Monument record MDO8114 - Wareham Castle

Castle (NR) (Site of) (1) The remains of Wareham Castle comprise a motte, 250ft total diameter and 120ft across the top; the appearance and dimensions are probably due to relatively recent work and especially to the building of the modern Castle Close house. The surrounding ditch, now mostly filled in, is best preserved to the south-south-west where it is now about 70ft across and 22ft deep below the top of the mound.
Beyond the ditch on the north and north east sides the curve of the west part of West Street and of Trinity Lane probably indicates the line of the bailey. Massive stone foundations have been discovered at points along the probable line of the bailey and excavation by Clark (a) in 1952-3 have shown that the base of a stone keep, probably of early 12th century type, survives inside the mound; much 12th century pottery, and small finds were also discovered. The early history of the castle is difficult to determine since the early documentary references are confused by the description of Corfe Castle (SY 98 SE 30) as Wareham but there may have been a castle here soon after the Conquest. The castle figures prominently in 1138-42 but the date of its destruction is unknown. Plan. (2) (1-6) The site was excavated in 1950. (7)

Excavation in 1950s revealed wall buttresses and foundations of a keep, interior infilled with demolition material - domestic rubbish including many shells and potsherds and an abundance of oak charcoal. Evaluation trench in 1999 revealed mortar bonded masonry at a depth of 1.2 to 1.5 m along with 12th to 13th century pottery, evidence of a robber trench and the backfill of 1950 excavation. Medieval pottery also found above the remains of the wall and the lack of artefacts or features post dating this suggest significant site disturbance (8)

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1951, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1950, 82 (Serial). SDO50.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1951, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1950, 99-110 (Serial). SDO50.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 325-326 (Monograph). SDO150.

'(80) WAREHAM CASTLE (Plate 172, Fig. p. 323), earthworks and buried structures, lies in the S.W. angle of the town defences (see Monument 79), where the modern house, Castle Close, stands on a flat-topped mound overlooking the river Frome (92188718). The mound, the castle motte, has a total diameter of 250 ft. and is 120 ft. across the top. The dimensions and appearance probably owe much to relatively recent work, and especially to the building of the house. Hutchins' plan (Hutchins I, opp. 77) suggests that in the late 18th century the top of the mound was only 55 ft. across. It was surrounded by a ditch, now mostly filled in, but best preserved to the S.S.W. where it is now about 70 ft. across and 22 ft. deep below the top of the mound; slight traces of the ditch can also be seen to the N. and W. of the mound. Beyond the ditch on the N. and N.E. sides the curve of the W. part of West Street and of Trinity Lane probably indicates the line of the bailey. Some reused stonework, including a small Norman arch in the Rectory wall (see Monument 59), is the only other visible trace of the castle. However, massive stone foundations have been discovered at points along the probable line of the bailey (H. J. S. Clark, Dorset Procs. LXXII (1950), 99–110), and excavations by Mr. Clark during 1952–3 have shown that the base of a stone keep survives inside the mound (D. F. Renn, in Med. Arch. IV (1960), 56–68). Much 12th-century pottery was found in the excavation, and the small finds included horse-shoes, an arrowhead and a crossbow detent. About half of the area of the keep is covered by the present house.
The early history of Wareham castle is difficult to determine since the early documentary references are confused by the description of Corfe castle as Wareham castle (see Corfe Castle (10)), but the fact that the town was a fortified royal borough and was at an early date an important harbour leads to the supposition that there may have been a castle here soon after the Conquest. (fn. 27) Nothing even of the earthworks is demonstrably of this period. The imprisonment of Robert of Belesme at Wareham in 1113 recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (fn. 28) may indeed refer to Wareham, though a confusion with Corfe is possible. The castle figures prominently in the events of 1138–42. (fn. 29) The date of its destruction is unknown.
The small square rubble-built keep with pilaster buttresses at the angles and in the centre of each side and with quoins of large squared blocks of alternating limestone and sandstone belongs to a type that is likely to be of the early 12th century; in the absence of surviving detail a closer dating is not possible.
The keep was 37 ft. square internally with walls 13 ft. thick. The latter were set on foundations with an offset externally of 3 ft. 1 in. and internally of 9 ins. to 1 ft. The foundations, located at five points, were set 4 ft. into the gravel and were of undressed stones, including sandstone, chalk, limestone and Purbeck marble boulders. The upper surface of the exterior offset sloped slightly outwards. Above this the walls were of rubble with large squared quoins alternately of grey Purbeck limestone and brown sandstone. The diagonal tooling was well preserved and the mortar joints were wide. In the core were found reused stones with mortar adhering, as well as chalk blocks, quartz and granite pebbles, and pieces of greenish slate ascribed to deposits in Normandy. At one point a sherd of scratch-marked pottery was embedded in the mortar. This walling ended abruptly at a height of 6 ft. in a level surface of mortar, above which survived a few courses of rubble walling with poor sandy mortar and including reused dressed blocks.
Above the foundation offset the walls were strengthened with pilaster-buttresses. Central buttresses, found on two sides of the keep, were 8 ft. wide and projected 2 ft. Those at the two angles uncovered were 11 ft. wide with a projection of 2 ft. and were set back 2 ft. on either side of the angle.
The excavations also revealed on the N. side dark earthy material piled up against the outer face of the keep to a height of 4½ ft., covering the offset and the dressed facing stones; above it was a layer dating from after the destruction of the keep, having boulders lying on and just below the surface. From a distance of 12 ft. N. of the keep, strata in all 10 ft. thick were seen to tilt upwards towards it.
Sections across the curving bank beyond the ditch S. and S.W. of the mound showed that 6 ft. of rubble lay above the natural ground surface. This bank could be part of the original W. town defence, later altered to run S. to the river, but its smallness, the rubble and spread nature of it and its fall to the E. make this unlikely. Further S. still, 68 yds. from the keep, a wall 5 ft. thick, believed to be part of the curtain wall of the castle, was sectioned. It was of rubble with dressed ashlar faces showing diagonal tooling and with a pilaster buttress on the inside (information from H.J. S. Clark). Fragments of walling 13 yds. further S. may be remains of a fish weir (Dorset Procs. LXXII (1950), 99). (R.A.F. V.A.P. CPE/UK 1821: 6402–4.)

