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Summary

The motte (mound) of Southampton Castle was constructed either in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest of 1066 or in the first half of the 12th century (by 1153/1155). There is limited documentary evidence and virtually no archaeological evidence for the form of the buildings on the motte. Initially, there may have been timber buildings. Documentary evidence suggests that by 1186/7 the motte was surmounted by a shell keep, probably built of stone; this would have had other buildings inside and a gateway leading to the castle bailey. In 1378/1379 a new keep was built on the motte. A map published in 1611 shows the keep surrounded by a lower encircling wall. In the post-medieval period the motte was used successively as the site for a windmill (extant 1723), a summer house and a banqueting house (extant 1743). In about 1800 there was an ice house in the side of the motte (MSH2959). In 1805 a mock-Gothic folly, Lansdowne Castle, was built on the motte (see MSH1830). This was demolished in 1818 and the motte was subsequently lowered and redeveloped. Limited archaeological excavations since the Second World War have shown that the motte has been heavily truncated, so removing most evidence for structures. The form of the buildings in each phase, and extent to which earlier buildings were reused, is therefore unknown. Two possible robber trenches, were found during an excavation and watching brief at Lansdowne Hill in 1959 and 1960 (SOU 145, see MSH3392, MSH3393); this was perhaps evidence for the late 14th century encircling (curtain) wall. The block of flats known as Castle House on Lansdowne Hill now roughly occupies the site of the former keep.

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4111 SE 85  

Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1618 AD)
• SHELL KEEP? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1150 AD?)
• CURTAIN WALL? (Built, Medieval - 1100 AD? to 1379 AD?)
• SHELL KEEP? (Medieval - 1100 AD? to 1378 AD?)
• SHELL KEEP? (mentioned?, Medieval - 1186 AD to 1187 AD)
• KEEP (Built, Medieval - 1378 AD to 1379 AD)
• KEEP (extant, Medieval to Post Medieval - 1378 AD to 1805 AD?)
• BANQUETING HOUSE (Extant, Post Medieval - 1743 AD to 1743 AD)
• WINDMILL (Extant, Post Medieval - 1743 AD to 1743 AD)

Full description

See Parent Record MSH23 for a summary of the documentary and excavation evidence for Southampton Castle, a discussion of the development of the Castle derived largely from [11], and a full list of sources.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE (see MSH23 for earlier references.)

[1] (Davies, 1883, 75-6): “The keep, of which nothing now remains, was probably a bold shell of masonry with a chemise or encircling wall about it. .....”. The earliest documentary reference is from 1378 - an order to build, “as quickly as possible, a certain tower on the ‘old castell hill’ with two gates, a mantelet, and barbican of stone, that is an encircling wall about it with an outwork before the gate.” Etc (reference given).

[1] (pp 83-84) and [22] (p6): Quote from Leland 1546 /c1546. “The glorie of the castelle is yn the dungeon [keep], that is both larg, fair, and very stronge, both by worke and the site of it.”

[2]: 1611 map. Keep shown as battlemented ?round tall tower with turrets, surrounded by a much lower, battlemented curtain wall, all apparently on the top of the motte. Curtain wall not shown climbing the motte. Also shows a wall at the base of the motte, although the latter could be the boundary wall (?post-medieval?) that survived into the 19th century rather than a curtain wall.

[22] (p9): Lieutenant Hammond 1635. “..on a high mounted Hill, stands an old ruinated Castle, inuiron’d (sic) with a round strong Wall, which flourished when King John lay there..”.

[1] (pp 75-6): Citing Speed, 1650. “most beautiful, in forme circular, and wall within wall; the foundation upon a hill so topped that it cannot be ascended but by stairs.” (from [15]).

[21]: Reproduces an old engraving showing a distant view of the town with the windmill on Castle Hill, 1723. (Source otherwise not checked.)

[22] (p11): Richard Pococke 1743. “There was a small castle here formerly, built by Richard the 2nd on an artificial mount, but that has been destroyed long since, and instead of it was erected a windmill, which Mr. Hollman, the late Proprietor of it, converted into a banquetting room, and laid out a good sum of money on the adorning it with stucco and carving. It is now to be sold.”

