Newbury Castle

Has been described as a Questionable Timber Castle (Other/Unknown), and also as a Questionable Masonry Castle

There are no visible remains

NameNewbury Castle
Alternative Namescastrum Neubiriae
Historic CountryBerkshire
Modern AuthorityWest Berkshire
1974 AuthorityBerkshire
Civil ParishNewbury

The site of a castle built in 1152 which was a fragmentary ruin by 1626-7. It was completely demolished circa 1723 when the canal basin was constructed, which has now been filled in. (PastScape)

David Nash Ford- probably from Higgot, 1998, writes probable Hamstead Higgot's hypothesis apparently built upon;

a) the total lack of any archaeological evidence for a castle on Newbury Wharf;

b) the only reference to the castle relates to a siege by King Stephen in 1152 - mentioned in a poem on the life of the William the Marshall (unpublished work by Pail Cannon in 1990 refuted all other sources cited by Walter Money);

c) William the Marshall owned Hampstead Marshall; d) the existence not only of castle remains at Hampstead Marshall but also siege works. ergo - if the Marshall was besieged in the Newbury area it is most likely to be in his own castle - which was almost certainly besieged in the period. (info from Phil Wood)

Gatehouse Comments

The evidence of siege works at Hampstead Marshall can be questioned but the tenurial history is highly suggestive that the 'Newbury' castle besieged in 1152 was Hampstead Marshall (actually Henry of Huntingdon states 'taken' so may well not have been besieged at all). However, this does not mean that there was not a medieval manorial centre of some sort at Newbury itself, presumably based on the Saxon thegnal burh from which the town must take its name, which may represent the 'castle' located by Money. What is clear is that the sources do NOT state the castle was built in 1152; wherever it was it existed before 1152.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSU472672
Latitude51.4019584655762
Longitude-1.32156002521515
Eastings447290
Northings167210
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Goodall, John, 2011, The English Castle 1066-1650 (Yale University Press) p. 144
  • Purton, P.F., 2009, A History of the Early Medieval Siege c. 450-1220 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press) p. 276
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 21
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 13
  • Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 253
  • Page, Wm and Ditchfield, P.H. (eds), 1924, VCH Berkshire Vol. 4 p. 133 online transcription
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p. 175-6 online copy
  • Money, W., 1887, History of Newbury (map in frontispiece)

Journals

  • Higgot, Tony, 1998, 'Is Newbury's Mediaeval Castle at Hamstead Marshall?' Transactions of the Newbury District Field Club Vol 14 No. 2/3 p. 28-29
  • Money, W., 1872-5, Transactions of the Newbury District Field Club Vol. 2 p. 252-54

Primary Sources

  • Arnold, Thomas (ed), 1879, Henrici Archidiaconi Huntendunensis Historia Anglorum (London: Rolls series 74) p. 284 online copy

Other

  • Cannon, P., 1990, Newbury Castle - a Reassessment of the Historical Evidence (Unpublished document / SWB12757)