page_title: Deddington Castle
section_title: 1215–18th century
hierarchical_section_title: Deddington Castle / History / 1215–18th century
caption_attribution_description: The outer bailey of Deddington Castle, Oxfordshire, England.
context_page_description: Deddington Castle is an extensive earthwork in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire, all that remains of an eleventh century motte-and-bailey castle, with only the earth ramparts and mound now visible.
  The castle was built on a wealthy former Anglo-Saxon estate by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror. It was strengthened in the 12th century, with some stone defences added, but from the 13th century onwards it fell into disrepair, and the stone buildings were eventually dismantled and sold.
  The castle played a minor part in the English Civil War, but after Deddington's strategic importance waned, the site lay vacant for many decades, used only for grazing and forestry.
  In the 19th century the site was used for recreation and sports, until it was sold to the parish council in 1947. It now serves as a park and nature walk. The site is protected under UK law as a scheduled monument.
context_section_description: Both the village and the castle of Deddington fell into decline during the 13th century. Although the village had grown to become a borough, with new, planned streets spreading westwards away from the castle, it was eclipsed economically by the nearby, newer centre of Banbury. The castles in the Thames Valley region that lacked substantial defences were mostly abandoned during this period and Deddington Castle was no exception. By 1277 contemporaries described it as "an old demolished castle". In 1281, Robert of Aston and a group of men were able to break down the doors to the castle and enter it. The castle was considered to be "weak" in a report of 1310 and no further repairs were carried out on the property after this time.
  In 1312, the royal favourite Piers Gaveston, may have been captured at Deddington Castle. Gaveston was a close friend of Edward II but he had many enemies among the major barons, and had surrendered to them on the promise that he would be unharmed. He was taken south by Aymer de Valence, the Earl of Pembroke, who imprisoned Gaveston at Deddington on 9 June while he left to visit his wife. Gaveston is often stated to have been kept in Deddington Castle, although he may have alternatively been lodged in the rectory house in the village. Guy de Beauchamp, the Earl of Warwick, had a particular dislike of Gaveston and the next morning took the opportunity to seize him and take him back to Warwick Castle, where Gaveston was subsequently tried and killed by his enemies.
  During the 14th century the interior of the castle continued to be inhabited, but in a manner that archaeologist Richard Ivens likens to "squatting": the upper levels of the tower were abandoned and wood burnt along the inside of the walls in a crude fireplace. In 1364, the Canons of Windsor bought the castle, park and former fishponds from Thomas de Dive; the Canons rented the farmlands out, but retained the right to operate and profit from the castle's manorial court. The tower was demolished around this time, possibly linked to the sale of stonework from the castle walls in 1377 to the Canons of Bicester. By the 16th century, the visiting antiquarian John Leland only noted that "there hath bene a castle at Dadintone".
  The village of Deddington was extensively involved in the English Civil War between 1641 and 1645, owing to its location on the route between Banbury and Oxford. The late 19th-century historian James Mackenzie recorded that the castle was used as a temporary fortress by both Royalist and Parliamentary forces during the conflict and that a Royalist garrison was besieged there by Parliamentary troops in 1644. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle site was used for grazing animals and timber farming.
caption: In the outer bailey looking south
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