Barnstaple Castle

Barnstaple Castle once stood on a motte near the centre of Barnstaple in Devon. It overlooked the town and the important river crossings from its western side. The castle was built on top of an early medieval cemetery. It was founded in the 11th or 12th century and first mentioned in a 12th-century document. Juhel of Totnes held the castle in the early 12th century and also established Barnstaple Priory around 1107. The castle passed to Henry de Tracy, a supporter of King Stephen. Stone buildings were added on the motte during his time. By 1228, Henry III ordered the Sheriff of Devon to limit the castle walls to ten feet in height. By 1274, the castle was already decaying, and by 1326 it had become a ruin. John Leland recorded in 1542 that only ruins and part of the dungeon remained. Excavations in 1927 and 1975 uncovered 105 graves beneath the castle site. The 1975 dig showed these were likely Christian graves. Today, only the tree-covered motte remains of the castle. Since 1950, the site has been protected as a scheduled monument. Locally, it is known simply as Castle Mound.