Site of 13th century castle, Hadleigh Castle, Castle Lane (EHER 9531)

The buried, earthwork and ruined remains of Hadleigh Castle are located in the parish of Hadleigh, Essex. They include a polygonal bailey surrounded by a curtain wall. The castle is thought to have been built by Hubert de Burgh sometime between 1215 and 1239, after which it was seized by the crown. Its original form was probably an octagon elongated east-west with square angle towers and a barbican at the east end. The semicircular north and south towers are of a second phase but may have been built by Hubert. It is thought that there were gardens on the south side of the castle and that they may have been developed during this early phase. According to archaeological excavations, part of the complex included a hall dating to the mid 13th century which had been rebuilt twice by 1300. Evidence was also found of a garderobe attached to the second phase hall and a buttery to the third. Little other building work was carried out at Hadleigh Castle for much of the rest of the 13th century but royal interest appears to have revived under Edward II. He assigned it to the royal chamber by 1316 and spent considerable sums on it. Under Edward III it again appears to have been neglected but during the 1360s he undertook a major programme of construction completely altering the layout of the castle and redesigning the approaches. Following these alterations, royal interest in the castle diminished and it passed to several nobles, as well as wives of Henry VIII, before being sold by Edward VI in 1552. It was bought by Lord Riche who began dismantling the castle for its building stone and it was in a ruinous state by the 17th century. It is thought that in the 18th and 19th centuries the castle may have been used as an observation tower by revenue officers due to the historical graffiti that surrounds the seaward-facing windows on the upper floor. Hadleigh Castle has been under the guardianship of English Heritage since 1948.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 9531 and 27484. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Hadleigh Castle (NR). <1> The castle which is in the form of an irregular polygon stands on a spur overlooking the Thames. Hugh de Burgh was given licence to crenellate in 1231, it was seized by Henry III in 1232 and completely reconstructed by Richard III about 1365. A landslip has left the remains of the south wall out of position and the remainder of the castle is very ruinous. The parch marks which appear on the air photographs were excavated by P.L. Drewett for the DOE in 1971-3 and identified as the foundations a small hall, solar, and kitchens. Roman brick is built into the castle. Investigated 1953. <2> - <8> Description and photograph of Hadleigh Castle. <9> Medieval pot quern described and illustrated. <10> Notes on excavations at Hadleigh Castle. <11> Following Edward III's refortification of Hadleigh Castle, royal interest in the castle diminished and it passed to several nobles, as well as wives of Henry VIII, before being sold by Edward VI in 1552. It was bought by Lord Riche who began dismantling the castle for its building stone and it was in a ruinous state by the 17th century. It is thought that in the 18th and 19th centuries the castle may have been used as an observation tower by revenue officers due to the historical graffiti that surrounds the seaward-facing windows on the upper floor. <12> January 1915, updated March 1997. Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument is situated on high ground overlooking the Thames estuary approximately 200m south-west of Home Farm Colony (EHER 46850). It includes the buried, earthwork and ruined remains of a 13th century enclosure castle, and an associated barn and watermill situated on the valley floor 100m north of the castle and protected in a separate area. Hadleigh Castle is a displayed monument in the care of the Secretary of State and is a Grade I Listed Building. It is known from historical sources that the Manor by Hadleigh was granted by Henry III to Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, in 1227. The castle, built soon afterwards, was requisitioned by the crown in 1239 and remained a royal property until 1378, having undergone major modifications by order of Edward III in the 1360s. The castle site (the larger area) occupies a defensive position on a spur, with the ground falling away steeply to the south and north-east. To the south-east the ridge has been cut away to form a low irregular-shaped platform extending approximately 30m from the castle. Though the exact purpose of this earthwork is unknown it would have greatly helped in accentuating the steepness of the natural slope to the south and the east. The majority of the standing masonry on the site dates from the first phase of the castle's construction and includes a polygonal bailey surrounded by a curtain wall. To the east, west and north a low wall survives marking the perimeter of the bailey although, due to a landslip, the