Details

The monument includes the main surviving elements of a large motte and bailey
castle, built in c.AD1071 on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon settlement,
by Robert d'Oilly, a contemporary of William I. The first castle was mainly
constructed of earth and timber although St George's Tower - Listed Grade I -
may pre-date the mound, also having been built by Robert d'Oilly. The motte
has survived well and includes evidence of alterations to the castle in the
medieval period. The steep sided motte is 18m from base to summit and has a
maximum diameter of 65m at the base and 23m on the flat summit. There was
originally a wooden tower on the top of the mound but this was replaced in the
medieval period with a ten sided stone keep, the foundations of which are
visible on the summit.
Inside the motte is a well-preserved Grade I Listed 13th century well chamber.
This has a vaulted roof and is hexagonal in plan. The area of the bailey has
been largely built over but can be traced along Bulwark Lane to the north-east
and by the prison wall and Paradise Road to the south-west. The best surviving
area of the bailey and of the structures within it are contained within the
walls of Oxford Prison, including St George's Tower, part of the line of the
curtain wall and accompanying ditch and the Grade I Listed crypt of St
George's Chapel. St George's Tower may be earlier than the motte and is the
earliest stone building surviving on the site. The Tower survives as a four
storey structure and is in a remarkably good state of preservation for a
building of its early date. The line of the curtain wall, built to replace the
original bailey earthworks, and a section of the ditch which surrounded the
bailey, survive below ground within the prison area. Part of this line is
preserved above ground as the foundations of the round tower, rebuilt in the
1800's but containing, as a core, the stonework of one of the castle towers.
St George's Chapel crypt once lay beneath the chancel of St George's Chapel.
It was moved and rebuilt during 1794 but includes 11th century columns. The
crypt is considered to be an integral part of the history of the site.
The castle has played an important role in the history of Oxford and of
England. In 1142 the Empress Matilda was besieged in the castle by King
Stephen and the castle was again attacked in 1215 during the 'Barons' War'.
However, by the 14th century the castle was in a ruinous state, at least in
part. In 1611 most of the site was owned by Christ Church but it was to be
reoccupied by the loyalist forces during the early years of the English Civil
War. After a period of siege the castle was re-fortified by the Commonwealth
in 1649, only to be slighted in 1652, bringing to an end the site's use as a
castle. In 1776 New Road was built through the bailey and part of the site was
acquired for a prison in 1785. Between 1790 and 1856 the rest of the site was
developed including a new canal terminus and other major works. In 1856 the
prison was extended and many new structures put up which have protected rather
than destroyed much of the buried archaeological remains. Limited excavations
have also established that significant remains of the earlier Saxon settlement
survive.
St George's Tower, the oldest surviving structure on the site, is included in
the scheduling. The older prison buildings are Listed Grade I, Grade II and
Grade II* and are excluded from the scheduling; similarly excluded are all
modern buildings present on the site, along with the prison walls, metalled
surfaces and service trenches, although the ground beneath all buildings and
other features is included within the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Motte and bailey castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain
by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the
motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,
adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal
administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte and
bailey castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their
immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive
monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape.
Over 600 motte castles or motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally,
with examples known from most regions. As one of a restricted range of
recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for
the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although
many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to
be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they
were superseded by other types of castle.

Oxford Castle is an important example of a motte and bailey castle located
within a town. The history of the castle is well documented and it played a
key role in the history and development of Oxford itself. The motte survives
well and contains a rare well chamber as well as the archaeological remains
from the stone keep built on it. Limited archaeological investigations in 1952
and 1966 showed that evidence of the earlier Saxon settlement on the site has
been preserved beneath the mound, whereas similar evidence in Oxford has been
largely lost in the development of the city.
The survival of these features, St George's Tower and buried remains within
the area of the bailey, make the site important to the understanding of the
development of towns in general during the Middle Ages, and of Oxford in
particular.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Hassall, TG, Oxford Castle, (1970)
Other
CAO, Castle Bailey: PRN CARD 6093,
CAO, Oxford Castle Motte: PRN CARD 3201,
CAO, Oxford Castle: PRN CARD 3637,
CAO, Round Tower, Oxford Castle: PRN CARD 6091,
CAO, St George's Chapel Crypt: PRN CARD 3641,
CAO, St George's Tower: PRN CARD 3640,
HBMC Internal Document, Single Monument Class Description: Shell Keeps, (1989)
PRN 3637, C.A.O., Oxford Castle: Site and buildings,
PRN 3640, C.A.O., St George's Tower,

Source: Historic England