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Marlborough Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Merleberge; Malmesberiae; Marlbergie; The Mount

In the civil parish of Marlborough.
In the historic county of Wiltshire.
Modern Authority of Wiltshire.
1974 county of Wiltshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU18376866
Latitude 51.4156° Longitude -1.7368°

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

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
Description

Large mound, possibly a motte and bailey within the grounds of Marlborough College. The first documentary evidence for the existence of a castle is during the reign of King Stephen, who held it in 1139 from the Empress Matilda. It is possible that it existed earlier. Repairs and construction of a ring wall around the motte are recorded for 1209-11. Further building occurred during the reign of Henry II, including a Great Tower. The castle was in ruins by 1403. Parts of the keep and curtain wall have been identified by excavation and a Roman coin recovered. A chapel was allegedly situated within the bailey. The mound was incorporated into a garden layout during the late C17/early C18, with the construction of a summerhouse on the top and a grotto at the base. There has been considerable speculation that the mound has origins in the later Neolithic, by analogy with Silbury Hill, particularly since the discovery in 1912 of several red deer antler fragments within the mound, and the collection of some struck flints from the ground surface to the south and south west in the early 1920s. At present, the extant evidence is rather limited however a late Neolithic origin for the mound cannot be completely ruled out, and the Marlborough place-name (barrow of Maerla) does suggest the mound may be based on a barrow or, at least, a pre-saxon earthwork mound. From 1273-1369 it was in possession of the queen as a dower house. (PastScape)

1256. To Stephen Fromund, constable of the castle of Merleberge. Contrabreve to repair where absolutely necessary the wall of the castle of Merleberge, which has fallen down in three places. (Cal. Lib. Rolls)

Radiocarbon dates of charcoal from cores taken from the mound in 2010 have dated the mound as prehistoric (2800-2000 BCE) and a contemporary of Silbury Hill. This does not exclude later use of the mound as a motte for Marlborough Castle. However, the motte was merely a part of the castle and most of the medieval castle is probably lost beneath the school buildings.
Links to mapping and other online resources
Data >
PastScape   County HER   Scheduling        
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Sources of information, references and further reading

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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.
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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This record last updated on Friday, May 3, 2013
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