Clavering Castle was an early medieval fortification in the village of Clavering, Essex. It may have been built either before or after the Norman conquest of England, and formed the caput, or main administrative centre, for the estates of Robert Fitz-Wimarc. Only earthworks now survive of what was originally a large moated site.
History
The origins of Clavering Castle may date back as far as the Anglo-Saxon period, with the fortification possibly being the same as the site known historically as “Robert’s Castle”, used by fleeing Normans in 1052. If so, it may have originally been a rectangular, moated site, similar to others of the Anglo-Saxon period, with the moat playing an important role in communicating the status of the owner.
A castle was certainly present at the site in the years following the Norman conquest of England, when the Clavering estate was granted to the Breton noble Robert Fitz-Wimarc. Robert served both Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror, the latter of which rewarded him with estates after the invasion. Robert had his caput, or main administrative centre, at Clavering, from where he ran his new estates. Robert’s son, Swein of Essex, inherited his lands and by 1086 had built a new castle in Rayleigh, to where he moved his caput.
Clavering Castle constructed at the bottom of the valley formed by the River Stort. The castle was rectangular in form, 300 ft by 185 ft, with a raised mound surrounded by a moat, today up to 75 ft wide and 18 ft deep. It was entered from the south-east side, and the moat was fed with water from the river running to the north – the earthworks associated with this arrangement, and adjacent ponds and a watermill probably associated with the castle, still survive. It is uncertain if the castle was solely built from timber, or if there were stone buildings present.
In the 21st century, the castle is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Monument. A UK National Lottery-funded investigation was carried out by the Clavering Landscape History Group between 2005 and 2008.
Bibliography
- Medlycott, M. (1999). Rayleigh Historic Town Assessment Report. Essex, UK: Essex County Council and English Heritage.
- The National Trust. (1951). Rayleigh Mount, Essex. London, UK: Country Life and the National Trust.
- Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England. (1916). An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1. London, UK: His Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Photographs on this page include those drawn from the Wikimedia website, as of 24 December 2018, and attributed and licensed as follows: “Clavering Essex, view from castle mound to church“, author Libby Norman, released under CC BY-SA 3.0.