Castlethorpe Castle stood in the village of Castlethorpe

Castlethorpe

Castlethorpe is a village and civil parish with a population of about 1000 in the Borough of Milton Keynes , England. It is about north-east of Stony Stratford, north-west of Newport Pagnell and north of Central Milton Keynes...

, to the north of Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...

, Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

.

This was originally a motte and bailey castle with a timber structure built by Winemar, the Flemish Lord of Hanslope in the 11th or 12th Century. It was at that time known as Hanslope Castle. The castle was destroyed in 1215 by Faulkes de Breauté during the First Barons' War

First Barons' War

The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...

 and was never rebuilt.

Today only the earthworks remain.

Location

Castlethorpe Castle stood in the village of Castlethorpe, which was part of the manor of Hanslope in mediaeval times. It is situated to the north of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

History

Castlethorpe Castle belonged to lord of Hanslope and was constructed in the 12th century, or possibly slightly earlier. In 1066 William I

William I of England

William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...

 granted the manor of Hanslope to Winemar the Fleming, who built the fortifications. During the reign of Henry I

Henry I of England

Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...

 it was the baronial castle of William Mauduit, chamberlain to the king. During period known as The Anarchy

The Anarchy

The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...

 (1138–1153) the Mauduit family, who owned the castle at that time, supported Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...

 against King Stephen

Stephen of England

Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

.

In disputes between King John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 and the barons, Robert Mauduit sided with the barons against the king. In the autumn of 1215 Faulkes de Breauté , general of King John, attacked the castle and destroyed it, taking the manor of Hanslope. Although Robert Mauduit eventually regained the manor the castle was never rebuilt.

The Anglo Saxon name Castlethorpe means “farm or secondary settlement of the castle”.

The site is now a scheduled ancient monument, although only earthworks remain, with no traces of masonry.

Layout

The site consists of 36 feet (11 m) high motte (large mound of earth) with a timber keep on top. This is on the south of the inner bailey (flat enclosure) of 4 acres (16,187.4 m²), which is surrounded by an outer bailey and ditches up to 60 feet (18.3 m) wide and a bank. The family probably lived in hall within the inner bailey, which has entrances on the west and northwest, and there are signs that there were extensive buildings on the site