[1] (75-6): Citing Speed c1770 [16]. “The hill on which the castle stood remains, and has a summer-house upon it built with the materials of the old castle: this was formerly a windmill.” (See also [18] re this, which cites [19] - latter not in HER library.)

[3]: 1771 map. Slope of motte shown with hachers. Circular wall on top, with round building in centre.
[4]: 1791 map. Much as 1771, although representation is different.
[5]: 1802 map. “Castle”. Somewhat different to 1791.

[6][7]: Englefield 1801/1805. Castle keep on mound.
“The keep stood on a very high artificial mount in the southern part of the area, and probably, as was generally the case, in the line of the wall. A small modern round tower has been built of the materials of the ancient one, which must have been large, as well as “fair” to use the words of Leland. The high mount and circular form of the keep……”.
(SCC HER: This is in the 1801 edition, so the "small modern round tower" is not Lansdowne Castle, built 1804/5.)

[8]: 1846 map. Motte area labelled “Site of Southampton Castle”. Area redeveloped as Zion Chapel, houses and other buildings.

[1] (Davies, 1883): See pages 75-76 for the keep, pages 83-84 for post-medieval references. Most references are listed above, but there are others.

[17]: VCH 1908. Land purchased 1804 to build Lansdowne Castle. Later uses of motte, including Zion Chapel built 1824.

[11]: In the two centuries after 1618 the castle motte was used successively as the site for a windmill and a Banqueting House (citing SCRO D/MH2/1/1-2).

[20]: Includes a close-up illustration of "Southampton Castle, 1799 From a painting by Barrow (Lankester Collection)." According to the author, this does not show the actual castle keep, as this had been in ruins and dismantled "more than a century earlier". Afterwards, a stone windmill was built on the site of the keep, and turned into a summer house "a little later". "The structure in the picture succeeded the summer house, and was constructed of the castle stones." The building in the illustration has battlements and sash windows. (The source of this information is not given.)
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

SOU 145 (excavation and watching brief at Lansdowne Hill in 1959 and 1960):
[9] in [10]: Two robber trenches were found*. They may have been associated with the motte/curtain wall (figure 54 shows suggested line of curtain wall).
* See child records MSH3392 & MSH3393 for further details.
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RECONSTRUCTIONS

SCC HER 31/10/09: Different reconstructions of the form of buildings on the motte, as follows:
- [12] in [13]: Fig 54 (1975). Shows the possible line of the circuit wall (?shell keep) on the motte, based on the evidence of the two suggested robber trenches found on SOU 145.
- [11]: Fig 47 (1986). Cautious reconstruction of the supposed development of the castle based on available documentary evidence. The SOU 145 evidence is not discussed in this source; perhaps it had been rejected. There is no other archaeological evidence. Fig 47 shows: an early 12th century shell keep; a late 14th century keep with encircling wall on the motte. The curtain wall is not shown climbing the motte to meet the keep walls.
- [14]: (1986) Popular booklet. Although based largely on [11], it includes more detailed reconstructions of buildings on the motte: 11th/12th century shell keep with gate, in the line of the curtain wall; late 14th century keep and gated encircling wall, latter in the line of the curtain wall. These must be largely conjectural, based on the form of other keeps across the country, although the SOU 145 evidence seems to have been used for the late 14th century encircling wall.

Is the 1378 order (quoted above) referring just to work on the motte, or to other work in the castle? See page 111/112 of [11] for suggestion that other work was being undertaken at this time.

[Note: At Arundel Castle, the curtain wall climbs the mound to join the wall of the shell keep. The shell keep is oval and 17.98m by 20.42m in plan. At Carisbrooke Castle, the shell keep is again in the line of the curtain wall, and has an internal dimension of c18m wide at its widest point. [11] suggests that the late 14th century keep would have been like Caesar’s Tower and Guy’s Tower in Warwick Castle.]

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events: None recorded

Related records

Associated Links: None recorded

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