A comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales and the Islands.

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Ousden

In the civil parish of Ousden.
In the historic county of Suffolk.
Modern Authority of Suffolk.
1974 county of Suffolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TL73525962
Latitude 52.20807° Longitude 0.53850°

Ousden has been described as a Uncertain although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Nothing known of castle mentioned by Moore (King) listed by Harvey. Moore records this a 4 miles from Newmarket.

Is this a reference to Ousden Hall? The site of this is at TL73525962 and a few remnants remain but this is 'said to have been erected in the time of Queen Elizabeth for the Moseley family' (Suffolk HER Ref. Copinger). Copringer gives a full history of the medieval manor but with nothing that hints at to what Moore meant. A medieval manor house certainly existed and probably at or near the site occupied by the current hall, by the C12 church, which would explain the lack of any medieval site. It seems unlikely this was anything more than a simple manor house. Is there a obscure medieval reference to a 'castrum' (meaning a manorial centre) or was there a fanciful history constructed for the early origins of Ousden Hall.

Links to mapping and other online resources
Data >	PastScape	County HER
Maps >	OS getamap	Streetmap	Old-Maps	Where's the path
Data/Maps >	Magic	V. O. B.	EarthTools
Air Photos >	Bing Maps	Google Maps	Getmapping	Flashearth
Photos >	CastleFacts	Geograph	Flickr	Panoramio

Sources of information, references and further reading

English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 515983 (Ousden Hall).
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) OUS 003 (Ousden Hall).

Books
- King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 460 (possible)
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Copinger, W.A., 1909, Manors of Suffolk Vol. 5 p. 274-77 online copy
  Moore, James, 1798, List of the Principal Castles and Monasteries in Great Britain (London) p. 40 online copy

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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.
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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.

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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This record last updated on Monday, June 17, 2013

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