Brimpsfield Castle

Brimpsfield Castle stands in the Gloucestershire village of Brimpsfield, midway between Gloucester and Cirencester. The first earthwork fortification probably rose after the Norman Conquest. In the 12th or 13th century the stronghold was rebuilt in stone by its owners. John Giffard, second Lord of Brimpsfield, led a rebellion against King Edward II and was executed in 1322. After his death the castle was slighted, leaving only partial ruins. The remains today form a grassy mound surrounded by an outer bank and ditch. Inside the earthworks the foundations of a gatehouse can still be traced. Archaeologists recognise these as the remnants of a once substantial stone castle. The site offers a quiet place to walk among the low earthworks and imagine its medieval past. Visitors find a low, circular mound topped by a flat platform. A shallow ditch runs around the base of the bank, marking the old perimeter. The gatehouse foundations lie near the northern edge of the mound, showing the castle’s entrance once stood there. The surrounding fields stretch away towards the Cotswold hills, giving a sense of the castle’s strategic position.