See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Okehampton Castle was built by Baldwin, Sherrif of Devon, soon after the Norman Conquest and is recorded in Domesday Book. It was largely rebuilt and extended in the early 14th century. The fortifications were dismantled following the execution of Henry Courtenay, Lord of the Manor, in 1539. Nevertheless substantial structural remains dating to the early 14th century survive. The site is both a listed building and a scheduled monument.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1007812: Okehampton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with associated earthworks north of the West Okement River.
• Scheduled Monument 1007812: Okehampton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with associated earthworks north of the West Okement River.
• Listed Building (I) 1165647: OKEHAMPTON CASTLE

Other References/Statuses

• National Buildings Record: 107916
• National Monuments Record: SX59SE5
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 440855
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/7
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/7/4
• Old Listed Building Ref (I): 94344
• Old SAM County Ref: 21
• Old SAM Ref: 21705
• Pastscape: 440855

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CASTLE (XI - 1001 AD (Between) to 1099 AD (Between))
• BARBICAN (XII to XIV - 1101 AD (Between) to 1400 AD (Between))

Full description

Swete, R. J. (Revd), 564M/1/70,74 (Record Office Collection). SDV233101.

Illustrations of castle by Swete. Other details: Illustrations.

NMR, SX5894 (Aerial Photograph). SDV233109.

Anonymous, 1868, Untitled Source, 107 (Article in Serial). SDV233125.

Worth, R. N., 1895, Okehampton Castle, 124 (Article in Serial). SDV233108.

Description by Worth is abstracted in the parish file.

Swete, R. J. (Revd), 1901-1902, A Tour across Dartmoor into North Devon by the Rev. John Swete 1789, 121-6 (Article in Serial). SDV233095.

The castle is described in an 18th century article.

Wall, J. C., 1906, Ancient Earthworks, 619-20 (Article in Monograph). SDV341465.

Other details: Plan.

Oldham, D. W., 1906, The Private Chapels of Devon: Ancient and Modern, 397 (Article in Serial). SDV7299.

In 1381 a licence was granted for a private chapel at Okehampton. The author speculates that this may have been attached to Okehampton Castle.

Ancient Monuments, 1922, Untitled Source (Schedule Document). SDV233097.

Okehampton Castle Described.

Young, E. H., 1931, Okehampton (Article in Serial). SDV233137.

Anonymous, 1937, Proceedings of the 76th annual meeting, 23-4 (Article in Serial). SDV256417.

Department of Environment, 1960, Okehampton RD, 22 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV275388.

Castle. The oldest fabric dates from the 11C with some evidence of 13C, much rebuilt and extended in early 14C. Constructed of a mixture of granite, metamorphic rocks and shale. See DoE list for full details.

Donn, B., 1965, A Map of the County of Devon, 1765 (Reprint) (Monograph). SDV336413.

Shown on Donn's map of 1765.

Copeland, G. W., 1966, Untitled Source, 27 (Article in Serial). SDV61273.

Description by Copeland is abstracted in the parish file. Plan available in parish file.

English Heritage, 1969, Okehampton Castle, 1-7 (Report - Survey). SDV233131.

Other details: Plan.

Higham, R. A., 1973, Interim Report, 161 (Article in Serial). SDV233072.

Higham, R. A., 1973, Unknown title, 1 (Article in Serial). SDV227946.

Excavations in 1972-3 for the Department of Environment (Inspector of Ancient Monuments) were concentrated upon the motte and its keep. The complex composition of the motte revealed at least two periods of construction. The first was carefully built of wedge-shaped shale slabs placed end to end, surmounted by a consolidation layer of clay immediately below the granite foundation courses of a square keep. In the absence of evidence to the contrary this keep must date from before 1086. Subsequently (presumably in the late 13th century) the motte was extended westward by tipping of shale rubble, possibly to accommodate the present rectangular keep, incorporating into its east end the remains of the square keep. Features found contemporary with this later phase were a retaining wall immediately beneath the highest part of the keep; a continuation of the north curtain wall up the side of the motte; rough stone steps, and a stone-kerbed path from the bailey to the motte summit. Limited excavation in the bailey suggested the presence of a ditch separating it from the motte and two phases of building construction.

Higham, R. A., 1974, Interim Report, 195 (Article in Serial). SDV233073.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1974, SX59SE5, Other details: Plan. (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV232996.

No change. Published survey 1:2500 survey revised.

