (Monograph). SNY1198.

<17> 1932, THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE, p 151 (Monograph). SNY1784.

<18> 1819, TOPO & HIST DESC YORKS, p 618 (Monograph). SNY1314.

<19> 1855, Castles and Abbeys of Yorkshire (?), p 66 - 70 (Monograph). SNY8698.

<20> 1881, OLD YORKSHIRE, p 87 - 95 (Monograph). SNY2005.

<21> 1912, Victoria County History Yorkshire Vol 2, 48 (Monograph). SNY2132.

<22> 1736, Eboracum, 542 (Monograph). SNY1455.

<23> 1912, Military Architecture in England during the Middle Ages, 85; 338 (Monograph). SNY8703.

<24> 1851, Annals Yorkshire, 308 (Monograph). SNY8701.

<25> 1897, Castles of England, 212 (Monograph). SNY8702.

<26> 1885, Old Yorkshire (Serial). SNY8700.

<27> University of York, 10/2007, Cawood Castle Garth Auger Survey 2007. (Report). SNY11736.

<28> The Landmark Trust, 12/2019, Electrical Resistance Survey at Cawood Castle (Report). SNY23465.

Sources and further reading

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