Monument record 0030600000 - BOLEBEC CASTLE

Summary

Medieval motte and bailey castle known as Bolbec Castle, surviving as earthwork remains.

Protected Status/Designation

  • Archaeological Notification Area: Medieval motte and bailey castle at Bolbec Castle (DBC8938)
  • Scheduled Monument 1009536: BOLEBEC CASTLE, A MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE 300M WEST OF ST JOHN'S CHURCH (DBC7138)

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Type and Period (3)

  • MOTTE AND BAILEY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • SCARP (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Description

Dimensions - Length 200m, Width 100m.
May have been thrown up by Hugh de Bolebec during Anarchy 1147. Little known of buildings but apparently had a masonry keep (B7).
Natural eminence artificially scarped to form defences of motte, with triangular shaped bailey to N now separated from motte by road. Traces of foundations on summit (B6).
Watching brief carried out by Andrew Pike during trenching for a ?water or ?sewer pipe in September 1979. The trench which was about 0.75m deep and 17.5cm wide was entirely located within the silts of the castle ditch and the sides and base of the ditch were not identified. The trench cut into the make-up of the bailey bank only in the NE corner of the site where the bank comprised compacted chalk and flint (B13).

A medieval motte and bailey are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as earthworks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located on the edge of Whitchurch village and centred at SP 79965 20811, the motte and bailey earthworks form an oval shape and extend over an area about 211 metres N-S and 120 metres W-E, and are bisected NSW-NE by Castle Lane, with the castle to the S of the lane and the bailey to its N. The motte comprises a subrectangular scarp bound around its northern arc by a wide internal bank up to 32 metres wide that encloses an internal area about 52 metres WSW-ENE and 53 metres SSE-NNW at its widest points. Presumably this relatively flat area would be the most likely site for the castle’s main buildings. There are two entrances in the scarp to the interior platform, in the west and north-east. Surrounding the motte is a ditch up to 8 metres wide. The bailey lies to the north of the castle motte mound, separated by Castle Lane. It comprises a substantial curving earthen bank on its W facing side up to 30 metres wide, with a scarp on the other two sides, forming a roughly triangular area of level ground some 50 metres N-S and 44 metres W-E (14-18).

Sources (19)

  • ---SBC18737 Aerial Photograph: 28/05/47. RAF 116.3051. SP\805209. Yes.
  • <1>SBC26953 Bibliographic reference: George Lipscomb. 1847. The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham (Volume 3). Volume 3. pp508-511.
  • <2>SBC19727 Bibliographic reference: James Joseph Sheahan. 1862. History and Topography of Buckinghamshire. p774.
  • <3>SBC6440 Bibliographic reference: HOLLOWAY J 1889 TWO LECTURES ON...WHITCHURCH PP24- 26.
  • <4>SBC16765 Bibliographic reference: G W Wilson. 1909. Chronicles of Whitchurch. pp82-3.
  • <5>SBC20350 Bibliographic reference: A Hadrian Allcroft. 1908. Earthwork of England. pp436-437.
  • <6>SBC20467 Bibliographic reference: Royal Commision on Historical Monuments. 1913. Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire. Volume 2. pp324-325.
  • <7>SBC20462 Bibliographic reference: William Page (ed). 1925. A History of Buckinghamshire (Victoria County History) Volume III. Volume 3. pp443-444.
  • <8>SBC13706 Bibliographic reference: D F Renn. 1968. NORMAN CASTLES IN BRITAIN.
  • <9>SBC23634 Unpublished document: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. 1977. OS RECORD CARD SP 72 SE 3.
  • <10>SBC14046 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1992. SCHEDULING LISTS OF INSPECTORATE OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS.
  • <11>SBC11614 Unpublished document: Mike Farley (BCM). 1994. NOTES FOLLOWING FIELD VISIT IN JANUARY 1994.
  • <12>SBC5045 Verbal communication: FARLEY M E JULY 1998 SITE VISIT (PHOTO, FILED).
  • <13>SBC23635 Unpublished document: Andrew Pike (BCM). 1979. Correspondence with HBMC following watching brief.
  • <14>SBC27792 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 2025. RAF-CPE-UK-2097 RP 3052 28-MAY-1947.
  • <15>SBC27977 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 2025. RAF-CPE-UK-2159 RP 3047 13-JUN-1947.
  • <16>SBC27976 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 2025. OS-76043 V 182 29-APR-1976.
  • <17>SBC25062 Digital archive: Environment Agency. Environment Agency LiDAR data. LIDAR SP72SE Environment Agency National LIDAR Programme DTM 1 Metre dated 2019 SP7922.
  • <18>SBC25062 Digital archive: Environment Agency. Environment Agency LiDAR data. LIDAR SP82SW Environment Agency National LIDAR Programme DTM 1 Metre dated 2021 SP8020.

Location

Grid reference Centred SP 7996 2081 (135m by 206m) (2 map features)
Civil Parish WHITCHURCH, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

Related Events/Activities (5)

  • Event - Survey: Aerial investigation and mapping project (Ref: 9179) (EBC18604)
  • Event - Survey: Site visit (EBC13846)
  • Event - Survey: Site visit (EBC17293)
  • Event - Survey: Site visit (EBC17294)
  • Event - Intervention: Watching brief (EBC17295)

Record last edited

Aug 27 2025 1:34PM

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