Higham, R. A., 1975, Interim Report, 239 (Article in Serial). SDV233074.

Higham, R. A., 1976, Interim Report, 184 (Article in Serial). SDV233115.

Timms, S. C., 1976, The Devon Urban Survey, 1976. First Draft, 155, 157, 159 (Report - Survey). SDV341346.

The castle stands in isolation above the West Okement River. It was built by Baldwin, Sherrif of Devon, soon after the Norman Conquest and it is recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The fortifications were dismantled following the execution of Henry Courtenay, Lord of the Manor, in 1539. Nevertheless substantial structural remains dating to the early 14th century survive.

Higham, R. A., 1977, Excavations at Okehampton Castle, 3-42, Plan. (Article in Serial). SDV233066.

Okehampton Castle:- a motte with bailey of elongated form to the north-east, and earthworks to the south-west. The keep on the motte is an irregular rectangular structure of two storeys (continuing to three storeys in the north-east angle) with a dividing wall along its short axis. The two upper rooms have identical arrangements of garderobe, window and fireplace. The stonework is a mixture of granite, metamorphic rocks and shale, with some aplite used for dressed stone. The walls are c.2m thick with small window openings.
The Bailey has two ranges of buildings flanking an irregular open space. South range: from west to east: a single lodging (rebuilt 17th century), chapel, and series of lodgings. North range: from west to east: a kitchen block, and great hall with chamber block. The ranges meet at the gate house, from which a barbican passage leads to an outer gatehouse. A short stretch of curtain wall survives outside the kitchen block. The west end of the south curtain is built into the south range. Bailey buildings are mainly of shale with aplite dressings.
History: the castle was founded between 1068 and 1086 when it was recorded in the Domesday book under Sheriff Baldwin's demesne of Okehampton. Part of the keep dates to this period. The Courtenays acquired the Barony of Okehampton in the early 13th century, and they were responsible for the predominantly late 13th / early 14th century architecture to be seen. Robbing and decay seems to have occurred almost continuously since 1538 (the fall of the Marquis of Exeter and Courtenay family from favour, and acquisition by the crown), although the gatehouse and other structures were reoccupied in the late 17th century.
[Full pot report in PDAS, Volume 35]: A sequence from the 13th century to the late 17th century was established. It included Medieval imports from Normandy and Santonge as well as later Rhenish stonewares. Also 8 coins from 13th to 15th century were found.

Webster, L. E. + Cherry, J., 1977, Medieval Britain in 1976, 234 (Article in Serial). SDV233116.

Greeves, T. A. P., 1978, Archaeological Sites within Okehampton Park and its Vicinity (Un-published). SDV233126.

Other details: No A1.

Higham, R. A., 1978, Untitled Source, 156 (Article in Serial). SDV233117.

Other details: Plan.

Higham, R. A. + Allan, J. P., 1980, Excavations at Okehampton Castle: preliminary report on the bailey, 49-51 (Article in Serial). SDV233111.

The final interim report summarises the development and history of the castle:- the motte is considered to be a primary feature of 1068-1086, the enclosure to its west perhaps being an early bailey. Present bailey occupied by 12th century. The motte ditch was filled in by the end of the 13th century. The whole site was rebuilt in the early 14th century by Hugh Courtenay, and additional lodgings provided in the bailey in the later middle ages. Finds from excavation do not reflect the high level of social life illustrated by the architecture. Excavations in 1972-1981. Reports in Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society from 1973-1980.

Morley, B. M., 1981, Aspects of fourteenth-century castle design, 104-13 (Article in Monograph). SDV233136.

Higham, R. A. + Allan, J. P., 1981, Okehampton Castle, 25 (Article in Serial). SDV233124.

Higham, R. A., 1982, Dating in Medieval Archaeology: problems and possibilities, 83-107 (Article in Monograph). SDV233099.

Dating discussed.

Higham, R. A. + Allan, J. P. + Blaylock, S. R., 1982, Excavations at Okehampton Castle, Devon: Pt 2: the bailey, 19-151 (Article in Serial). SDV233077.

Other details: Plans.

DCC, 1982, Photo/538/20 (Photograph). SDV233121.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/AP, 12 (Aerial Photograph). SDV233130.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/CV, 6 (Aerial Photograph). SDV233132.

Griffith, F. M., 1986, DAP/GI, 28-30 (Aerial Photograph). SDV233142.