southern perimeter has been reduced to large blocks of displaced rubble situated approximately 4m downslope from their original position. The walls are constructed of a rubble core, faced with Reigate Stone blocks and bonded by a mortar which contains cockle shells as aggregate. A ditch is believed to have surrounded the wall. This is now largely infilled and will survive as a buried feature. Placed along the curtain wall, at irregular intervals, are massive towers. The three along the western side are considered to date from this first phase of construction. These three towers are rectangular in plan with the footings of the north and middle tower surviving as masonry above ground level. The southern tower, situated at the south west angle of the curtain wall, has collapsed as a result of landslip. It is known from documentary sources that the original, 13th century entrance to the castle was located on the eastern side of the bailey and protected by a barbican. The entrance was moved to its present position on the north side of the curtain when the eastern side of the castle was remodelled by Edward III. Towards the centre of the north and south walls of the curtain are the remains of a pair of 'D-shaped' towers which are also considered to date from the 13th century. The north tower has been reduced to the level of its foundations, whereas the south tower has largely fallen away with the subsidence of the slope. Limited excavation in 1971 revealed evidence of the buried foundations of ½ ranges within the western part of the bailey. These include the original hall (dated by pottery to the mid 13th century) and, superimposed over this, a later 13th century hall measuring 17m by 9m with buttresses surviving to the west. This second hall included an 'L-shaped' solar at the southern end which would have been situated on the first floor giving access to a garderobe tower. Much of the western footings of the solar were removed by subsequent rebuilding of the curtain wall. Archaeological excavation has shown that the footings of the eastern wall of the second phase of the hall were reused for a third hall, constructed to the east of the first and second halls and dating from the end of the 13th century. This hall also included a solar block to the south and the footings of a room uncovered at the northern end of the hall are interpreted as the remains of a buttery serving it. The modifications to the castle under Edward III in the 14th century included the construction of two large drum towers at the northern and southern angles of the eastern curtain wall. These towers are urn in diameter at their base and stand three stories high. The towers are visually impressive and were constructed on the eastern side of the castle to be easily seen by those approaching up the Thames estuary. The northern side of the castle was also remodelled with the construction of a massive wedge-shaped earthwork projecting from the curtain wall. This was designed to move the northern approach to the castle eastward with a new entrance being made to the west of the north tower. This entrance was protected by a gatehouse and barbican, the barbican projecting some 16m beyond the gate and measuring approximately 8m in width. The eastern wall of the barbican stands to a height of approximately 3m and, in 1971, archaeological investigations revealed evidence for a pit, 3m by 6.75m and 2.5m deep, in the northern part of the barbican which would have originally been spanned by a wooden turning-bridge. Timbers from the bridge were found in the fill of the pit and a socket for one of the supporting beams was found in its eastern edge. Where the entrance way breached the earlier curtain wall, it was refaced, and the slots for a portcullis incorporated at the time are still visible. The entrance was further protected by a 'D-shaped' tower (the High Tower) protruding from the line of the curtain wall immediately to the west of the gateway. This structure still stands three stories high. The foundations of a series of kitchens were uncovered during the 1971 excavations to the south-west of the High Tower, and a further range, considered to be a stable block, was revealed between the barbican and the North Tower to the east. The exact date of these structures is unknown, but they are thought to have been constructed in the 14th century. The footings of all the above buildings are now visible as consolidated masonry. The second area is situated within a valley 70m to the north of the castle and includes the earthwork remains of a dam and a buried mill site. The dam was constructed across the valley and is visible as a slight earthwork (less than 0.5m high) 8m wide and 40m long running south-west to north-east. Situated adjacent to the dam to the west is a level area representing the mill pond. The mill pond was formed by the dam holding back the water of the stream running along the base of the valley. A section of the mill pond floor adjacent to the dam is included in the scheduling to protect a sample of the