Page 11 - Oundle Life January 2021

In the ‘Northamptonshire’ edition of his famous ‘Buildings of England’ series, Pevsner described Barnwell Castle as “the most monumental type of castle architecture” drawing parallels with
the castles built in France and Italy from 1220. Moreover, Pevsner points out that because Barnwell was finished some 20 years before Harlech in North Wales – which was completed in 1284 – it may rightly be regarded as the first of its kind in Britain.
With its highly unusual arrangement of circular towers asymmetrically clustered at the junctions of its 3-4m thick stone walls, Barnwell Castle also borrowed stylistically from the king’s works and in particular Constable’s Gate which was added to Dover Castle in the 1220s. Application of such leading-edge architecture demonstrated increased military intelligence and fighting experience gained overseas – both very important lordly qualities in the early
middle-ages.
However, Le Moyne’s Lordly status soon faded. Documentary evidence suggests that just 10 years after its completion, Barnwell Castle was taken away from him following an inquiry in 1276 that could find no ‘Licence to Crenellate’ from the King – the medieval equivalent of planning permission to build a castle. Le Moyne was ordered by the courts to return the Manor to the Abbott of Ramsey with whom it remained until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 whereupon it was granted, by King Henry VIII of England to his Lord Chief Justice Sir Edward Montagu from nearby Hemington. Montagu was a member of the Privy Council of King Henry VIII, one of sixteen executors of King Henry’s last will, and governor to the King’s son and heir Edward VI.
Sir Edward invested in upgrades, and in 1586 William Camden, antiquarian, historian, and author of ‘Britannica’ wrote about Barnwell Castle describing the “little castle Sir Edmund Monacute [sp] hath of late repaired and beautified with new buildings”.
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