Burwell Castle

Burwell

The castle is built upon a Roman site which appears to have included a temple site. The vill was a prosperous at Saxon thegnly vill which was still viable at Domesday. The fortress was apparently built by King Stephen (1135-54) as a permanent masonry structure during his campaign against rebels in the Isle of Ely. The castle was attacked by Earl Geoffrey Mandeville in the summer of 1144, who was killed by an arrow in the head after incautiously removing his helmet while besieging the fortress. The site then passed to Ramsey abbey who used it as a manorial complex where a chapel was consecrated in 1246. Excavations in the 1930s uncovered stained glass window fragments, as well as a graffito Maria. The chapel was dedicated to St Mary.

Description
The site is another large, low platform sometimes described as an enclosure castle. The rectangular platform is about 200' by 125' and is surrounded by a moat some 10' deep and 20' wide at the bottom. There are further complex earthworks some of which are spoil heaps as shown by excavation in the 1930s.

Excavation and later work has shown that the site was enclosed by a clunch rubble wall. To the east was a small rectangular tower, approx. 27' by 21', with walls some 5-6' thick. This was probably a gatetower rather than the smallest rectangular keep in the kingdom. It projected some 3-4' into the moat and terminated in diagonal buttresses. Part of this structure was still standing to first floor level in the 1920s when it was destroyed while testing a fire hose! To the north there were 2 garderobe chutes in the curtain thickness.

The site has been competently examined by Exeter University and their report can be downloaded here.

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