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Summary

The Carew family of Stoke Fleming are recorded as building a mansion inside the castle circa 1402. It was occupied by Royalist forces in the Civil War and was apparently badly damaged at this time. Little seems to have remained by 1740. The location and form of the house are unknown but it is likely to have stood in the vicinity of the present carpark.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1014610: Dartmouth Castle

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 446021
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX85SE/37/1
• Old SAM Ref: 24234
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX85SE15
• Tide Project: 16/07/2020

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• MANSION HOUSE (Built, XIV to XV - 1350 AD to 1450 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, SX85SE15 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV172285.

At one time in the manor of South Town, the house was built by the Lords of Stoke Fleming inside the enclosure of the castle of 1388, and a tradition of a domestic residence continued into the 18th century.

Lysons, D. + Lysons, S., 1822, Magna Britannica, 157 (Monograph). SDV323771.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Clifton Remains of a Mansion' shown on 19th century maps as a circular feature with two adjoining rectangular buildings to the northeast and a long narrow rectangular building to the southeast.

Adams, M., 1900, The Castle, Manor-house and Church of Clifton, near Dartmouth, 509-10 (Article in Serial). SDV172286.

Clifton, site of mansion. No remains of manor house. Ruins visible in Lysons' time, 1822. Probably stood just inside the castle wall. Home of the Southcotes, Lords of the Manor 1589-1670. Licence granted to John Corpe to embattle his house at entrance to Dartmouth Harbour in 1404 and this may be the same house.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

O'Neil, B. H. St J., 1935, Dartmouth Castle and other defences in Dartmouth Haven, 133 (Article in Serial). SDV177411.

A plan of 1740 describes the curtain wall of the medieval castle as "the enclosure of a former gentlemen's house". Lysons refers to the ruins of a "mansion behind St Petrock's church". Other details: Plate 33.

Higham, R. A., 1979, The Castles of Medieval Devon, 172-4 (Post-Graduate Thesis). SDV336189.

No trace of a house, although stone steps inserted into the remaining mural tower of the medieval castle were probably to make it a garden feature or look-out. The licence to crenellate of 1404 probably refers to Godmerock Caste. Other details: PhD Thesis, Exeter University.

Saunders, A. D., 1993, Dartmouth Castle, 22 (Monograph). SDV174434.

Gerrard, S., 1995, Untitled Source, 140336 (Schedule Document). SDV172291.

Mansion or great house situated within enclosure castle. Documentary and antiquarian sources indicate that there was a substantial domestic building within the castle enclosure, which has at times been referred to as a manor house and mansion. Built by the Carew family who were the Lords of the Manor of Stoke Fleming. Their building is no longer visible but will survive in the form of buried remains. A flight of steps leading into the remaining curtain wall tower is considered to be contemporary with the mansion and may have been inserted to make it into a garden feature or lookout tower.

Department of National Heritage, 1996, Dartmouth Castle (Schedule Document). SDV320377.

Other details: Monument 24234.

Dyer, M. J., 1998, Archaeological Monitoring and Recording at Dartmouth Castle, 4 (Report - Watching Brief). SDV172292.

No evidence was found for the mansion house during the 1998 excavations for water works at Dartmouth Castle.

Gaimster, M. + Haith, C. + Bradley, J., 1999, Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1998, 238 (Article in Serial). SDV361737.

Summary of watching brief results (see SDV172292).

Batty, M., 2003, South Devon Coast Path Project: a study of the archaeology along the coast path in the South Hams from Staddon Heights to Sharkham Point, 83 (Un-published). SDV336214.

Young, G. M., 2004, Dartmouth Castle: Phase 2 Condition Survey Works. Archaeological Watching Brief and Recording, 1 (Report - Survey). SDV320380.

Pink, F., 2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment (Interpretation). SDV357736.

Sharpe, A., 2016, Dartmouth Castle, Devon. Conservation Management Plan 2016, Gazetteer Nos. 3, 6 (Report - Assessment). SDV361934.

The Carew family of Stoke Fleming are recorded as building a mansion within the walls of Hawyley's 14th century castle, following the latter's abandonment circa 1402. It was occuped by Royalist forces in the Civil War and appears to have been badly damaged at that time. A map of 1740 shows that little survived by that time and Lysons' reference to it in 1822 may in fact refer to the surviving 14th century castle. The location and form of the mansion are unknown. However, the present carpark area is the only suitable level ground. However, no archaeological features were recorded during a watching brief for sewer trenching across the northern end and it was suggested that the area had been terraced, truncating the original surface. Geophysical survey and evaluation trenching are recommended across the rest of the area.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV172285	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. SX85SE15. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV172286	Article in Serial: Adams, M.. 1900. The Castle, Manor-house and Church of Clifton, near Dartmouth. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 32. A5 Hardback. 509-10.
SDV172291	Schedule Document: Gerrard, S.. 1995. Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset.. Letter. 140336.
SDV172292	Report - Watching Brief: Dyer, M. J.. 1998. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording at Dartmouth Castle. Exeter Archaeology Report. 98.64. A4 Stapled + Digital. 4.
SDV174434	Monograph: Saunders, A. D.. 1993. Dartmouth Castle. Dartmouth Castle. Unknown. 22.
SDV177411	Article in Serial: O'Neil, B. H. St J.. 1935. Dartmouth Castle and other defences in Dartmouth Haven. Archaeologia. 85. Unknown. 133.
SDV320377	Schedule Document: Department of National Heritage. 1996. Dartmouth Castle. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV320380	Report - Survey: Young, G. M.. 2004. Dartmouth Castle: Phase 2 Condition Survey Works. Archaeological Watching Brief and Recording. Exeter Archaeology Report. 04.38. A4 Stapled + Digital. 1.
SDV323771	Monograph: Lysons, D. + Lysons, S.. 1822. Magna Britannica. Magna Britannica: A Concise Topographical Account of The Several Counties o. 6: Devonshire. Unknown. 157.
SDV325644	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1904 - 1906. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital). [Mapped feature: #52192 ]
SDV336189	Post-Graduate Thesis: Higham, R. A.. 1979. The Castles of Medieval Devon. University of Exeter Thesis. Unknown. 172-4.
SDV336214	Un-published: Batty, M.. 2003. South Devon Coast Path Project: a study of the archaeology along the coast path in the South Hams from Staddon Heights to Sharkham Point. Mixed Archive Material. 83.
SDV357736	Interpretation: Pink, F.. 2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment. AC Archaeology Report. ACD618/4/3. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV361737	Article in Serial: Gaimster, M. + Haith, C. + Bradley, J.. 1999. Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1998. Medieval Archaeology. 43. Unknown. 238.
SDV361934	Report - Assessment: Sharpe, A.. 2016. Dartmouth Castle, Devon. Conservation Management Plan 2016. Cornwall Archaeological Unit. A4 Comb Bound + Digital. Gazetteer Nos. 3, 6.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV689 - Archaeological monitoring & recording at Dartmouth Castle
• EDV694 - Dartmouth Castle: Phase 2 condition survey works, archaeological watching brief & recording

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