Bletsoe Castle
| Bletsoe Castle | |
|---|---|
| Bletsoe, Bedfordshire, England | |
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| Coordinates | grid reference TL024584 |
| Type | Fortified manor house |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Earthworks only remain, with parts of the later 16-17th century building |
| Site history | |
| Built by | John Pateshull |
Bletsoe Castle was a late medieval fortified manor house in the village Bletsoe, Bedfordshire.
Details
Bletsoe Castle was created by John Pateshull, who received a license to crenellate an existing manor house on the east side of Blestoe in 1327.[1] Pateshull had owned the manor of Blestoe since 1313, but in 1324 he inherited additional lands, allowing him to acquire permission to crenellate the property.[2]
In the late 16th or early 17th century, a new building was erected around the castle, quadrangular in design with three or four storeys and gable windows.[3][1] Much of this later building was pulled down, leaving a much smaller building, still incorporating parts of the older castle, within the older medieval earthworks.[1]
Today the castle is a scheduled monument and a Grade 2* listed building.[4] The medieval moat has a diameter of 130 metres (430 ft), is on average 18 metres (59 ft) wide and 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) deep. The moat is water-filled in parts though the south side has been destroyed by the construction of agricultural buildings over it.[5]
See also
Bibliography
- MacKenzie, James Dixon. (1896/2009) The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. General Books LLC. ISBN 978-1-150-51044-1.
- Rickard, John. (2002) The castle community: the personnel of English and Welsh castles, 1272-1422. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0-85115-913-3.
References
- ^ a b c Parishes: Bletsoe, A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 40-43, accessed 8 July 2011.
- ^ Rickard, p.25.
- ^ Mackenzie, p.138;
- ^ Bletsoe Castle, Gatehouse website, accessed 14 July 2012.
- ^ Bletsoe Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 8 July 2011.