Odiham Castle

Odiham Castle
Odiham, Hampshire, England
Ruins of Odiham Castle.
Type	Shell keep with outer bailey
Height	Up to 9 metres (30 ft)
Site information
Owner	Hampshire County Council
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruin
Site history
Built	1207 - 1214
Built by	King John
In use	Until mid 16th century
Materials	Flint Lime Mortar Timber
Battles/wars	First Barons' War
Events	Hosted Parliament in the 13th Century Prison of Scottish King David II

Odiham Castle (also known locally as King John's Castle) is a ruined castle situated near Odiham in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It is one of only three fortresses built by King John during his reign.

The site was possibly chosen by King John because he had visited the area in 1204 and it lay halfway between Windsor and Winchester.

Odiham Castle was built on 20 acres (8 ha) of land acquired from the local lord, Robert the Parker, utilising a modified bend of the River Whitewater.

The castle, which took seven years to complete, had a two-storey stone keep and a square moat. There were also raised banking and palisades. Notably, the stronghold also had a domus regis or king's house.

Scrolls held by the Public Record Office indicate that total expenditure between 1207 and 1214, when work ceased, amounted to £1,000 (equivalent to £11.4m in 2009).

In 1215 it was from either Odiham or Windsor that King John rode out to Runnymede, where he met the barons and attached his seal to the Magna Carta. A year later Odiham Castle was captured by the French after a two-week siege during the First Barons' War in 1216. The garrison of just 13 surrendered on July 9, 1216. At some point over the next 9 years the keep was completely rebuilt, possibly to remedy the damage done to it by the French forces. At the same time the mound on which the keep sat was raised by 5 metres and an inner moat surrounding the keep was added to the defences.

In 1238 Simon de Montfort married King John's daughter Eleanor just two years after she had been granted Odiham by her brother, King Henry III. In the following year a kitchen was added on a bridge over the inner moat and a new hall was added on the outside of the keep. During the same period a second building was constructed over the moat, this time on the south eastern side of the keep, to provide extra living space.