Banbury Castle

Banbury Castle was a medieval fortress built near the centre of Banbury in Oxfordshire. It began as a motte-and-bailey design in 1135 under Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln. The castle changed hands several times, first seized by King Stephen in 1139 before being returned. Archaeologists found that the castle was rebuilt between 1225 and 1250 with a rare concentric pentagonal plan. Historians such as John Kenyon describe it as remarkable for its early concentric shape, unusual for its time. The castle served as a prison for bishops of Lincoln by the late 13th century. It later passed to the Duke of Somerset and then to the Duke of Northumberland before becoming Crown property. In the 1580s it was used to hold recusants, Roman Catholics who refused to attend Church of England services. During the First English Civil War the castle was fortified and besieged multiple times, finally surrendered in 1646 after a long blockade. Today nothing remains of the castle above ground. Its site is marked by Castle Street, and excavations in the 1970s uncovered traces of its walls. The stones from the demolished fortress were reused to build houses in Banbury. The castle’s history reflects the shifting power of bishops, kings and parliaments across the centuries.