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Hamstead Marshall 3–conquest castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Newbury

In the civil parish of Hamstead Marshall.
In the historic county of Berkshire.
Modern Authority of West Berkshire.
1974 county of Berkshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU42106690
Latitude 51.39978° Longitude -1.39606°

Hamstead Marshall 3–conquest castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
Description

Medieval bailey, two mottes, moat and fish pond seen as earthworks in Hamstead Marshall Park. One of the mottes is an oval mound, approximately 60m across, and is surrounded on the western side by a wide ditch, probably a moat. The bailey is an oblong mound, 130m by 65m in size. (PastScape)

The dating of the mottes is a matter for some speculation. Myres considers that the mottes are neither to be dated between 1066 and 1154 where they could be associated with the probably illicit activities of Hugolin Stirman and the early Marshals, nor to the 13th century. Certainly there must have been buildings on the site in 1218 as King Henry III was entertained there. The date of the pottery from the bottom of the hill on which the mottes are situated might be seen as supporting the idea of an early date for the construction of the mottes. (PastScape–ref. field investigators comments 1963)

The site comprises two mounds one 40m by 50m and 4.7m in height the other 60m in diameter and 6.8m high. The smaller of the pair is surrounded by a ditch with a maximum depth of 2m. The summit is heel-shaped and has been damaged by trees. Below the top of the mound the profile is interrupted by a step, this is either the original surface or the result of later alterations. The other larger mound is slightly oval in plan and has traces of a low ring bank on the NW side. The mound is surrounded except to the N by a 2.7m deep ditch. (PastScape–ref. Catherall et al, 1984)

May be the 'Newbury' castle besieged in 1152 (Higgot, 1998), See Newbury Castle for discussion.

It seems probably that this and the Hampstead Marshall 2 motte are one castle with two mottes and not two separate castles as often stated. The distance between the two motte summits is 140m compared with 100m at Lincoln and 180m at Lewes.

See also Hampstead Marshall palace the, now lost, successor manor house to the castle, which was briefly a royal palace used on a few occasions by Edward III.
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Sources of information, references and further reading

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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.
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This record last updated on Monday, June 17, 2013
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