Thompson, M. W., 1986, Unknown, 305-21 (Article in Serial). SDV233104.

Thompson links the presence of the castle to the founding of the 12th century Priory at Brightley (see PRN 5032). Other details: Table 2.

Department of Environment, 1987, Okehampton Hamlets, 68 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV233134.

Higham, R. A., 1988, Devon Castles: An Annotated List, 143 (Article in Serial). SDV341278.

Griffith, F., 1988, Devon's Past. An Aerial View, 76 (Monograph). SDV64198.

Okehampton Castle, is in fact the only Devon castle specifically mentioned in Domesday book in 1086.

Higham, R. A., 1989, A knight to remember: the building enterprises of Hugh Courtenay(1276-1340)., 154 (Article in Serial). SDV233186.

Griffith, F. M., 1991, DAP/UP, 8-15 (Aerial Photograph). SDV233144.

Higham, R. A. + Freeman, J. P., 1996, Devon Castles (Draft Text), 2, 3, 4-5, 7, 8, 10, 11-14, Gazetteer (Monograph). SDV354350.

Situated on a spur overlooking a ford on the West Okement river the castle occupies a strategic position on the north-western edge of Dartmoor. The castle is first documented in the Domesday Book and was probably, therefore, constructed soon after the arrival of the Normans in Devon in 1068. This early castle consisted of an almost square stone tower on top of a large motte sculpted from the end of a natural shale spur and further raised by material quarried from adjacent ditches. It probably also included the portion of the spur cut off by a bank and ditch to the south-west, on the opposite side of the motte from the later castle bailey.
The castle became the centre of the Courtenay estate in the late 12th century and it was substantially rebuilt by Hugh Courtenay II in the early 14th century. The evolution of the castle from the 11th to 14th centuries is considered to be of national importance. The castle provides a good example of medieval domestic planning with a combination of a traditional hall range with more innovative individual lodgings, the latter being one of the earliest examples in England.

English Heritage, 1997, January-June 1997, 66 (Report - non-specific). SDV233105.

Wall painting condition audit - includes wall painting record, general audit information, documentation of original materials and execution of the painting, deterioration and damage including previously used materials and treatment, as well as proposals for treatment and monitoring strategies.

Davies, J. + Manning, T., 1997, Wall Painting Condition Audit, Okehampton Castle, Devon (Report - Assessment). SDV364224.

Gaimster, M. + Bradley, J. + Beaumonth James, T., 2000, Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1999, 259-260 (Article in Serial). SDV361738.

Probert, S. A. J., 2004, Okehampton Castle and Park, West Devon: Survey Report, Other details: Plan. (Report - Survey). SDV324949.

The 2004 report on Okehampton Castle and Park by English Heritage includes a synopsis of the knowledge of the site to that date. It adds to this the results of survey of the earthworks associated with the castle, which were previously largely uninvestigated in detail and a survey of the archaeology and developing use of the park. The earthwork features closely associated with the castle include the western defences and enclosure.- these may be outlying dfences of the castle, perhaps a further earlier bailey or preliminary defensive obstacle with only brief occupation, but a bank and ditch element of the complex aslo resembles a preshistoric boundary cross-dyke. The earthwork survey also took in the motte, the known early bailey and a series of fishponds and dams.
The English Heritage survey plan shows the keep built in the late 11th century, most of the ancillary buildings added in the early 14th century and a few added in the later 17th century.

Higham, R. A., 2010, Castle Studies in Transition: A Forty Year Reflection, 1 - 13 (Article in Serial). SDV361505.

Historic England, 2015, National Heritage List for England, 1007812 (National Heritage List for England). SDV358087.

