Benefield Castle was sited in the village of

Lower Benefield Lower Benefield is a village on the A427 road in North Northamptonshire, England, near Oundle. It is part of the civil parish of Benefield. The population is included in the Civil Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (admi ...

, between the towns of

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of ...

and

Oundle Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough. The town is home to Oundl ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

at .

Early history

Benefield Castle is classed as a ring work, and is thought to have been constructed during the twelfth century. Ringworks were

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wi ...

medieval fortifications consisting of some buildings surrounded a large ditch and surmounted by a timber palisade or a stone wall. The exact date of the construction is not known, records however show that the castle is mentioned by name in documents dating to the thirteenth century. It may have one of the many fortifications create during the

anarchy Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopte ...

during the reign of King Stephen (1138–44). The castle was seized by King John in 1208, as the owner Hugh de Lisurs had failed to pay his debts. Henry III issued an order of restraint to his knights on 15 May 1264, after

Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...

, stating that he had come to terms with the barons so they must be peaceful during their stay. An incident is recorded for the following year that men of

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, the future king of England, who were housed at the castle attacked Biggin Manor and then crossed the river to loot cattle belonging to

, however they were repulsed and a counterattack allowed the owners to recover many of their cattle. Soon after this incident the castle was pulled down, so in documents of 1298 it is mentioned as "an old castle", by the year 1315, there were no buildings that remained standing so documents show that only the site of the castle is mentioned, and none of its buildings. The site is mentioned again as a ruin in 1378. John Leyland mentions the ruins in 1535 as '"the diche and mines of an old castelle" (the ditch and mines of an old castle). Bridges mentions that a part of the wall was standing in 1724, surrounding around an acre of land. The manor house appears to have survived long after the castle was pulled down and is mentioned by Bridges in 1445. By the mid eighteenth century the only structure that remained was a stone wall, while maps created during the nineteenth century show that the main gatehouse, the entrance of the castle was on its eastern side, facing the manor farm.

Remains today

Today only some of the earthworks are visible on the high ground on a natural spur on the western side of

. Archaeological evidence has suggested the evidence of buildings, both domestic and defensive, and a large platform on which they were constructed, the platform had rounded corners, and measured around , and was high. The large ditch, which was a common feature of such fortifications, survives and measures up to wide and deep, however its southern part has been infilled.

References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.
{{Authority control Castles in Northamptonshire