Enclosure castle constructed in C13 by Robert of Tattershall. Licence in 1231. In C15 it passed to Ralph, first Lord Cromwell, who rebuilt it as a fortified house and founded a college on the adjacent site. The castle was ocupied until 1693; it thereafter fell into disrepair in the years after 1912 restoration was undertaken by Lord Curzon under the direction of William Weir, architect. The remains take the form of an inner moated enclosure with two enclosures, also moated. Parts of the curtain wall survive in the western part of the enclosure adjacent to the later Great Tower. The foundations of two interval towers also survive, to the north and south of the Great Tower. The remains of another interval tower have been identified on the south side of the enclosure. Construction of the Great Tower commenced in the 1430s when the castle was converted into a fortified residence. The Great Tower is an outstanding red brick tower in English bond, with darker lattice lozenge decorations to upper parts, ashlar dressings, leaded roofs. Rectangular plan with facetted angle towers, originally with attached hall to courtyard side. 5 storey with undercroft, irregular 3 bay front with plinth, chamfered ashlar string course and embattled parapet with machicolated base.

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Name	Tattershall Castle
Alternative Names	Tateshal
Historic County	Lincolnshire
Civil Parish	Tattershall
Type	Masonry Castle
Confidence	Certain
Remains	Major
Listed	Grade 1
Scheduled Ancient Monument	Yes
Ordnance Survey Reference	TF211575
Eastings	521100
Northing	357540
Images of England Reference	400478
PastScape Reference	352629
Historic Environment Record	43561

Multi Map

StreetMaps

Books

• Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p64-7
• Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p308
• Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p146-7 [plans]
• Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p40-1
• King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p263-4
• Thompson, M.W., 1981, ‘The architectural significance of the building works of Ralph, Lord Cromwell (1394-1456)‘, in A Detsicas (ed), Collectanea Historica: Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold (Kent Archaeological Society) p155-62
• Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p304-5
• Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1964, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Harmondsworth) p390-4
• Simpson, D., 1960, The Building Accounts of Tattershall Castle, 1434-72 (Lincoln Record Society No55)
• Tipping, H.A., 1921, English Homes, period 1 Vol1 (London)
• Thompson, A. Hamilton, 1912, Military architecture in England during the Middle Ages (OUP) p355-8
• Sympson, Edward Mansel, 1911, Memorials of Old Lincolnshire p179-97
• Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
• Gotch, J. Alfred, 1909, The Growth of the English House (London: Batsford) p78-81
• Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p443-6
• Pickworth, M.A., 1891, History of Tattershall with the Church and Castle [not very reliable history]
• Reed, F.H., 1872, Illustrations of Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire (London)
• Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p229-30
• Weir, 1820, History and Descriptive Sketches of Horncastle (London) p86-96
• Anon, 1811, Topog. Account of Tattershall (Horncastle)
• Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p176

Antiquarian

• William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/lincseng.html#lincs22]

Journals

• Bennet, M. and Field, F.N., 1999, Lincolnshire History and Archaeology p32 [building survey of gatehouse]
• Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p314, 320
• Coulson, C., 1979, 'Structural Symbolism in Medieval Castle Architecture' Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol132 p84
• 1974, Lincolnshire history and Archaeology Vol8 p44
• Thompson, M.W., 1974, Archaeological Journal Vol131 p317-21
• Simpson, 1935, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol40 p177- [building accounts]
• Tipping, H.A., 1915, Country Life Vol38 p18-26, 54-60
• Sympson, Edward Mansel, 1910, 'Tattershall castle and church' Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire Vol14 p28-45
• Sympson, Edward Mansel, 1909, Archaeological Journal Vol66 p349-50

Guidebooks

• Thompson, M.W., 1988, Tattershall Castle Lincolnshire (National Trust)
• Thompson, M.W., 1974, Tattershall Castle (National Trust)
• Anon, 1969, Tattershall Castle Lincolnshire (National Trust)
• Thompson, A Hamilton, 1930, Tattershall: the Manor, the Castle, the Church (Lincoln)
• Anon, 1926, (Boston)
• Marquis Curzon and Tipping, H.A., 1929, Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire: A Historical & Descriptive Survey (London; J.Cape)

Primary Sources

• Myers, A.R. (ed), 1969, English Historical Documents Vol4 1327-1485 p1118-23 [building accounts from Simpson]
• Simpson, D. (ed), 1960, The Building Accounts of Tattershall Castle, 1434-72 (Lincoln Record Society No55)
• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1225-32) p435
• Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p296

Unpublished

• English Heritage, 1999, Revised scheduling document 22720. MPP 23