Cheswardine Castle

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a medieval moated site, known as Cheswardine Castle, and an associated linear bank. The moated site is considered to be the centre of the manor of Cheswardine which was granted to Hamo (Hamon) le Strange by Henry II in 1155. In 1330 the castle is reported to be of little strength and in 1376 the manor passed from the le Strange family to Richard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. The moated site occupies a prominent location in an area of undulating land, 130m north of St Swithun's Church. The water-filled moat defines a square island 30m across. The arms of the moat are all about 28m wide and over 2m deep, with the exception of the southern part of the western arm which has been made wider to form an enlarged pool. The extended moat arm is shown on 18th century estate maps indicating that it is not a modern creation. On one of these maps, a causeway across the southern arm is depicted at the point where a more recent stone causeway has been built. This later causeway is matched by another of the same type across the opposite arm which survives in a ruinous state. Both these causeways are included in the scheduling. There are no upstanding remains of any structures on the island, although embedded cut blocks of red sandstone, notably at the south eastern corner of the island, indicate the nature of some the medieval buildings that survive as buried features. On the western side of the moated site a linear bank, approximately 90m long and between 8m and 12m wide, has been constructed. It is orientated north west - south east and partly overlies the outer edge of the modified portion of the south western moat arm. The height of this earthwork increases substantially (from about 1.2m to 4m) as it crosses the moat

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.