Castle at Castlethorpe

The remains of Hanslope Castle are situated in the village of Castlethorpe, it was probably constructed in the 12th century by William Maudit. There are no traces of masonary on the site but considerable remains of the earthworks of a motte (mound) and bailey type of castle. The mound is in the area of the tall tree, the inner bailey the flat area just below the mound and the outer bailey where the sheep are grazing.

The castle would have been a wooden construction on top of the mound, (see below for an impression based on a site at Berkhampstead)

The raised banks would have had defensive palisades (see below). The inner bailey would have contained all the services required to withstand a siege. However, in the case of Hanslope castle, the Royal Army proved stronger!

The following plan was taken from "Archaelogical Investigations of the Medieval Earthworks at Castlethorpe, Buckinghamshire" which is in Records of Buckinghamshire Volume 37 1995.