Deddington Castle

Deddington Castle
Deddington, Oxfordshire, England
North embankment of the western bailey, with the castle motte on the right
Deddington Castle
Coordinates	51°58′51″N 1°18′56″W / 51.9809°N 1.3156°W / 51.9809; -1.3156Coordinates: 51°58′51″N 1°18′56″W / 51.9809°N 1.3156°W / 51.9809; -1.3156
Grid reference	grid reference SP471316
Site information
Owner	English Heritage and Deddington parish council
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Earthworks only
Site history
Built by	Bishop Odo of Bayeux
Events	Death of Piers Gaveston English Civil War

Deddington Castle was a medieval fortification in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire. It was built on a wealthy former Anglo-Saxon estate by Bishop Odo of Bayeux following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Odo constructed a large castle with two earthwork baileys and a central motte, intending that the castle administer his property in the region and provide a substantial military base in the event of an Anglo-Saxon revolt. Odo's estates in England were seized following a failed rebellion against William II in 1088, and Deddington Castle was taken back into royal control. The Anglo-Norman lord William de Chesney acquired the castle in the 12th century and rebuilt it in stone, raising a stone curtain wall around a new inner bailey, complete with a defensive tower, gatehouse and domestic buildings.

After de Chesney's death, his descendants fought for control of the castle in the royal courts, and it was temporarily seized several times by King John at the start of the 13th century. Deddington Castle was confirmed in the ownership of the de Dive family, who held it for the next century and a half. In 1281, the castle was stormed by a group of men who broke down the doors, and in 1312 the royal favourite Piers Gaveston may have been captured at the castle by his enemies, shortly before his execution. From the 13th century onward, Deddington Castle fell into disrepair, and contemporaries soon described it as "demolished" and "weak". It was bought by the Canons of Windsor in 1364, who began to sell off its stonework. The remains of the castle were reportedly used by both Royalist and Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War in the 17th century.