page_title: Deddington Castle
section_title: 1100–1215
hierarchical_section_title: Deddington Castle / History / 1100–1215
caption_attribution_description: English: Deddington Castle inner bailey, c. 12th- 13th centuries. After Ivens, 1984.
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: In the early 12th century, additional earthworks were thrown up to divide the western half of the castle into an outer bailey of around 3 hectares (7.4 acres) and an inner bailey on the east end, comprising around 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres). The earthworks pushed up against the older hall, and partially buried its western walls. It is uncertain exactly why the new earthworks were constructed, but it may have been to strengthen the fortification in response to either the threatened invasion of Duke Robert of Normandy in 1101, or alternatively to the sinking of the White Ship and the subsequent dynastic crisis in 1120.
  By 1157, the castle was owned by William de Chesney, an Anglo-Norman lord who had supported King Stephen in the region during the civil war of the Anarchy, and then Henry II after the peace in 1154. William rebuilt much of the castle, constructing a strong stone curtain wall around the inner bailey, 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) thick and made from mortared ironstone rubble. The wall was cut through the motte, the inner part of the mound being dug away to make room for the wall.
  William also began to reconstruct the inside of the inner bailey, a programme of work that was continued by his descendants over the next few decades. The work included a chapel, a hall and solar, and various service buildings. An open-backed square tower was built in stone along the wall on top of the motte; this tower was later rebuilt, possibly because of pressure on it from the motte earthworks, and the top of the motte was relaid with flagstones to form pathways around the top. A stone gatehouse was built on the west side of the wall, leading from the outer bailey.
  William died between 1172 and 1176, and the castle was then granted the Crown to Ralph Murdac, William's nephew and a favoured supporter of Henry II. Ralph was unpopular, however, with Henry's successor, Richard I, and Ralph's relatives Guy de Dive and Matilda de Chesney took the opportunity to sue him in the royal courts, each claiming a third of William's estate. The lands around the castle were granted to Guy and, renamed the "Castle Manor", remained in his family line until the mid-14th century. When King John took the throne, however, he seems to have seized Deddington. The manor was not returned to Guy until 1204; furthermore, Deddington Castle was excluded from this agreement and retained in royal control until the following year. On Guy's death in 1214, John again took the castle back into royal control, where it remained until the King's own death the following year.
caption: Inner bailey, mid-12th - 13th centuries: A - entrance to western bailey; B - gatehouse; C - tower and motte; D - hall; E - solar; F - chapel
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