Great Canfield Castle
Encyclopedia
Great Canfield Castle was in the small village of Great Canfield
5 km south-west of Great Dunmow
in Essex
.
The lords of Canfield, the de Veres, built a motte and bailey castle was built on low ground near the River Roding
, probably in the late 11th or early 12th century. The keep was constructed of timber. In the 1130s-1140s Aubrey de Vere II
or his son Aubrey III the first Earl of Oxford
may have diverted a tributary of the river to flood the ditch around the motte; the water was managed by a dam
system. Excavations suggest that the moat was 20' 7" deep, 11' lower than the water table.
Only the earthworks now remain.
The Vere lords held at Canfield by two feudal tenures in Domesday Book
: as tenant-in-chief of the crown for two hides and as tenant of Count Alan of Brittany, lord of Richmond for one hide. Over time, the Richmond lordship seems to have been forgotten and the Vere Earls of Oxford
came to hold all three hides of the king. The manor roll series survives from Dec. 14, 1346, into the 16th century.
Great Canfield
Great Canfield is a village and a civil parish in the Uttlesford District, in the English county of Essex. It is near the small town of Great Dunmow.- References :A-Z Essex...
5 km south-west of Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is an ancient market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England in which the great Shannon Gray, also known as Hazzah Potter, lives...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
The lords of Canfield, the de Veres, built a motte and bailey castle was built on low ground near the River Roding
River Roding
The River Roding is a river in England that rises near Dunmow, flows through Essex and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames in London....
, probably in the late 11th or early 12th century. The keep was constructed of timber. In the 1130s-1140s Aubrey de Vere II
Aubrey de Vere II
Aubrey de Vere II — also known as "Alberic[us] de Ver" — was the second of that name in England after the Norman Conquest, being the eldest surviving son of Alberic or Aubrey de Vere who had followed William the Conqueror to England in or after 1066.Their lineage is probably Norman, possibly...
or his son Aubrey III the first Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...
may have diverted a tributary of the river to flood the ditch around the motte; the water was managed by a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
system. Excavations suggest that the moat was 20' 7" deep, 11' lower than the water table.
Only the earthworks now remain.
The Vere lords held at Canfield by two feudal tenures in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
: as tenant-in-chief of the crown for two hides and as tenant of Count Alan of Brittany, lord of Richmond for one hide. Over time, the Richmond lordship seems to have been forgotten and the Vere Earls of Oxford
Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...
came to hold all three hides of the king. The manor roll series survives from Dec. 14, 1346, into the 16th century.