Federation of Old Cornwall Societies

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No. 247283 

  THE GATEHOUSE 

The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

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List of Fortifications and Castles

Restormel Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Restormil; Raistormel; Tywardreath; Lestmel

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

Remains of a medieval castle built as a motte and bailey circa 1100 by Baldwin Fitz Turstin, Sheriff of Cornwall. Restormel Castle and its surroundings have been owned by the Dutchy of Cornwall since the medieval period. The castle consists of a circular curtain wall, an inner and outer gatehouse, the hall and servery and a chapel. Alterations were carried out during the medieval period. Circa 1200 the stone keep was constructed and at the end of C13 further alterations were made including the building of the chapel. Further alterations were carried out to the chapel in the late C16-C17. It appears that the chapel remained in use even though the remainder of the castle was derelict. The castle was fought over during the civil war and captured in 1644. On one occasion called Tywardreath which has lead to idea that there was a separate castle of Tywardreath.

This site has been described as a Masonry Castle/ Timber Castle.:

Masonry Castle :These include castles designed from the outset to have masonry defences and timber castles where the fortifications or significant building have been replaced in Stone. This includes all the classic castle types such as Shell Keep, Great Tower and bailey, Enclosure, Concentric castles etc. These are the buildings which are what are generally thought of as castles and are well described in many books, web sites etc. Masonry is stonework bounded with mortar. A few castles have dry-stone walls, these are listed under earthwork castles, since the dry-stone walling basically requires a similar level of expense and skill as earthwork defences.

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.

Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX10406138

 

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 number; 432711

• Web site links

  • http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/Restormel.htm
    http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/restormel%20castle.htm
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/restormel/restormel.php
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_south/200/restormelcastle.htm
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_Restormel.htm
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.300
    http://www.itraveluk.co.uk/content/434.html

• 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) p32-4
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p20-21 [plan]
    Spreadbury, I. D., 1984, Castles in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (Redruth)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p75
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p284
    Price, M. and H., 1980, Castles of Cornwall (Bossiney Books) p19-32
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, N. revised by Enid Radcliffe, 1970, Buildings of England: Cornwall (Harmondsworth) p132-3
    Renn, D.F., 1969, Three Shell Keeps (HMSO) p16-21
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p804-5
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p62-3 plan
    Toy, Sidney, 1939, Castles: A short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600 (London) p60-1
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p109-111
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p11-2
    Hext, 1891, Lostwithiel and Restormel (Truro) p203-24
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p361
    Lysons, D. and S., 1814, Magna Britannia Vol3 Cornwall p. ccxli, 176-8 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=403]
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p26
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol1 p39-41, Vol8 p46
    Borlase, William, 1754, Antiquites, historical and monumental, of the county of Cornwall (Oxford) p356-8

• Journal Articles

  • Radford, C.A.R.,1974, 'Restormel Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol130 p292-4
    King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
    Toy, S., 1933, 'The Round Castles of Cornwall' Archaeologia Vol83 p220-6 [plans]
    Quiller-Couch, 1879, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol35 p155-8
    Clark, 1862, Archaeologia Cambrensis [ser3] Vol8 p310-12
    MacLauchlan, 1849, Royal Institute of Cornwall 31st report p28-9 [slight]

• Guidebooks

  • Nicholas Molyneux, 2003, Restormel Castle (English Heritage)
    Radford, C.A.R.,1986, Restormel Castle (English Heritage)
    Radford, C.A.R.,1980 (2edn), Restormel Castle (HMSO)
    Radford, C.A.R.,1947, Restormel Castle (HMSO)

• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/cornwalleng.html#cornwall1]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p78, 86
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p205