Federation of Old Cornwall Societies

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No. 247283 

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

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Bossinney Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bossiney

In the civil parish of Tintagel.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Earthwork remains of a Ringwork 46m in diameter enclosing a slightly raised triangular shaped area of 16 by 14m with an entrance on the east. The north side of the rampart is particularly strong being up to 5.9m high externally with a 20m wide and 0.9m deep outer ditch.

This site has been described as a Timber Castle. These are the earthwork and timber castles of the motte and bailey or ringwork form which where the vast majority of castles of the early conquest period, of the Marches in the 11th and 12th centuries and of the period during the reign of Stephen known as the Anarchy. They were generally fairly short lived, although some such castles survived for centuries, with the timber buildings and defences being replaced on occasions sometimes in timber and sometimes in Masonry (Alderton Castle in Northamptonshire was shown in a Time Team excavation to have been built about 1070 and to still have been having high status visitors in the C15-a fine piece of enamels horse harness being found in the gatehouse). Some of the smaller low mottes may have been adapted into moated manor houses, whilst others where abandoned and replaced by manor houses of a more comfortable and domestic nature. Timber castles varied greatly in size with some being massive constructions clearly deserving the term castle, whilst other were small mounds of minor knights and had a similar size, function and social status as the later pele towers. These small mottes are called 'castle' but this could be considered a rather loose use of the term.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX06588876

 

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

• PastScape 

• Web site links

  • http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_south/200/bossinneycastle.htm

• Books

  • Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
    Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p18
    Spreadbury, I. D., 1984, Castles in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (Redruth)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p73
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Page, Wm (ed), 1906, VCH Cornwall Vol1 p464

• Journal Articles

  • Rose, P., 1992, 'Bossiney Castle' Cornish Archaeology Vol31 p138-42
    King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
    MacLauchlan, 1852, Royal Institute of Cornwall 34th report p19 and plate xxxi