Crofton 'castelgate'

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

There are no visible remains

NameCrofton 'castelgate'
Alternative Names
Historic CountryYorkshire
Modern AuthorityWakefield
1974 AuthorityWest Yorkshire
Civil ParishCrofton

Possible Early Castle

SE377181

Situation: The NGR is approximate, based on place-name evidence.

Preservation: No extant remains (see below).

Description: Marginal place-name evidence suggests the possible existence of a now vanished early castle site at Crofton. The name ‘Castelgate’ is recorded in the 12th century Nostell Chartulary, although there is no evidence of any such site on the ground. (Creighton 1998)

Gatehouse Comments

Crofton School, at SE377179, is on the site of Crofton Old Hall, which was a C18 building but, presumably the site of the medieval manorial centre. The relevant entry in the Nostell Cartulary is dated as 'before 1264'. The 'gate' here is probably Danish gata meaning road and this grant of a roda in Castelgate mentioned would likely refer to a rod (16.5 feet) wide strip of land facing onto a road. The 'castel' of this road is, in the opinion of Gatehouse, likely to be the medieval manor house, probably not significantly fortified, but having the same administrative and legal function as most castles. Not to be confused with Crofton Castle (aka Crofton Towers at SE388179), a C19 house demolished in 2004.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSE377179
Latitude53.6571197509766
Longitude-1.43028998374939
Eastings437700
Northings417900
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Smith, A.H., 1961, Place Names of the West Riding: Part II, Osgoldcross and Asbrigg Wapentakes (London: Cambridge University Press: English Place-Name Society 31) p. 114

Primary Sources

  • Judith Anne Frost, 2005, An Edition of the Nostell Priory Cartulary London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian E XIX (University of York: PhD Thesis) Vol. 1 p. 366 online copy

Other

  • Creighton, O.H., 1998, Castles and Landscapes: An Archaeological Survey of Yorkshire and the East Midlands (PhD Thesis University of Leicester) p. 763 online copy