Beaumys Castle
| Beaumys Castle | |
|
Berkshire | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Fortified manor house |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU710646 |
| Location: | 51°22’34"N, 0°58’53"W |
| Village: | Swallowfield |
| History | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Earthworks |
Beaumys Castle, also known as Beams Castle, was a 14th-century fortified manor house in the parish of Swallowfield in Berkshire. Today only the earthworks remain.
History
Beaumys Castle was a manor in the parish of Swallowfied, given to Sir Nicholas de la Beche in 1335.[1] De la Beche received a licence to crenellate in 1338 and produced a fortified manor house.[2] The castle was rectangular, protected by earthworks approximately 430 feet by 360 feet across, surrounded by a water-filled moat, with the castle accessed from an entrance to the northwest.[3]
De la Beche died, leaving the manor to his wife Margery, who in turn remarried,[2] to Thomas Arderne.[4] On Arderne's death in 1347, however, John de Dalton and a small group of followers broke into the castle, where they killed Michael de Poynings, an important nobleman; terrified Lionel, the son of Edward III who was staying there at the time; stole £1,000 worth of goods, and seized Margaret, whom, as a wealthy widow, was forced to marry John.[4][5]
The surrounding manor was broken up in 1420; the surviving earthworks are a scheduled monument.[6]
Outside links
References
- ↑ Beaumys Castle, Gatehouse website, accessed 13 June 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mackenzie, p.170.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 244553 – Beaumys Castle
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Margery Poynings (d. 1349) - Royal Berkshire History
- ↑ Mackenzie, p.170; Beaumys Castle, Gatehouse website, accessed 13 June 2011.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 244553 – Beaumys Castle
- MacKenzie, James Dixon. (1896/2009) The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. General Books LLC. ISBN 978-1-150-51044-1
