Benefield Castle

Benefield Castle stands in Lower Benefield, a village between Corby and Oundle in Northamptonshire. It was built in the twelfth century as a ringwork, a type of medieval fortification with a ditch and a timber or stone wall. The castle first appears in records from the thirteenth century and may have been raised during the Anarchy under King Stephen. King John took control of the castle in 1208 after Hugh de Lisurs failed to pay his debts. Henry III’s knights were ordered to keep the peace there in 1264 after the Battle of Lewes. The site saw conflict again in 1265 when men from the future Edward I attacked Biggin Manor and tried to steal cattle near Oundle. After this raid the castle was demolished, and by 1298 it was already described as an old castle. By 1315 only the site remained, and John Leland noted the ruins in 1535 as a ditch and earthworks. Bridges recorded part of the wall still standing in 1724, and maps from the nineteenth century show the gatehouse faced east toward the manor farm. Today only earthworks and a large platform survive on high ground in Lower Benefield. Archaeologists have found traces of buildings and a defensive ditch up to ten metres wide and three metres deep. The platform measured about sixty metres by fifty metres and stood two metres high, with rounded corners. The southern part of the ditch has been filled in, but the rest remains visible. The nearby manor house lasted far longer than the castle itself.