Lidgate Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marienkirche von Lidgate, the nave of which contains the old castle chapel and which is based on the earthworks of the old castle

Lidgate Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Lidgate in the English county of Suffolk . The medieval moth was unusually square in plan.

Details

Floor plan of Lidgate Castle 1911

Lidgate Castle was probably built around 1143, during the Civil War of Anarchy . At that time, King Stephen was engaged in a campaign against the rebellious Baron Geoffrey de Mandeville and the construction of the castle was probably part of this campaign to secure his advance in the region.

The castle was built on a natural elevation and was unusually square in plan. The mound is square with a side length of 20 meters and is still 2 meters high today. Two protection platforms are connected. The castle courtyard in the south was protected by a moat , 20 meters wide and 5 meters deep, and a 3.2 meter high outer wall.

Presumably the castle was abandoned in the 1260s and in the 13th or 14th century St Mary's Church was built in the courtyard, next to the earthworks . The nave is probably the castle's original chapel . The southern part of the castle was largely destroyed to make room for the growing village and for agricultural use. Today the castle ruins, of which only earthworks remain, is a Scheduled Monument .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Lidgate Castle . Pastscape. Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  2. ^ A b Adrian Pettifer: English Castles: A Guide by Counties . Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge 1995, ISBN 0-85115-782-3 , pp. 236 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 13, 2017]).
  3. ^ A b c J. C. Wall: Ancient Earthworks in William Page (editor): The Victoria History of Suffolk . Volume 1. University of London, London 1911. p. 600.
  4. ^ Mark Bailey: Medieval Suffolk: An Economic and Social History, 1200-1500 . In: Mark Bailey (ed.): History of Suffolk . tape 1 . Boydell & Brewer Ltd, Woodbridge 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-529-5 , pp. 121 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 13, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Lidgate Castle . Gatehouse Gazetteer. Retrieved July 6, 2016.

Coordinates: 52 ° 11 ′ 39.5 ″  N , 0 ° 30 ′ 59.4 ″  E