Brandon Castle was sited overlooking the River Avon between the virtually adjacent villages of Brandon and

Wolston Wolston is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England. The village is located approximately midway between Rugby and Coventry, with a population of 2,692 at the 2021 census. It is close to the A45 road and the R ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, which in turn lie between the town of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and city of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

(). It was originally a 12th-century earthwork motte and bailey fortress founded by

Geoffrey de Clinton Geoffrey de Clinton (died c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman noble, chamberlain and treasurer to King Henry I of England. He was foremost amongst the men king Henry "raised from the dust". He married Lescelina. Life Clinton's family origins are a lit ...

. Around 1226 the de Verdon family founded the stone castle consisting of the keep and a large outer enclosure. It is said to have been 'pulled down' (

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

) by the baronial troops from

Kenilworth Castle Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England, managed by English Heritage; much of it is in ruins. The castle was founded after the Norman Conquest of 1066; with development through to the Tudor period. It ...

in 1265 because John de Verdon was an active supporter of the king. Only low earthworks and some masonry are now visible. The site is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. It has been placed on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

due to the risks from scrub and tree growth, and its condition is declining.

References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.

External links

* Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire Castles in Warwickshire Scheduled monuments in Warwickshire Structures on the Heritage at Risk register Borough of Rugby {{England-castle-stub

See also

References

External links