More information : (SP 15606613] Beaudesert Castle GT (Site of). (1)
Remnants of earthworks situated on a steep hill called 'The Mount', which forms a promontory jutting towards the little River Alne from a ridge of high ground running north and south. The site is by nature a strong and commanding one.
"The extant remains of the castle consist primarily of a flat topped oval artificial mound surrounded by a ditch, covering altogether an area of about 2 acres; a raised bank of earth crossing the ditch to the south-west connects this moated 'keep' with its accompanying courtyard. At 250' distance beyond this entrance another ditch runs across the flat top of the hill from north-west to south-east; this appears to have formed a division between two
courtyards, an outer and an inner one. The defences which formerly encircled these courts have gradually been demolished and the ditches become filled. Dugdale (a) wrote that they were so filled that it was possible to plough them. (2)
Hardly anything is known of its architectural history. It was in existence by C.1140 but its importance probably declined when the De Montfort estates passed to the Earl of Warwick C.1369. Although an account roll of 1411 mentions some repairs to the castle no mention is made of it in a survey of 1547 and it is presumed by that time to have fallen into ruin. (3)
The earthworks comprise a castle mound with a double bailey to the south-west. Aligned with the north-western boundary is a much later hedgebank, which, at the south-west extremity turns south across the end of the hill. The ditch between the two baileys has been mutilated by the recent insertion of a buried observation post. Access to the castle was by a terraced way from the south into the inner court through a deep inturned entrance. The small adjunct noted on the V.C.H. plan to the east of the main enclosure does not appear contrived but more likely the result of general scarping. To the north, at the foot of the natural slopes, lies a fishpond, almost certainly associated with the castle.
Resurveyed at 1/2500. (4)
Scheduled as 'Beaudesert Castle'. (5)
Additional bibliography with plan (6,7)
Additional bibliography. (8)
Limited excavation in 2001 by the Time Team revealed part of the Great Hall and curtain wall. (9) |