Bletsoe Castle

Bletsoe Castle stands on the east side of the village of Bletsoe in Bedfordshire. It began as a fortified manor house built by John Pateshull after he received a licence to crenellate in 1327. Pateshull had held the manor since 1313 and expanded his holdings after inheriting more land in 1324. The castle passed to Margaret Beauchamp in 1421 through marriage to Sir Oliver St John. After his death she wed John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and their daughter Margaret Beaufort was born in the house. Margaret later became the mother of Henry VII, linking the castle to one of England’s most important royal dynasties. The house remained in the St John family for centuries before a new quadrangular building was added in the late 16th or early 17th century. This later structure had three or four storeys with gable windows, but much of it was demolished, leaving a smaller building within the older earthworks. The medieval moat still surrounds the site, measuring 130 metres across with an average width of 18 metres and depth of 2.4 metres. Parts of the moat remain water-filled, though the south side was lost to farm buildings. Visitors today see a scheduled monument and Grade II* listed building set within the surviving medieval earthworks. The smaller structure incorporates fragments of the older castle walls. The large moat forms a dramatic feature around the site, though only parts hold water. The remaining walls and earthworks offer a quiet reminder of the castle’s long history and its connections to England’s royal past.