More information : SP 966 579: Odell Castle (NR). (1)
Odell Castle, originally a motte and bailey apparently with a stone keep, was described by Leland, E 16th c, as a ruin (2). Nothing is known of the original buildings, but a new residence was built 1623 apparently using the remains of the keep, indicated by the great thickness of the walls in the basement to the SW and NW (3). Considerable alterations were made in the 18th and 19th centuries. (2,3)
The terracing on the motte and the retaining walls are modern; what was probably the bailey is now terraced lawns. The present road lies in the bed of the ditch, which appears to have once surrounded the works, dying away to the south in marshy ground. (4)
Odell Castle was mostly burnt out circa 1935; application has now been for its demolition. (5)
The mutilated remains of Odell Castle (name verified) generally as described and planned by Wadmore. All resemblance to a motte and bailey has been destroyed by successive building and garden landscaping. The castle ditch on the north side is mutilated by road widening. The present house, also named Odell Castle, was built circa 1962.
Published survey (25") revised. (6)
Listed by Cathcart King. (7)
At least five terraced banks of a garden of probable post-medieval or 20th century date are visible as earthworks on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data and were mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located within the grounds of the former medieval castle and centred at SP 96632 57850, the terracing extends over an area about 200 metres SW-NE and 140 metres NW-SE. (8-9) |