Fordham

Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Other/Unknown)

There are no visible remains

NameFordham
Alternative Names
Historic CountryCambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely
Modern AuthorityCambridgeshire
1974 AuthorityCambridgeshire
Civil ParishFordham

Renn records that Fordham was fortified during the rebellion of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1143-4.

Gatehouse Comments

There is no substantive evidence for a location of the fortification. The recent and thorough VCH makes no mention of this. Fairweather translates the entry ' … securing it with a strong band of knights' (p. 404) which may well suggest no fortification was actually built but that the town was just garrisoned. Given map reference is for Fordham parish church but it is not suggested this was fortified although the church, as a large strong building, may have been a suitable base for such a garrison.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTL633707
Latitude52.3103294372559
Longitude0.394670009613037
Eastings563300
Northings270700
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

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.

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Books

  • Lowerre, A.G., 2005, Placing Castles in the Conquest. Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in the South-Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100 (Oxford: John and Erica Hedges Ltd: BAR British Series 385) p. 233
  • Wareham, A.F. and Wright, A.P.M. (eds), 2002, 'Forham: Manors and other estates' VCH Cambridgeshire Vol. 10 p. 395-402 (Tenurial history, no mention of fortification or Mandiville) online transcription
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 40
  • Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 190

Primary Sources

  • Fairweather, Janet, 2005, Liber Eliensis A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth, compiled by a Monk of Ely in the Twelfth Century (Boydell Press) p. 404
  • Blake, E.O. (ed), 1962, Liber Eliensis (London: Royal Historical Society Camden Third Series 92) p. 328

Other

  • Lowerre, A.G., 2004, Placing Castles in the Conquest. Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in the South-Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100 (PhD thesis: Boston College) p. 492