Clare Castle

Clare Castle
Clare, Suffolk, England
Motte of Clare Castle
Clare Castle
Coordinates	52°04′36″N 0°34′58″E / 52.0768°N 0.5829°E / 52.0768; 0.5829Coordinates: 52°04′36″N 0°34′58″E / 52.0768°N 0.5829°E / 52.0768; 0.5829
Grid reference	grid reference TL771452
Type	Motte and bailey
Site information
Owner	Clare Town Council
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruined; motte and outer bailey survive
Site history
Materials	Flint and rubble

Clare Castle is a medieval castle in the small town of Clare in Suffolk, England. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England by Richard Fitz Gilbert, the motte and bailey castle was later improved in stone. In the 14th century the castle was the home of Elizabeth de Clare, one of the richest women in England, who maintained a substantial household there. The castle passed into the hands of the Crown, and by the 16th century was in ruins. Damaged by the construction of the Great Eastern Railway through the castle in 1867, the remains of the castle are now part of a local park and a scheduled monument and a grade 2* listed building.

Soon after the Norman conquest of England, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted a barony by William the Conqueror, with two blocks of land, first in Kent and later across Suffolk and Essex. Richard built two castles to defend his new lands, Tonbridge in Kent, followed by Clare Castle in Suffolk. The exact date of the construction is unknown, but the first documentary records of the castle appear by 1090. In the 11th century, Suffolk was one of the most prosperous parts of the country.

Clare Castle was built between the River Stour and the Chilton Stream and took the form of a motte and bailey design, with two baileys rather than the more common one. The motte is 850 feet (259 m) wide at the base and 100 feet (30 m) tall, with its flat summit 63 feet (19 m) across. The two baileys, stretching alongside from the motte along the north and east, were protected by deep ditches and steep palisades, with either a causeway or a drawbridge linking the inner to the outer bailey; the inner bailey was also sheltered by the curve of the Chilton.