Ludgershall Castle is a ruined 12th-century fortified royal residence at
Ludgershall in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, England. Three large walls still remain of the castle, which was turned into a
hunting lodge by
Henry III but fell into disuse by the 15th century. The ruin was listed as a
scheduled 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 ...
in 1981.
Details and history
Extensive earthworks remain, although a private house stands on part of the site. The earthworks have been greatly altered by quarrying. The southern enclosure, which lies within them and at the opposite end of the site from the standing walls, is thought to have been an
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
stronghold.
[P. Ellis (ed.) ''Monograph no. 2: Ludgershall Castle, Wiltshire: a report on the excavations by Peter Addyman 1964–72'' (Devizes: Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 2000)]
A medieval castle was probably first built in the late 11th century by
Edward of Salisbury
Edward of Salisbury was a nobleman and courtier (''curialis''), probably part Anglo-Saxon, who served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire during the reigns of William I, William II and Henry I.
The '' Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis'' (1293) names him ...
,
Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) high sheriffs of Wiltshire.
Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gove ...
. By about 1100 it had come into the possession of
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
, and
John the Marshal (–1165) is recorded as the king's castellan. He strengthened it and may have added the northern enclosure, which contained the important buildings, largely in stone, including a
great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...
and a tower with royal living quarters. The southern enclosure was the
bailey, where there were stables, kitchens, and timber farm buildings.
[
King John improved the castle as a hunting lodge in 1210,][ and Henry III made improvements to the castle between 1234 and 1251, such as the addition of the great hall in 1244; he visited the castle at least 21 times.]Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, a privilege it kept until the Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...
.
The site was excavated for the first time between 1964 and 1972 by the University of Southampton
The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...
.
See also
* Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
*List of castles in England
This list of castles in England is not a list of every building and site that has "castle" as part of its name, nor does it list only buildings that conform to a strict definition of a castle as a medieval fortified residence. It is not a list ...
*
References
External links
*{{cite web, title=Ludgershall, url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/145, website=Wiltshire Community History, publisher=Wiltshire Council, access-date=1 March 2015
Castles in Wiltshire
English Heritage sites in Wiltshire
Ludgershall, Wiltshire