Caistor Castle Hill (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Castor; Castram in Lindesia

In the civil parish of Caistor.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire.
Modern Authority of Lincolnshire.
1974 county of Lincolnshire.
Medieval County of Lincolnshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TA115013
Latitude 53.49659° Longitude -0.32064°

Caistor Castle Hill has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Comments

Rickard cites post mortem inquistions for Joan princess of Wales, in 1385, and Thomas de Holland, earl of Kent, in 1397 for a castle in Caistor in Lincolnshire. What this holding was is unclear but probably the income from lands and a simple manor house, for a steward, somewhere in the parish, possibly at this site.
King records Castor as been suggested as the site of a medieval castle but rejects this as Roman only. The difficulty here is that the Latin name of the town Castram derived from the Saxon caester is readily confused with castle. However the 1143 document where King Stephen writes "quando noviter firmeravi castellum meum apud Castram in Lindesia" (when at my newly fortified castle at Castrum in Lindsley) is remarkably clear and the reason for King dismissing this is unclear.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 892573.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 50492.

Books
- Michael G Shapland, 2017, 'Anglo-Saxon towers of lordship and the origins of the castle in England' in Dawn M Hadley and Christopher Dyer, The Archaeology of the 11th Century Continuities and Transformations (Routledge) p. 104-119
  Osborne, Mike, 2010, Defending Lincolnshire: A Military History from Conquest to Cold War (The History Press) p. 32
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 69 (slight)
  Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p. 40-1
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 264, p. 265 (reject)
  Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p. 200
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 353
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Cronne, H.A. and Davis R.H.C. (eds), 1968, Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum, 1066–1154 Vol. 3 Regesta regis Stephani ac Mathildis imperatricis ac Gaufridi et Henrici ducum Normannorum, 1135-54 p. 243 No. 655 online copy
  Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) (lists sources for 1272-1422) p. 290
  1974, Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem (HMSO) Vol. 16 no. 328
  1988, Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem (HMSO) Vol. 17 no. 821
  Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1905, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry IV (1401-05) Vol. 2 p. 260 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Everson, P., 1982, Unpublished archive text, West Lindsey Project, RCHME

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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