Okehampton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with associated earthworks north of the West Okement River.
Reasons for Designation: Motte and bailey castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey, adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles acted as garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte and bailey castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape. Over 600 motte castles or motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples known from most regions. As one of a restricted range of recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other types of castle.
Details: Okehampton Castle is situated in a bend of, and to the north of, the West Okement River, about 500m south-west of the town of Okehampton. The site commands the valley through which the road from Devon into Cornwall ran, prior to the construction of the later road cut higher up the valley side to the north. The original castle was of motte and bailey construction and was built by 1086 AD, when it was recorded in the Domesday book as belonging to Sheriff Baldwin. The castle includes a large mound, the motte, on which is situated the keep. Part of this keep is believed to have been built by Sheriff Baldwin and is the oldest of the stone structures surviving. The 11th century keep was square but was added to in the 14th century to create a rectangular building which survives as a ruined structure three storeys high. The motte on which it sits has a summit of c.25m by 30m in diameter while at its widest point the base is over 60m across. The motte is partly made up of the natural spur of land on which the castle sits and partly of artificially built-up deposits giving it a height of about 8m. To the north-east of the motte is the main bailey of the castle, which contained buildings essential to the housing and feeding of the castle's occupants. The surviving buildings are mostly of 14th century date and many of the original buildings in the bailey would have been demolished to make way for them. The bailey buildings provided shelter for the inhabitants of the castle, store rooms and activity areas including domestic rooms, a great hall, stables, a chapel and kitchens. The defence was provided by curtain walls along the north and south sides of the bailey while a double gatehouse connected by a corridor provided a formidable entrance to the castle at the north-eastern end. Recent research suggests that the curtain walls follow the line of the earlier bailey defence and are probably of late 12th century date. To the west of the quarry ditch which surrounds the motte there is a spur on which an earthwork survives running roughly north-south before turning east along the top of the steep slope overlooking the West Okement River. This earthwork is probably the boundary of an earlier bailey than the one to the east and its construction is similar to that of the motte, both being built of quarried shale and soil. The castle site also contains further ruins to the north-west of the motte, within a compound north of the stream which runs through the site. These survive as a number of dispersed stretches of wall c.0.75m wide and varying from less than 1m to several metres long. These visible remains appear to be part of further buildings buried below the surface. The stream runs into the West Okement River north-east of the castle and is abutted by a number of slight earthworks which are thought to represent an additional defence on the northern side of the castle and a number of later structures built after the castle went out of use. Okehampton is the only castle in Devon mentioned in the Domesday book and was later acquired by the Courtenays who were responsible for the majority of the stone buildings which survive today. Excluded from the scheduling are the steps set into the side of the motte, the compound north of the stream and the custodian's hut, although the ground beneath all of these features is included in the scheduling.

Historic England, 2015, National Heritage List for England, 1165647 (National Heritage List for England). SDV358087.

Okehampton Castle. Castle. The oldest fabric dates from the C11 with some evidence of C13, much rebuilt and extended in early C14. Constructed of a mixture of granite, metamorphic rocks and shale. The earliest structure is the C11 keep standing on its motte, there is some evidence of C13 buildings in the main bailey but most of the surviving structure dates from an early C14 rebuild and extension of the site when the keep was also enlarged. Dating from this time is the hall, the kitchen range, a chapel and priests accommodation, extensive lodgings, a main gatehouse and a barbican gatehouse. Further minor additions were made in the late C14 and C15 and the late C17. The structure is now ruinous with the extant remains varying in their degree of survival but the external fabric is in places relatively complete. The motte and keep are to the south-west with the bailey buildings ranging down the valley to the north east. The castle is first mentioned in 1086 in Domesday Book when it was the centre of the estates of Baldwin de Brionne who was Sheriff of Devon. In 1173 the castle passed into the hands of the Courtenay family who held it until 1509. This castle holds a strategic point at the head of the valley and as such has great landscape value. From the extensive survival of the buildings a reconstruction of the early C14 layout is possible and it is one of the more complete castle sites in Devon.

Historic England, 2021-2022, NRHE to HER website, Accessed 06/12/2021 (Website). SDV364039.

