Yelford

Has been described as a Rejected Masonry Castle, and also as a Rejected Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameYelford
Alternative Names
Historic CountryOxfordshire
Modern AuthorityOxfordshire
1974 AuthorityOxfordshire
Civil ParishHardwick With Yelford

Listed by Harvey as castle with no remains.

Yelford Manor, 'the best and certainly the most picturesque large timber-framed house in the county', (Pevsner, Oxon. 869) stands on a partly moated site some 100 m. east of the church. It was built in later C15 by Edward or John Hastings on the site of an earlier house. (VCH)

A measured survey of the timber-framed house was carried out in Spring 1984. It stands on a moated site within the earthworks of the shrunken medieval village of Yelford. The building consists of a central hall with cross-wings to north and south, probably built in the late C15 / early C16. Remains of an earlier building were revealed beneath the hall in the 1950s. Yelford Manor has been in the hands of only 2 families - the Hastings of Dalesford until 1652 and the Lenthalls of Besselsleigh until 1949. (Gilman)

The full extent of the moat has not been traced. There is no evidence that this was defensive; rather it was for drainage in a particularly wet and floodable area. (Emery)

Gatehouse Comments

Site of moated manor house at Yelford not apparently ever called a castle but Gatehouse assumes this is what Harvey was referring to. Apart from possibly being moated there seems little evidence for the form of the earlier manor house at Yelford. This does seem to have been a sizeable manor and the Hastings were an important family. However, the manor seems to have been used by junior branches of the family, and Harvey's 'castle' may never have been more than a timber manor house with a moat and an association with the Hastings family (Harvey may have been thinking of William, 1st Baron Hastings who was not an owner of this house.)

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSP359047
Latitude51.7402114868164
Longitude-1.48058998584747
Eastings435980
Northings204740
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 3 Southern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 208-9
  • Crossley, Alan, and Currie, C.R.J. (eds), 1996, 'Yelford: Manors and other estates' VCH Oxfordshire Vol. 13 p. 205-10 (Manorial history) online transcription
  • Pevsner, N. and Sherwood, J., 1974, Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (London) p. 869
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  • Potts, W., 1907, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Oxfordshire Vol. 2 p. 330 online transcription

Journals

  • Gilman, P. 1984, 'Yelford Manor' South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter Vol. 14 p. 76-77 online copy