England · Partial ruin
Baynard Castle
Baynard Castle at Cottingham is a medieval moated, rectangular earthwork castle whose visible remains are banks and ditches surrounding an approximately 11-acre enclosure. The site contains later domestic buildings sited within the former defences and is a scheduled ancient monument. Documentary sources and earthworks indicate a second line of ditching on the northern side and a likely strongpoint in the north-east corner.
Its prime
1299
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1299
What Baynard Castle looked like in its prime.
Rectangular moated enclosure about 11 acres, defined by broad turf ramparts and a surrounding water-filled ditch; the northern half is protected by a second concentric ditch and bank. A stone or timber boundary wall runs along the inner edge of the rampart; a slightly raised platform is visible in the north-east corner where a keep is postulated. The southern quadrant contains the manor plot and later domestic buildings set inside the inner bank near the original south-east entrance.
Its story
The story of Baynard Castle.
Baynard Castle was a moated castle built in the 12th and 13th centuries at Cottingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Contemporaries knew it as the 'castle at Cottingham' or 'Stuteville's castle', the name Baynard Castle only becomes common in references from the 19th century onward.
The male line of the de Stutevilles ended in 1233, when the castle was acquired by the le Wake family. After Thomas Wake's death, ownership passed through his sister Margaret Wake to the Earls of Kent and Barons Holand.
The rectangular earthworks, a bank and ditch enclosing roughly 11 acres, with a second line of ditch fortifications guarding the northern half, survive as a scheduled ancient monument. A keep is thought to have stood in the north-east corner, the present entrance in the south-east quadrant probably marks the original one, and later domestic buildings now sit within the former defences.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1299.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Baynard Castle, including 3 interiors: central bailey interior, north-east keep site, southern manor plot. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Baynard Castle.
The families that held Baynard Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
de Stuteville
Held by the de Stutevilles, 'Stuteville's castle', until the male line ended in 1233.
Wake
Acquired by the le Wake family in 1233 and held until Thomas Wake's death.
Holand
Passed via Margaret Wake to the Earls of Kent and Barons Holand.
