Monument record 1160/1/10 - Castle barbican

Barbican defences which comprised triple rampart made of earth. The earthworks were surveyed by Law in 1863 before the area was levelled. Excavation undertaken by Alexander in 1964 identified the inner ditch and rampart. The earthworks appear to have been refurbished during the Civil War, probably as a new This area was known as The Fort in the later 17th century.

{1} Before gate of castle is triple rampart of earth; outer bank measures 35ft; profile & plan included;

{2} On north side of castle before north gate stood barbican protecting Castle Lane & which was for use of garrison;

{3} Bullwarks of earth built before castle gate;

{4} Broad ballium was guarded by outer vallum with barbican etc;

{5} Estimated cost of repairs to old barbican in 1323;

{6} Mentions castle bulwarks & new bulwark before castle gate to north side of town; indicates modification of old barbican;

{7} Barbican noted;

{8} Shows earthworks of barbican to north of inner bailey moat; triple rampart of earth;

{9} Brief discussion of previous work carried out on barbican; on north side of castle was additional area enclosed by triple rampart of earth of considerable proportions; area of barbican now built over;

{10} Early C14th survey estimating cost of repair to old barbican outside castle;

{11} Before north gate of castle was triple rampart of earth outer bank of which was 35ft & centre about 158 ft from edge of castle ditch; barbican defended drawbridge into castle;

{12} Outside north entrance to bailey were earthworks which covered approach to gate; speculates that these were thrown up for seige purposes;

{13} In 1964, an area immediately north of the bailey had been cleared of houses. The opportunity was taken to examine two 60ft long sections behind cellar walls. It was possible to record the ditch which was the inner (if there was more than one) barbican defence. In November, when redevelopment contractors cut two large and much deeper test trenches, Mr Frost photographed and drew the complete section of both phases of the ditch. Pottery and leather (oldest Northampton footwear at the time) were recovered. Inside the barbican ditch its rampart made of clay and sand was found. No trace of a wall. The original ground surface was also indentified.

{14} Barbican mentioned as bulwark of earth in front of main entrance on north side of castle;

{15} Barbican defences located;

{16} Gate of castle protected from far side of moat by barbican;

{19} Medieval fortifications;

{20} On north side of castle semi-circular earthworks of barbican protected castle gateway; in 1321 barbican described as old barbican & in need of repair; presumed to have consisted of only earthwork & timber defences as no account of repairs to stonework; barbican defences levelled shortly after destruction of western half of inner bailey in 1879;

{21} Parts of a northern outwork also survive, although the half-moon barbican was destroyed by housing, originally in the 19th century and totally in the 60s.

{22} Portion of wall close to south-west bastion considered to form part of inner face of original barbican on south of inner bailey; built on platform of rough masonry; drawings & photographs made.

{23} Archaeological watching brief during development on Little Cross Street in 2018 identified a small part of a ditch aligned north-south.

{24} A ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey on land to the east of St Andrews Road identified linear anomalies, which represent walls, in the area of the former barbican. Difficult to interpret given the size of the survey area, but they appear too insubstantial to relate to the Victorian housing that stood here. However, it is hard to reconcile them with castle features, since this area was believed to be dominated by the medieval defences.

{25} While the earthworks have medieval origins as Leland talks of 'bullewarkes of yerth…made afore the castelle gate' in the 1530s, the triple ramparts recorded in 1800 represent refurbishment of the castle defences in 1645 and are presumably the 'new flanker' or 'new bullwork be fore the castle gate' mentioned by Hooper in 1645. The earthwork is called The Fort later in the 17th century, but here it appears to be no more than a substantial bulwark. A trench is described by Hooper as running from the river around the bulwark; likely to be a channel of the river.

Foard G.R., 1994, The Civil War Defences of Northampton (Article). SNN826.

<1> 1800, The Gentleman's Magazine (1800), (unchecked) (Article). SNN4060.

<2> Wetton, 1849, Guidebook to Northampton and its Vicinity, p.30 (checked) (Book). SNN1032.

<3> Leland J., 1543, Itinerary, (unchecked) (Series). SNN13988.

<4> Whellan, 1874, History, Topography & Directory of Northamptonshire, p.123; Copy in NDC SMR File M202; (checked) (Book). SNN1002.

<5> MISCELLANEOUS CHANCERY INQUISITIONS, (unchecked) (Document). SNN4379.

<6> HOOPER J., 1645, SURVEY, (unchecked) (Document). SNN3981.

<7> Evans J.; Britton J., 1810, The Beauties of England and Wales (Northamptonshire), (unchecked) (Book). SNN1351.

<8> LAW E.F., 1863, St Peter's Rectory Survey, (unchecked) (Map). SNN3760.

<9> Law, E. F. & Scriven R.G., 1880, The Earthwork on The Site of The Castle at Northampton, p.206-207 (checked) (Series). SNN4072.

<10> Serjeantson R.M., 1907, The Castle of Northampton, p.34 (checked) (Article). SNN4129.

<11> Serjeantson R.M., 1908, The Castle of Northampton, p.55-56 (checked) (Article). SNN3900.

<12> Page W. (ed), 1930, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire- The Borough of Northampton, p.34 (checked) (Series). SNN100370.

<13> Alexander J., 1961-1964, Northampton Castle excavations 1961-1964, 1964 excavation, p.8 (Unpublished Report). SNN3868.

<14> Brown R.A.; Colvin H.M.; Taylor, 1963, The History of The Kings' Works (Vol.II), p.750-53 (checked) (Series). SNN3801.

<15> Wilson D.M.; Gillian Hurst D., 1965, Medieval Britain in 1964, p.191 (checked) (Notes). SNN3819.

<16> 1967, The Castle of Northampton, (checked) (Article). SNN3830.

<17> SHAW M. & WILLIAMS A., 1988, SMR REPORT FORM, (unchecked) (Report). SNN49257.

<18> SHAW M. & WILLIAMS A., 1989, CASTLE STATION, 29-30 (Report). SNN3620.

<19> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, 122 (Article). SNN104441.

<20> Chapman A., Northampton Castle: A Review of The Evidence, (checked) (Unpublished Report). SNN2966.

<21> Welsh T., 2009-2011, Northampton Castle, (checked) (Note). SNN107344.

<22> Law E.F., 1879-80, The ruins at the old castle, (unchecked) (Article). SNN4346.

<23> Nowak, A, 2018, 33 Little Cross Street, Northampton, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Strip, map and record/watching brief (Report). SNN111490.

<24> Walford, J and Chapman, A, 2017, Archaeological geophysical survey on the site of Northampton Castle, St Andrew’s Road, Northampton, May 2017 (Report). SNN112320.

<25> Foard G.R., 1994, The Civil War Defences of Northampton, p. 28 (Article). SNN826.

Record last edited

Jun 2 2025 3:44PM