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Historic England Research Records

John Of Gaunts Castle

Hob Uid: 51828
Location :
North Yorkshire
Harrogate
Haverah Park
Grid Ref : SE2195454539
Summary : The standing ruins of a royal hunting lodge known as John of Gaunt's Castle, situated on a spur of land projecting north into the valley now occupied by the Beaver Dyke reservoirs. The hunting lodge took the form of a stone tower standing on a square shaped platform surrounded by a moat with a large outer bank. The remains of a gatehouse survive at the southern edge of the platform. The tower no longer stands, but the foundations for it survive as prominent earthworks. The moat surrounding the platform is 4 metres wide and 2 metres deep. The east and west outer banks are substantial, measuring 12 metres in width with steep sides up to 2 metres high. At the north there is a low outer bank grading into the natural fall of the land to the north. At the south side there is a wide flat topped bank with a short slope to the rear. The monument was a royal hunting lodge for the medieval park of Haverah lying within the Forest of Knaresborough. It would serve as a royal residence and administrative centre when the king was hunting in the forest. The first reference to the lodge was in 1333 when substantial repairs were carried out to what was an already well established building. The records show that at this time the lodge had a chapel, a hall and a queen's chamber. Haverah Park was created in the late 12th century and the lodge may date to this time. The 1333 repairs also included the construction of the moat. The lodge was in the king's hands until 1372 when it was aquired by John of Gaunt.
More information : [SE 21965455] JOHN OF GAUNT'S CASTLE [G.T.] (Remains of) (1)

John of Gaunt's Castle was probably a hunting lodge in the Honour of Knaresborough. There is a square platform enclosed by a ditch and on it a small mound which carried a tower. There are remains of a stone gateway to the south. Works at Haverah are mentioned in 1334, which is about the date of the existing remains. (2)

Scheduled under castles. (3)

Resurveyed at 1:2500
A moated enclosure with some stone remains on the central platform, and a well preserved dry ditch. The site commands an extensive view of the park in which it is situated. Its purpose, therefore, seems eminently suitable as a hunting lodge, and compares with a similar such lodge at SJ 973 721
(See "Md. Park site at Toothill" Trans. Lancs. & Ches. A.S. 1960 p. 84). (4)

No change. (5)

SE 219 545. John of Gaunt's Castle. Scheduled No NY/134. (6)

SE 21955435. Records from 1333 state that the lodge contained a hall, a chapel, a queen's chamber and was roofed with lead. Two stone chambers, built into the south east of the outer bank around the moat, are interpreted as being for root crop storage, game or ice. They are associated with the post medieval farm complex which lies adjacent to the site. Scheduled. (8)

A`doums de Hewra' is first documented in royal records in 1300 when its buildings were repaired, and in 1316 it was converted to a `fortalice' as a protection against the Scots. In 1331 when Edward III gave the honour of Knaresborough to his Queen, Philippa, he retained Haywra as a stud farm. A description of the site in 1331 suggests that all the buildigs with the exception of a hall were within a single tower, similar to the Northern peel towers. Haywra passed to John of Gaunt in 1372. (9)

Small earthwork. Tower with projecting gatehouse on a lightly defended platform. First recorded in 1316. (10)

Short note following a survey by EDAS in 2007. (11)

A broad moated enclosure with outer bank, large square building platform and the low structural remains of the gatehouse are visible as earthworks and structures on the air photos and on lidar imagery. This monument is partially overlain with features associated with a later farmstead (see UID1582409), a post medieval wall for example runs along the top of the moat's outer bank. (12-14)
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Source details : OS 6" 1956
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Source details : Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SE2154 16-JUN-2010
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Source Number : 13
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Source details : LIDAR SE2154 Environment Agency DSM XX-XXX-XXXX
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Source Number : 14
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Source details : EHA 28493_010 19-NOV-2013
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Source details : Ministry of Works. 1961. Ancient Monuments in England and Wales, 113
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Source details : F1 RL 10-OCT-62
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Source details : F2 RE 04-AUG-81
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Source details : North Yorkshire
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Source details : 19/03/1998
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Source details : EH Scheduling amendment, 23-APR-2003
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Source Number : 9
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Monument Types:
Monument Period Name : Medieval
Display Date : Possibly late C12
Monument End Date : 1199
Monument Start Date : 1167
Monument Type : Hunting Lodge, Gatehouse
Evidence : Demolished Building
Monument Period Name : Medieval
Display Date : Fortified 1316
Monument End Date : 1316
Monument Start Date : 1316
Monument Type : Fortified House, Hunting Lodge
Evidence : Ruined Building, Earthwork
Monument Period Name : Medieval
Display Date : 1331-7
Monument End Date : 1337
Monument Start Date : 1331
Monument Type : Hunting Lodge, Great Hall, Domestic Chapel, Gatehouse, Moat, Fortified House
Evidence : Demolished Building, Documentary Evidence, Ruined Building, Earthwork
Monument Period Name : Post Medieval
Display Date : Post medieval
Monument End Date : 1901
Monument Start Date : 1540
Monument Type : Fodder Store, Game Larder, Icehouse
Evidence : Structure
Components and Objects:
Related Records from other datasets:
External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (County No.)
External Cross Reference Number : NY 134
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (National No.)
External Cross Reference Number : 29547
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : National Monuments Record Number
External Cross Reference Number : SE 25 SW 2
External Cross Reference Notes :
Related Warden Records :
Associated Monuments :
Relationship type : Is referred to by
Associated Monuments :
Relationship type : Is referred to by
Related Activities :
Associated Activities :
Activity type : FIELD OBSERVATION (VISUAL ASSESSMENT)
Start Date : 1962-10-10
End Date : 1962-10-10
Associated Activities :
Activity type : FIELD OBSERVATION (VISUAL ASSESSMENT)
Start Date : 1981-08-04
End Date : 1981-08-04
Associated Activities :
Activity type : WATCHING BRIEF
Start Date : 2005-01-01
End Date : 2005-12-31