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Wallingford Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
castellum Walingafordense; Walingef'; Walingeforde

In the civil parish of Wallingford.
In the historic county of Berkshire.
Modern Authority of Oxfordshire.
1974 county of Oxfordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU60958973
Latitude 51.60254° Longitude -1.12137°

Wallingford Castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle, and also as a certain Masonry Castle.

There are masonry footings remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Medieval motte and bailey castle, built circa 1067-71, slighted 1652. excavations in the bailey revealed a mid C12 bank and ditch and C17 wall. The excavations also indicated that the castle defences were extended in circa 1275. Medieval pottery was found. Large and important early motte castle built in corner of Saxon burgh. Used throughout the medieval period and besieged in both the Anarchy and the Civil War. Impressive earthworks remain but only fragments remain of the shell keep, curtain wall and interior buildings. The motte is 60 m. round and 13.2 m. high without a ditch.

Excavations in the bailey revealed that a mid C12 bank and ditch and later C17 wall constituted the main defensive earthworks. A C12 cob building was also found, preserved to a height of 1.8m, various internal features including wall plaster and door jambs impressions survived. (Carr)

Wallingford featured prominently in the wars between Stephen and Matilda, and had becaome a royal possession before 1173. It was strongly refortified in 1215-6, and in 1220 the old hall was replaced by a new one. Used as a prison from the 1430s. (HKW)

See also Wallingford siege castles.
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Sources of information, references and further reading

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Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself. The information within this site is provided freely by me for educational purposes only.
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.
The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.
This record last updated on Friday, May 3, 2013
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