GATEHOUSE
The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
Home
The listings
Other Info
Books
Links
Downloads
Contact
 
Print Page 
 
Next Record 
Previous Record 
Back to list 

Eggesford Castle, Wembworthy

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Heywood Wood

In the civil parish of Wembworthy.
In the historic county of Devonshire.
Modern Authority of Devon.
1974 county of Devon.
Medieval County of Devon.

OS Map Grid Reference: SS67831191
Latitude 50.89151° Longitude -3.88057°

Eggesford Castle, Wembworthy has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Eggesford Castle survives comparatively well and contains archaeological information relating to Norman military activity in this part of Devon. The proximity of this castle to another one nearby is unusual.
The monument includes Eggesford Castle, a ringwork castle situated above a ford to the west of the River Taw at Eggesford. It lies to the south west of a second motte and bailey castle called Heywood Castle which is the subject of a separate scheduling. The monument survives as an oval mound which measures 31m long by 20m wide and is 3.5m high with a surrounding bank up to 1.5m high. Part of the ringwork has been levelled by 19th century ornamental gardening. The bailey, which lies to the NNE, measures 71m long by 24.5m wide internally and is surrounded by a bank which is up to 3.8m wide and 2.3m high. Surrounding the whole is a ditch which measures 2m wide and from 1.6m to 3.5m deep on the north eastern side; at this point steps have also been cut to facilitate access to the river. The history of the castle is not clear, although a date of 1130s to the 1140s seems most likely. (Scheduling Report)
Comments

Eggesford Castle and Heywood Castle are only 500m apart. Both are rather isolated from settlement, although the settlement form is dispersed in this area. The mid C12 date given to both castles is speculative. There must be some relationship between these two neighbouring castle but the nature of that relationship is obscure. The suggestion by Vatchell that Eggesford was the original post-Conquest castle succeeded by the larger Heywood has merit but is unproven. The Eggesford location may be close to, a now lost, river crossing suggesting a manorial centre. The Heywood location, on a hill spur end is more defensive and more dramatic and impressive (although this impact is now lost in the wooded site). If the Eggesford location became somewhat isolated after a ford became impassible then this might suggest a reason for a move to a more impressive location. Dating evidence would be useful but would probably require extensive and destructive excavation and both these earthworks are actually well preserved and should be protected from such damage.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
PastScape   County HER   Scheduling        
Maps >
Streetmap   NLS maps   Where's the path   Old-Maps      
Data/Maps > 
Magic   V. O. B.   Geology   LiDAR   Open Domesday  
Air Photos > 
Bing Maps   Google Maps   Getmapping   ZoomEarth      
Photos >
CastleFacts   Geograph   Flickr   Panoramio      

Sources of information, references and further reading
Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
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 Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. 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.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely 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.
Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.
This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:21:52

Home | Books | Links | Fortifications and Castles | Other Information | Help | Downloads | Author Information | Contact
¤¤¤¤¤