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| Monument Name |
Hedingham Castle |
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| SMR Number |
6787 |
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| Summary |
The castle was built in the late 11th to early 12th century. |
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| Description |
The castle was built by the de Vere's, Earls of Oxford, in the late 11th to early 12th century <14>. It consisted of an inner bailey surrounded by a curtain wall, with the keep in the middle, and the great hall and other buildings on the SW. An outer bailey lay to the NE, connected to the inner bailey by a bridge. The surviving earthworks consist of the mount which forms the inner bailey, the outer bailey, and traces of the start of a probable town enclosure on the W. The mount is of c.2 acres, approx. oval in shape and flat topped. To the NW and SW it has a deep ditch with a strong bank. This has diappeared to the SE. The banks of a shallow ditch btween the mount and outer bailey are revetted with a tudor brick wall. There is an old well on the mount. The outer bailey has a strong rampart along the E arm, continuing along the N side but with no berm. Buildings and gardens have obliterated part of the S arm (see plan in source <1>). The keep was built c.1130-40, and the fore-building added shortly afterwards. It is 58x53ft and of 4 storeys. The walls are of flint rubble faced with Barnack stone, averaging 11ft thick on the ground floor. Originally each angle carried a square turret, but only the NW and SE remain. Putlog holes remain in all the walls. Each elevation has a similar arangement of windows and the entrance archway is in the N half of the 2nd storey of the W front. The fore-building remains consist of a rectangular projection extending to the height of the basement storey against the W front. The facing has been removed from the flint rubble walls. Stone stairs leading up to the entrance, against the keep S of the fore-building, were enclosed by a flint rubble wall now stripped of its facing. The original floors inside the keep do not survive. Most of the other buildings were rebuilt in the late 15th or early 16th century, including the bridge, curtain, great hall, and various towers. 3 towers were aparently destroyed in the late 16th century. The remaining buildings, apart from the keep and bridge, were probably destroyed during the 17th and 18th centuries. Fragments of the curtain wall survive. Excavations in 1853 and 1869 revealed the foundations of the great hall (c83x37ft), its adjoining butteries and other buildings, the E end of the chapel, traces of 2 towers and a gatehouse at the inner end of the bridge. The bridge is late 15th or early 16th century, brick, much restored, and of 4 spans. <1>-<4> <7>-<9> Other refs: <5> <6> <10>-<13> Additional information is contained in all the above and additional sources.
At some point between 1561 and 1592 the seventeenth Earl of Oxford razed most of the buildings, with the exception of the keep, on the castle mound. Further demolition took place in 1666 to prevent Dutch prisoners-of-war being kept in the castle. With the death in 1703 of Aubrey de Vere, the 20th Earl, the Earldom became extinct <14>
Aerial Photograph. <16> <18> <20> Geophysical survey started in 1997. <17> Geophysical survey by Colchester Archaeological Group <21>
Site Assessment = 'The earthworks are important and extensive, and the keep is among the finest and most complete examples of 12th century military architecture in England. The condition of the tower is extraordinarily perfect, and the walls and arched recesses to a great extent retain internally the original plastering'. Foundations exposed in 19th century excavations now mostly overgrown. Earthwork condition is good, keep very good, and bridge good. <1> 'It is....probably the best preserved of all tower keeps in England. <2> |
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| Monument Type(s) |
CASTLE (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
BAILEY (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
RINGWORK (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
CHAPEL (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
WELL (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
BRIDGE (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
BUILDING (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
BUILDING (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
GATEHOUSE (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
TOWER (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
WALL (Dated 1066AD to 1539AD)
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| Monument Class(es) |
BRICK
EARTHWORK
EXTANT BUILDING
RUINED BUILDING
STONE
STRUCTURE
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Period
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1066AD to 1539AD Medieval
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| Status |
Listed Building (EH) |
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| Administration Area |
CASTLE HEDINGHAM, BRAINTREE, ESSEX |
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National Grid Reference
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Square: TL73NE
Ref: 787359 |
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| Finds |
None listed
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| Events |
PART EXCAV by Majendie, LA,
FULL SURVEY by RCHME,
Field visit to 6787 by Paterson, H, FMW on SEP-1981
Field visit to 6787 by Chant, K, FMW on MAR-1984
Geophysical survey at Hedingham Castle by Colin Shell
Field visit to 6787 by Paterson, H, FMW on MAY-1986
Field visit to 6787 by Paterson, H, FMW on MAR-1987
Field visit to 6787 by Paterson, H, FMW on JULY-1989
Field visit to 6787 by Paterson, H, FMW on APR-1992
Geophysical Survey of the Castle Mound, Hedingham Castle
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Sources
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Desc Text : TL73-001 (unknown)
Photograph : TL73-001 (unknown) 9 frames
Desc Text : Trans Essex Archaeol Soc (Majendie, LA) Old Series Vol 5 Dated : 1869
Desc Text : Account of the family of de Vere and of Hedingham Castle (Majendie, Rev. SAA) extract consisting of pp94-96 Dated : 1904
Desc Text : An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Vol 1 (RCHME) Vol 1, pp51-57 Dated : 1916
Desc Text : TL73NE09 (unknown) Dated : 1952
Desc Text : The Buildings of England, Essex (Pevsner, N) pp98-99 Dated : 1954
Aerial Photo : F96.F41/58/RAF/4646/587 (RAF) Dated : 1961
Aerial Photo : AXL 97, 101, 102 (unknown) Dated : 1969
Desc Text : Historic Towns in Essex: An Archaeological Survey (Eddy, MR with Petchey, MR) p32 Dated : 1983
Desc Text : List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Braintree (Department of the Environment) pp1-4 Dated : 1984
Graphic material : Castle Hedingham....in 1665 (unknown) No.95, Front Dated : 1986
Map : Hedingham Castle in 1592 (unknown) No.95, Back, from survey of Israel Amyce Dated : 1986
Scheduling record : DOE Scheduled Ancient Monuments (Department of the Environment) parts 5-8 Dated : 1986
Map : NMP Cropmark Plot - 1:10,000 (Ingle, CJ, Strachan, D, Tyler, S and Saunders, H) Dated : 1993 - 2010
Desc Text : Hedingham Castle, Castle Hedingham, Essex (RCHME) Dated : 1995
Desc Text : Geophysical Survey at Hedingham Castle (Shell, Colin A) Dated : 1997
Desc Text : Castle Hedingham Historic Town Assessment Report (Medlycott, Maria) Dated : 1999
Aerial Photo : CP/00/15/6 (Tyler, Sue) Dated : 2000
Aerial Photo : CP/07/05/10-15 (Saunders, Helen) Dated : 2007
Desc Text : Report of a Geophysical Survey of the Castle Mound, Hedingham Castle (Colchester Archaeological Group) Dated : 2008
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