Caistor Castle Hill (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Castor; Castram in Lindesia

In the civil parish of Caistor.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire.
Modern Authority of Lincolnshire.
1974 county of Lincolnshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TA115013
Latitude 53.49659° Longitude -0.32064°

Caistor Castle Hill has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Castle Hill, Caistor. In 1143 Stephen fortified 'castellum meum apud Castram in Liudesia' and it stood a siege. Whether this refers only to a refurbishment of the Roman walled enclosure, or to a fortification on Castle Hill that might have used the whole or part of the enclosure as a bailey is not known, but the latter might account for the alignment of the W end of Church Street (Everson 1982). (PastScape)

Rickard cites post mortem inquistions for Joan princess of Wales, in 1385, and Thomas de Holland, earl of Kent, in 1397 for a castle in Caistor in Lincolnshire. What this holding was is unclear but probably the income from lands and a simple manor house, for a steward, somewhere in the parish, possibly at this site.

King records Castor as been suggested as the site of a medieval castle but rejects this as Roman only. The difficulty here is that the Latin name of the town Castram derived from the Saxon caester is readily confused with castle. However the 1143 document where King Stephen writes "quando noviter firmeravi castellum meum apud Castram in Lindesia" (when at my newly fortified castle at Castrum in Lindsley) is remarkably clear and the reason for King dismissing this is unclear.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) " , "
English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 892573.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 50492".

Books
- Osborne, Mike, 2010, Defending Lincolnshire: A Military History from Conquest to Cold War (The History Press) p. 32
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 69 (slight)
  Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p. 40-1
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 264, p. 265 (reject)
  Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p. 200
  Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 353
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Cronne, H.A. and Davis R.H.C. (eds), 1968, Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum, 1066–1154 Vol. 3 Regesta regis Stephani ac Mathildis imperatricis ac Gaufridi et Henrici ducum Normannorum, 1135-54 p. 243 No. 655 online copy
  Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) (lists sources for 1272-1422) p. 290
  1974, Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem (HMSO) Vol. 16 no. 328
  1988, Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem (HMSO) Vol. 17 no. 821
  Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1905, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry IV (1401-05) Vol. 2 p. 260 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Everson, P., 1982, Unpublished archive text, West Lindsey Project, RCHME

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