27Domesday Book (O.S. Facsimile, p. 1) records that there were 70 houses at Wareham and that 73 lay waste.
28Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ed. D. Whitelock (1961), 183. Ordericus Vitalis IV, 304, and William of Malmesbury (Gesta Regum, in R.S. xc, 475) do not name the place of confinement.
29Ordericus Vitalis (v, 108–12); Gesta Stephani (ed. K. R. Potter, 95–6); William of Malmesbury, Historia Novella, 519–23 (ed. K. R. Potter, 72–6).'

Jarvis, K S, 1985, Pound Lane Wareham, 170 (Article in serial). SWX8466.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 2000, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1999, 152 (Serial). SDO11604.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1929, Ordnance Survey Map 25, 1936 edition OS map (Map). SWX1185.

<2> Clark, H J S, 1950, Salmon Fishery and the Weir at Wareham, 99-110 (Article in serial). SWX3036.

<2> Renn, D F, 1960, The Keep of Wareham Castle, 56-68 (Article in serial). SWX4508.

<3> Mills, A D, 1977, English Place-Name Society : the survey of English place-names [county volumes] Dorset, 159 (Monograph). SWX2586.

<4> DOE, 1977, Scheduled Monument Notification DOE (IAM) Record Form 9.4.77 (Scheduling record). SWX2997.

<5> Clark, H J S, 1950, Excavations at Castle Close, Wareham, p82 (Article in serial). SWX8725.

<6> 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum : an Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands., p128 (Index). SWX4013.

<8> Whitehead, B, 1999, Summary Report on an Archaeological Evaluation at Castle Close, Wareham, Dorset 1999 (Unpublished document). SWX8514.

<13> National Record of the Historic Environment (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 4 2025 4:11PM