Description

1.
5180 CASTLE STREET
(East Side)
------------
The Castle
SX 8060 NW 1/42
SX 8060 SW 1/42
SX 7960 NE 1/42 14.11.69.

I

2.
A motte and bailey castle, presumably with timber fortifications, was constructed
by Judhael of Totnes shortly after the Conquest. It occupied the north-east corner
of the Anglo-saxon burgh. The earliest shell-keep, built by Reginald de Braose
circa 1219, was extensively rebuilt together with the rest of the castle by Baron
Zouche in 1326. The castle was later owned by the Edgecombes of Cothele and the
Seymour family, by whom it was placed in the guardianship of the Ministry of Works
in 1947. The main function of Totnes castle was to act as a centre for the manorial
courts under the constable, and as a base for the administration of the family
estates. The earliest remains, apart from the motte and bailey earthworks, are
masonry footings on the top of the motte of an Cll or C12 square, timber tower.
The surviving upstanding masonry is mostly of C14 date and comprises a circular
masonry shell-keep and sections of the bailey curtain wall. Keep of Devonion limestone
rubble with red sandstone dressings and battered external face. Crenellated battlements
with merlons pierced for loom; approached by 2 stairways in the thickness of the
wall. Garderobe chamber also within the thickness of the curtain and projecting
beyond the line of the wall; lit by pair of crossed loops. Bailey curtain-wall
of pitched limestone rubble. The hall and other domestic buildings which formerly
stood in the bailey no longer survive. Flanking the entrance to the site are 2
granite pillars possibly taken from the Exchange built in 1616 and pulled down
in 1878. Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Listing NGR: SX8002760505

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Totnes Castle at Wikipedia
• Totnes Castle official website
• Wikidata Q2445840

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)