deposits. Evidence for the mill buildings using the water power provided by the planned pond will be preserved as buried features on the line of the dam. The mill site is thought to be that belonging to the castle and mentioned in a document of 1270. Hadleigh Castle is the only known example of an enclosure castle in Essex and so it represents the only defensive structure of its kind watching the northern side of the Thames estuary. The documentary sources and part excavation allow a detailed picture of the development of the castle to be drawn, and also demonstrate that the site will retain evidence for many other components which have yet to be investigated. The mill site represents an interesting survival, in good condition, of a feature commonly associated with castles, although frequently known from documentary sources alone. It will provide evidence for the processing of agricultural produce from the locality, and is illustrative of the castle's control over the local economy. The site lies adjacent to the centre of Southend and is highly valued as an open space and public amenity. <13> <14> 2002. Field survey. An initial programme of survey was undertaken by the field archaeology unit, on behalf of English Heritage, of the most recent areas of landslip on the south side of Hadleigh Castle, Essex. [...] The survey comprised a measured plan with a total station theodolite (TST), followed by light cleaning, photographing and recording of the exposed faces. [...] A geophysical survey by both resistivity and magnetometer meters was also undertaken within the castle bailey to help identify and assess the archaeology under threat by the encroaching landslides. <15> 2004. Excavation. Excavation was undertaken in 2004 in order to investigate deposits and features in imminent risk of destruction above a major area of landslip in the castle bailey. A possible Roman gully, aligned north-south was identified. Above this medieval levelling deposits were truncated by a cut associated with a mortar spread. The cut may have been from a robbed out wall. This was overlain by a deposit containing tile which may have been linked to repair or remodelling of the castle in 1360-1370. <16> September 2004. Field survey. No new slippage has occurred in the six months since the excavation and the area of slippage appears relatively stable at present. Further monitoring visits are planned at the end of December 2004 and at the end of March 2005 with provision for an additional visit if a period of particularly inclement weather occurred that is deemed to have a likely detrimental impact upon the landslip area. <17> December 2004. Field survey. No new slippage has occurred over the nine months since the excavation and the area of slippage appears relatively stable at present. A further monitoring visit is planned at the end of March 2005 with provision for an additional visit if a period of particularly inclement weather occurs that is deemed to have a likely detrimental impact upon the landslip area. <18> March 2005. Field survey. No new slippage has occurred over the twelve months since the excavation and no new archaeological deposits have become exposed. Both areas of slippage appear stable and should be improved by further vegetation growth over the summer. It seems unlikely any major slippage will occur unless there is a prolonged spell of severely inclement weather. <19> 2009. Earthwork survey. Topographic survey of the castle earthworks combined with an analysis of the landscape context and new historical research was undertaken in January 2009. This, combined with new historical research has led to a reappraisal of the castle's development. The castle could have been constructed at any time between 1215 when Hubert de Burgh acquired the estate and 1239 when it was seized by the crown. Its original form was probably an octagon elongated east-west with square angle towers and a barbican at the east end. The semicircular north and south towers are of a second phase but may have been Hubert's work as they parallel another of his castles. The castle was clearly designed to be approached along the ridge to the east, presumably from the wharf/mill below the castle (see associated record). Hadleigh Castle was neglected for much of the rest of the 13th century but royal interest appears to have revived under Edward II who assigned it to the royal chamber by 1316 and spent considerable sums on it. Under Edward III it again appears to have been neglected but during the 1360s he undertook an major programme of construction completely altering the layout of the castle and redesigning the approaches. The topographic survey identified various terraces thought to be the remains of gardens on the south side of the castle, below the new royal apartments. It is possible though that these gardens can be identified with the vineyard recorded in 1274/5 and since this was a period of neglect it seems possible that the gardens could date from the earliest period of the castle's existence. <20> <21> See also: <22> - <41>