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Designations

• Scheduled Monument () 1020968: Broughton Castle: fortified house and moat
• Listed Building (I) 1248742: BROUGHTON CASTLE AND ATTACHED WALLS

Monument Type(s):

• FORTIFIED MANOR HOUSE (Medieval to Late 20th Century - 1201 AD to 2000 AD)

Summary

Fortified manor house. Moated C13 and C14 core, remodelled C15, C16 and C18, with C19 and C20 restoration. Castle, gatehouse, stable block and garden wall listed Grade I.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds:

Description

SP43NW BROUGHTON
1/224 Broughton Castle and attached walls
08/12/55
GV I
Fortified manor house. Moated C13 and C14 core, remodelled C15, C16 and C18, C19 restoration by George Gilbert Scott. C20 restoration. North front: Regular coursed ironstone rubble. Stone slate roof. Stone lateral and end stacks. Central stack dated RF 1554. Complex plan: Chapel, kitchen, offices, great hall and living quarters. 2 storeys plus attic. 6 bays. North front: Remodelled c.1550 by Richard Fiennes in Italianate style. 2 entrances, one into crenellated Cl6 extension to left, the other doorway concealed at the side of the bay window to right. Two 2-storey bay windows flank oriel window to first floor which has fluted Ionic and Corinthian columns. Scattered fenestration: Stone mullioned and transomed windows including fake windows to west bay window, C18 round headed windows with intersecting glazing bars, and 2-light Decorated chapel window. Gabled attic storey. Stone coping. South front: 2 storeys plus attic. Little attempt at Symmetry. 2 doorways; pointed, arched doorway to right has plank door. To left a square headed doorway. Scattered fenestration; stone mullioned windows with hood moulds and label stops, stone mullioned and transomed windows, round headed window with wooden mullions and transoms and pointed arched windows with Gothick glazing bars. The south front is dominated by 2 gabled staircase projections, lateral stack between. To right a small gabled Cl6 garderobe and a battlemented tower of 3 storeys with gargoyles and slits. 2-light C14 window first floor of solar wing. C14 buttresses. East front: 3 storeys with gargoyles and slits. 2-light C14 window first floor of solar wing. C14 buttresses. East front: 3-light Geometrical window to chapel, 2 traceried square headed windows and a 2-light Geometrical window. West front: Former kitchen wing remodelled and extended C16. 2 storeys. Large stone mullioned and transomed windows. Parapet and hipped roof to right. Interior: C14 plan of great hall and kitchen and offices at west end and living quarters on 3 floors at east end with first floor solar and chapel over vaulted undercroft. Cl6 remodelling reversed this arrangement: former kitchen became living rooms, new kitchen buit at east end of solar block, 3 floors built above hall and flat ceiling inserted. West wing: Drawing Room or Oak Room c.1598 in Flemish Rennaisance style. Built on the foundations of the C14 kitchens. Oak panelling and interior porch with cartouche. Stone fireplace with triglyph frieze, pilasters and floral reliefs. Small room to west of Hall, now Library, remodelled c.1760's in Gothick style. Great Hall: C14, 58.5ft. x 28.5ft. 4 bays. Oh ceiling with C18 decoration probably by Sanderson Miller. Blocked doorways including 2 to pantry and buttery. 4-centred Cl6 doorway with plank door. Stone fireplace. 2 small pointed. arched doorways with plank doors to quadripartite vaulted passages, one to the chapel, the other to the solar wing. C14 stone newel stair to solar; straight flight of stone to chapel with rib vaulting above. Undercroft to solar now dining room: 3 bays of quadripartite vaulting chamfered ribs springing from moulded corbels. Linenfold panelling and stone fireplace c.1540. Chapel undercroft now kitchen: 2 bays of quadripartite vaulting with chamfered ribs and carved bosses. High pointed arched window to east now cut to contain a doorway. Former open courtyard to east of chapel, enclosed C15 now contains 1970 stone staircase by Fletcher and Watson. C15 Kitchens east of solar wing. First floor: White room in west wing. Ornate plaster ceiling dated 1559 and REF for Richard and Elizabeth Fiennes. Carved doorcases and dado by G.G. Scott c.1867. Long gallery remodelled in Gothick style c.1760. Star chamber off Long Gallery: Important stone fireplace has carved stucco overmantel c.1554. The central panel shows dryads dancing round an oak and beneath is an inscription from Ovid. Influence of Fontainebleau School. C16 ceiling has plaster ribs and rosettes and frieze of vines and pomegranates. C18 Chinese hand painted wallpaper. Queen Anne's Room: Stone fireplace built by Richard Fiennes c.1551. Squint to chapel in north east corner. Chapel c.1331 2 storeys 17.5ft. x 10.75ft. Noted as a rare example of an unaltered C14 private chapel. Original stone altar slab on stone brackets. 3 squints. Piscina recess has ogee head. Medieval floor tiles. Council chamber at top of west stair. Used as meeting place 1629-1640.
(V.C.H.: Oxfordshire, Vol.IX, pp.89-92) Archaeological Journal, 135, 1978, pp.138-194 (article by H. Gordon Slade); Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974, pp.492-8).
Listing NGR: SP4180438177
3) Not classifed as a castle for MPP. DoE listed buildings describes it as a fortified manor house
4) Detailed archaeological survey and analysis of east face of castle before general repair works. Good detail in extract.
5) Two small internal photos taken by Spokes, so tranferred to Oxon Studies (SVL, 12/05/10).
6) Transferred to Oxon History Centre.
7) WB revealed number of features relating to wall and its construction: wall and gateway are C14 constructions and are similar to lower gatehouse, which forms N-S boundary to rear of manor. Wall found to extend into moat. Wooden revetments uncovered, as well as corbelling at base of wall at ground level. Paleo sample taken from top of moat suggests moat was well managed, with regular intervals of clearance along with maintenance of the castle grounds.
8) Transferred to Oxon History Centre.
10) A small site was discovered on a slight terrace overlooking the floodplain of Broughton's Sor Brook. Finds included Roman pottery and prehistoric worked flints, possibly Bronze Age or Neolithic.
11) Transferred to Oxon History Centre.

<1> Dept of Environment/DCMS, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Cherwell List 27: 1/224-7, p.73 (Index). SOX260.

<2> English Heritage, Scheduled Ancient Monuments Record, SM 30882 (Scheduling record). SOX283.

<3> MPP Documents for Oxfordshire, S Lisk, 18.11.92 (Index). SOX259.

<4> Medieval Archaeology, Vol 40 (1996) p.277 (Serial). SOX318.

<5> Photographic Archive, 1 building exterior, 1 of gate tower and 2 internal features taken c.1974 (Photograph). SOX304.

<6> Black and White print photographs, 2 of castle taken by M Aston in 1973 (Photograph). SOX315.

<7> Oxford Archaeology, 2005, Broughton Castle, Broughton, Oxfordshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Report (Unpublished document). SOX1484.

<8> English Heritage (RCHME), 1987-1989, Historic Buildings Photographic Record Card (Photograph). SOX2063.

<9> Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Archaeological Journal, vol 7 (1901), pp 23-25 (Serial). SOX305.

<10> CBA South Midlands Group, South Midlands Archaeology, Vol 35 (2005) pp.59-61 (Serial). SOX5.

<11> Additional Information in Detailed Record File, Notes on Broughton Castle (Index). SOX258.

Sources

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