Monument record MLI30667 - Stamford Castle

Summary

Stamford Castle was built soon after the Norman conquest. By the later 14th century it had begun to fall into ruin and by 1600 no buildings remained apart from the east section of the hall which remained in use as the Court Leet until the 19th century and still stands. The motte was levelled in the 1930s to make way for a bus station.

Type and Period (8)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Stamford castle was built shortly after the Norman conquest and was a motte and bailey structure. It was situated on the crest and slope of the Welland valley in a large area to the south of Sheepmarket. Domesday Book records that five houses were destroyed to make way for it. It was besieged twice and finally captured during the civil wars of the mid 12th century. It remained in use throughout the 13th century but by 1340 it was described as ‘old, and the walls decayed; within are an old tower, a great hall, a chamber with a solar, a chapel, a turret, and a house for a prison, all of no value beyond outgoings’. The buildings continued to deteriorate and by 1600 none remained. A small room had been formed from the east end of the hall and this was used for the Court Leet. It was still marked as such on a map of 1833 and it is now the only standing remains of the castle. The earthwork motte mound was levelled in 1936 to make way for a bus station. During the levelling a circular rubble structure was revealed which may have been a circular keep standing within a ringwork (the 'old tower' referred to in 1340). A length of 12th century ashlar wall was also seen a short distance away. This may be related to a massive ashlar wall found in the 19th century. Limited excavations were carried out in the 1930s but these produced little information. A 12th-13th century well was excavated in 1962. {1}{2}{3}{4}{5} Excavations were carried out in the bailey area during several seasons from 1971 to 1976, in advance of housing development. The western area of the site contained two and part of a third small stone-built grain drying kilns which would have been used to dry grain prior to bread-making or malting, or for drying other commodities such as beans or flax. A small-scale domestic complex including a solar, an undercroft and a complex garderobe pit was also discovered in this area. The garderobe contained a good deal of refuse material including food bones, rats, a cat and her kittens and part of a human baby. This area was tentatively interpreted as a self-contained suite of rooms associated with baking and brewing. The central area contained two buildings flanking a courtyard. The northern building was a small square structure with a double door opening towards the east. The function of this building was not evident, although it was suggested that it could have been the castle prison. The building to the south survived in fragmentary form but had a southward facing apse. The slightness of its construction and its location suggest that it was not part of the curtain wall, although its plan resembles a tower. Its orientation seems wrong for a chapel, although a broken fragment of coffin was found nearby. At present the function of this building remains unknown. The eastern area of the site contained the main hall complex which consisted of an aisled hall, a room to the west which may have been a solar, and a cellar to the east. The whole complex had been continually altered and remodelled throughout its history from the mid 12th to the mid 14th century. This is probably due to problems of subsidence and unstability, particularly in the south wall, caused by earlier quarrying and possibly an earlier ditch. Beneath the hall complex was a group of three small buildings with ovens, perhaps a bakery. The first hall was an almost square double-aisled building with the roof supported by four large irregular piers. The possible solar and cellar were added after this, at which time the hall gained two extra piers and had a central hearth. Later, the hall was narrowed by rebuilding the north and south walls closer together and the piers were reduced and resited. The solar was also improved at this time with the addition of a first floor (it had previously been open from ground level to roof) with a fireplace and a porch. A garderobe pit was also added to the ground floor. After this, an extra building was added to the west of the solar and a courtyard or garden was added to the north. The cellar was removed and the hall extended over it to the east and transformed into a single-aisled structure. An arcade, which partially survives today, was added at the east end of the hall, presumably leading to a screens passage. Finally the walled garden or courtyard was subdivided to provide another room on the west with a wooden floor and a porch was added to the hall. A small gold ring with a garnet setting and an inscribed band was recovered from the solar garderobe. {6}{7}{8}{9}{10}{11} The Scheduled area of the castle includes the remains of the hall, solar and undercroft beneath them which were uncovered during excavations in the 1970s, as well as the standing remains. The hall range dates from the 12th century and underwent several alterations before it was probably abandoned (along with the rest of the castle) by the mid 14th century. The hall itself was basically square with massive foundations and pier bases due to the instability of the ground. Rebuilding and repairs seem to have been necessary throughout its lifetime. It had a doorway to the north. The solar block was rectangular with a thick south wall pierced by three windows. The upper floor was supported on columns, the bases of which remain, and there was a fireplace on the upper floor. There was also a projecting porch at the north-west corner. The standing building is constructed of rubble and has three splayed arches of 14th century date. The centre one contains a studded door with a wooden lintel which has been inserted into the arch. Internally there are three corresponding chamfered and moulded 14th century arches with damaged headstops and moulded columns. {12} The standing remains consist of corner buildings in rubble, of early appearance, which are now used as outhouses. They are probably the remains of the Great Hall. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {13}

Sources/Archives (13)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: ROGERS, A.. 1970. The Medieval Buildings of Stamford. no.5, pp.20-1.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.695.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. TF 00 NW: AN.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. TF 00 NW: 2.
  •  Index: 1964. EAST MIDLANDS ARCHAEOLOGICAL BULLETIN. -.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Mahany, Christine. 1978. Stamford Castle and Town. pp.15-32.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1977. An Inventory of Historical Monuments. The Town of Stamford. no.10, pp.3-4, plates 2, 64.
  •  Photograph: STAMFORD STANDARD. 1976. PARISH FILE. 30/12/1976.
  •  Article in Serial: C.N. Moore (ed.). 1975. 'Archaeology in Lincolnshire, 1974' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.10, p.61.
  •  Article in Serial: A.J. White (ed.). 1976. 'Archaeology in Lincolnshire and South Humberside, 1975' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.11, p.61.
  •  Article in Serial: A.J. White (ed.). 1977. 'Archaeology in Lincolnshire and South Humberside, 1976' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.12, p.77.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. 1979. AM 7. SAM 128.
  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1974. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 1/45.

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Grid reference Centred TF 027 069 (150m by 135m)
Civil Parish STAMFORD, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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