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Penstowe Castle, also called Kilkhampton Castle, was a medieval
The precise date of Penstowe Castle's construction is uncertain, but it was built during the years of
fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
built near Kilkhampton
Kilkhampton () is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude.
Kilkhampton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Chilchetone". T ...
, Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, possibly during the years of the civil war in the 12th century known as the Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
.
History
The precise date of Penstowe Castle's construction is uncertain, but it was built during the years of the Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
in the mid-12th century, either by Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved 1 ...
, feudal baron of Gloucester, who was certainly the tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern Europe, a tenant-in-chief (or vassal-in-chief) was a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opposed to holding them ...
of the manor of Kilkhampton, or by his tenants and relatives the Grenville family (possibly Sir Richard I de Grenville (d.post 1142) of Neath Castle
Neath Castle () is a Norman castle located in the town centre of Neath, Wales. Its construction was begun by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the nominal Lord of Glamorgan, at a date estimated between 1114 and 1130. It is also referred to as "Gra ...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
), which held the manor of Kilkhampton and the manor of Bideford
The manor of Bideford in North Devon was held by the Grenville family between the 12th and 18th centuries. The full descent is as follows:
Anglo-Saxons
Hubba the Dane was said to have attacked Devon in the area around Bideford near Northam or ...
in Devon from the Honour of Gloucester
The feudal barony of Gloucester or Honour of Gloucester was one of the largest of the mediaeval English feudal baronies in 1166, comprising 279 knight's fees, or manors. The constituent landholdings were spread over many counties. The location o ...
. Stowe House
Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...
was the Grenvilles' residence at Kilkhampton, demolished and rebuilt in grand form in 1679 by John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath
John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath PC (29 August 1628 – 22 August 1701) was an English landowner who served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was rewarded for his services after the 1660 Stuart Restoration with a title ...
(1628-1701).
Kilkhampton Castle was built to a motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
design, positioned on a knoll and protected by steep slopes on the north and south sides.
The motte today is shaped as an oval, by across and between and high; the inner bailey is by , and the outer bailey is by .;
The configuration of baileys is unusual, although similar to nearby Eastleigh Berries Castle. A D-shaped building was located on top of the motte.
Archaeological excavations were carried out in 1925 and in the early 1950s. In the 21st century the site is protected under law 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 ...
.
See also
*Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 105 ...
*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
;References ;Bibliography * {{refend Castles in Cornwall Scheduled monuments in Cornwall