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Summary

Tintagel Castle, first recorded 1233. Padel suggests it was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, although a house may have existed previously.

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 15446: ROMANO-BRITISH AND EARLY MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENT, MEDIEVAL CHURCH, CASTLE AND ASSOCIATED FEATURES ON TINTAGEL ISLAND AND ADJOINING MAINLAND

Other References/Statuses

• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 23165.30
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SX08NE 2

Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

The first historical documentary reference to a castle at Tintagel is in 1233, and Padel suggests it having been built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall between 1227 and 1233, although a house may have existed on the site from the early thirteenth century (b17). The castle comprises two sections, the inner island ward (23165.33) Built on the island itself, and the upper (23165.32) And lower wards (23165.31) Which are on the mainland, although it is not certain whether any of the structures are contemporary on both sides of the castle (b16). It is believed that access to the island from the mainland was possible without a bridge in the medieval period. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's description, a narrow neck of land remained in the twelfth century but by the fourteenth century a bridge was needed to span the gap opened by erosion. The bridge stood until the sixteenth century, when decay set in, though Grenville (b4) and Carew (b2) both mention a drawbridge within living memory. The castle has been the site of many partial excavations by CAU (h9, h11) and CEU (h6). All features were surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS in 1976 (h2) and by Rchme in 1984 (h7). The castle is a scheduled Ancient Monument under the gaurdianship of English Heritage, as is shown on the OS maps of 1907 (b5) and 1963 (b7). The monument was included in the Schedule on 9/10/1981 and the scheduling updated on 18/11/1996.

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Site history:
2: 1976. QUINNELL, NV / OS
3: 1976. SHEPPARD, PA / DOE
5: 1982. DARK, K / UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
7: 1984. RCHME
8: 1985. PRESTON JONES, A AND HARTGROVES, S / CAU
10: 1986. THOMAS, C / RCHME
12: 1988. THORPE, C / CAU
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O'Mahoney, C, 1988, Medieval Pottery from Tintagel: a Summary (Article in Journal). SCO4040.

Ruddle, E, 2005, Tintagel Castle, Mainland Steps (Report). SCO1994.

Thorpe, C, 2014, Tintagel Island Trial Pits, Tintagel Castle, Cornwall. Scheduled Monument 1014793: Archaeological Watching Brief (Report). SCO25968.

<1> Leland, J, 1535, The Itinerary of John Leland (Bibliographic reference). SCO3862.

<2> WILKINSON, JJ, 1602, CAREW'S SURVEY OF CORNWALL, 191 (Unedited Source). SCO5417.

<3> WHITLEY, HM, 1871, TINTAGEL CASTLE, VOL 3, 231 (Unedited Source). SCO6288.

<4> WHITLEY, HM, 1885, NOTES ON GRENVILLE'S PLOT OF TINTAGEL CASTLE (Unedited Source). SCO6437.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1900s, 2nd Edition 6 Inch Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4051.

<6> Radford, CAR, 1935, Tintagel, Castle and Monastery, VOL 15, 4, 415 (Article in Journal). SCO5143.

<7> RADFORD, CAR, 1963, 6-INCH MAP (Unedited Source). SCO7879.

<8> THOMAS, AC, 1977, TINTAGEL CASTLE (DOE GUIDE) (Unedited Source). SCO8387.

<9> Browse, RG, 1981, Provisional List of Imported Pottery from West Britain and Ireland (Bibliographic reference). SCO2925.

<11> Thomas, AC, 1984, Tintagel Site Report, 25/5/1984 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4640.

<12> Hartgroves, S, 1986, Tintagel Castle (English Heritage Guide Book) (Bibliographic reference). SCO3456.

<14> Thomas, AC, 1988, Excavations in the Lower Ward, Tintagel, VOL 16, 9-30 (Article in Journal). SCO4609.

<15> Thomas, AC, 1988, Minor Sites at Tintagel Island, VOL 16, 31-48 (Article in Journal). SCO4627.

<16> Thomas, AC, 1988, CAU Excavations at Tintagel Island in 1988: The discoveries and their implications, VOL 16, 49-60 (Article in Journal). SCO4600.

<17> Padel, OJ, 1988, Tintagel in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, VOL 16, 61-66 (Article in Journal). SCO5135.

<19> Thomas, AC, 1988, Incised Pictorial Slates from Tintagel, VOL 16, 69-78 (Article in Journal). SCO4622.

<20> THOMAS, AC, 1989, LECTURE TO CAS, 20 JAN 1989 (Unedited Source). SCO8919.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• ECO1626 - Tintagel Castle 1998
• ECO3952 - Tintagel Castle - Inner ward (Ref: CA 21, 1982)
• ECO4086 - Tintagel Castle Trial Pits March 2014 (Ref: 146360)
• ECO2048 - Tintagel "Extreme Archaeology" (Ref: 2003062)

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