The Motte and Keep, excavation report. (5)
Ruins of Okehampton Castle. Finely situated on the knoll with the Okement on W. and deep valley on W. One of the largest castles in Devon. The site is narrow and the buildings stretch from the N.E. gatehouse and barbican to the keep on S.W. Narrow inner bailey flanks by the hall and kitchen on one side and living quarters and chapel on the other. On higher ground than the rest at S.W. end is the keep. All now ruined but with much fine detail and masonry. The keep is probably C12 but much of the rest as late as 1300. (6)
Okehampton Castle. Grade 1. (7)
The excavation programme was completed in 1981demonstrating that the early motte had a rectangular stone tower, and the bailey or outwork extended westwards. Occupation in the eastern bailey had begun in the C12th. During the C13th, the motte ditch had silted up, the curtain wall of ca 1300 collapsed, and extensive rebuilding was undertaken in the C14th by Hugh Courteney. Report and plan. (8-12)
DE 12 Roman tile and pottery residual in Medieval layers. Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. (13)
Scheduled listing. (14)
Listed by Cathcart King. (15)
Additional reference. (16)
Okehampton Castle. The earthwork remains of an 11th century motte; 12th century and later ruined building remains of a keep, barbican and other buildings. Excavations, which were completed in 1981 demonstrated that the early motte had a rectangular stone tower, and the bailey or outwork extended westwards. Occupation in the eastern bailey began in the 12th century. During the 13th century, the motte ditch silted up, the curtain wall of circa 1300 collapsed, and extensive rebuilding was undertaken in the 14th century by Hugh Courteney. Residual finds of Roman tile and pottery may indicate the possible site of a villa. Scheduled. (1-16)
Okehampton Castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest and is strategically situated close to the centre of Devon where important routes meet, on a natural spur of shale that was separated from the hillside by a huge ditch. It was recorded in the Domesday survey of 1086 AD as belonging to Baldwin of Brionne, who had become sheriff of Devon in 1070 AD. By 1274, the castle, in the ownership of the Courtenay family, had become semi-derelict. Several years later it was rebuilt and extended, not as a fortress but as an occasional residence at the centre of a great deer park. In 1539, Edward Courtenay was suspected of treason and was executed by Henry VIII. The castle was stripped of its fixtures and fittings and fell into decay, being used as a source of building material for local people. (7, 17, 18)
The castle includes a large mound, the motte on which is situated a stone keep. The extant remains include the structure of the 11th century square keep built by Baldwin. This was added to in the 14th century to create a three storey rectangular structure. The motte, which is about 8 metres in height, comprises of the natural spur and artificially built-up deposits. To the north-east of the motte was the bailey that contained the buildings used to feed and house the occupants. The surviving buildings mostly date to the 14th century and would have originally comprised of a great hall, stables, a chapel, kitchens and other domestic or storerooms. The bailey was defended by curtain walls, which may date to the 12th century, along the north and south sides. At the north eastern end was a double gatehouse connected by a corridor. To the west of the motte are earthworks, which are thought to represent the remains of an earlier bailey of similar construction to the motte. (7, 17, 18)
Sources:
(5) Devon Archaeological Society proceedings Continuation of: Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Exploration Society Mar-41 35, 1977 (R A Higham)
(6) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest Default value used to record large numbers of archive items which are not separately catalogued. See Monument Recording Guidelines for details of use. 22 (Provisional List) Okehampton RD, Devon, Feb 1960
(7) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest Default value used to record large numbers of archive items which are not separately catalogued. See Monument Recording Guidelines for details of use. 68 1538 West Devon, 07-SEP-1987
(8) Devon 1989 Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner 610-12
(9) Devon Archaeological Society proceedings Continuation of: Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Exploration Society Mar-42 35, 1977 (RA Higham JP Allan)
(10) Devon Archaeological Society proceedings
Continuation of: Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Exploration Society 49-51 38, 1980 (RA Higham JP Allan)
(11) Archaeology in Devon, annual report Devon County Council 25 4, 1981 (RA Higham JP Allan)
(12) Archaeology in Devon, annual report Devon County Council 26-Jul 5, 1982 (RA Higham)
(13) A gazetteer of Roman villas in Britain 1993 by Eleanor Scott 50 no.1
(14) The English Heritage visitors' handbook 1998-99 1998 English Heritage 83
(15) Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery 1983 by David J Cathcart King 117-8 1
(16) Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain
Jointly published with Hamlyn 1988 edited by Peter Furtado et al 75
(17) Okehampton Castle, Devon [official guide] 1984 by R A Higham Mar-31 R.A. Higham. London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office.
(18) World Wide Web page Higginbotham, Peter. 2000. The Workhouse.<http://www.workhouses.org.uk/> [Accessed 18-OCT-2006] 2004. English Heritage Education Information Sheet: Okehampton Castle. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/okehampton_castle.pdf [Accessed 17-JUN-2008]

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds

• FDV8251 - COIN (XII to XV - 1200 AD to 1499 AD)
• FDV3450 - SHERD (XII to XVII - 1200 AD to 1699 AD)

Associated Events

• EDV3457 - Excavation at Okehampton Castle
• EDV3474 - Earthwork survey of Okehampton Castle and Park
• EDV8674 - Survey of castle motte, Okehampton Castle
• EDV8676 - Recording at the East Lodgings, Okehampton Castle during repair works
• EDV8680 - Wall painting condition audit, Okehampton Castle

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.