Trollope's account of the castle in 1861

A small mound, the faint traces of an inner and outer moat, and a few crossbow slits inserted in an adjacent modern building, are now the sole remaining remains of the old castle of Bourne and its adjuncts; but these are still sufficient to invite enquiry as to what was the character of the stronghold that once rose from this little grassy plain.

It is probable that from the attraction of the stream ever most beautifully flowing from the spring of Peterspool, or Well-head, the Romans founded a station near this spot, in connexion with that branch of the Ermin-street running from the great city of Durobrivae to Sleaford, and also with their navigable canal the Car-dike; a supposition that is strengthened by the fact of a discovery made near this spot in 1808, consisting of an urn, containing a gold coin of Nero, and others of the Constantines and Maximian II, &c. From the same cause we may fairly assume that the Saxon lords of Bourne manor also settled themselves on this spot.

Here, then, we conceive, lived Morcar, who fell with all his followers at the battle of Threckingham in the year 870; Oslac, who died in the reign of Edgar, 960; Leofric, the friend and counsellor of the famed abbatial house at Croyland during the reign of the Confessor; but, above all, his patriot son Hereward - long the subject of song at home and abroad - and also his younger brother, whose head was exposed within Bourne Castle, after he had suffered death at the hands of the Normans. Here moreover, continued to live the representatives of Hereward (deriving their name of “Wake” from the appropriate soubriquet given to their ancestor, indicative of his watchfulness) until at length the elder branch merged into the royal house of Plantagenet, one of whom, Thomas Lord Wake, received here king Edward as his guest shortly after he had ascended the throne.

The only existing account of the character of the castle is contained in a “MS. Description of the towns in Kesteven, by Peak*,” whence we gather that the keep, flanked by four square towers at its angles, stood in the centre of an artificial mound; this was probably of the usual Norman form, like those at Rochester, Newcastle, and London; on the summit were “trim walks commanding a good view of the fens.” Within were the hall and principal apartments of the lord of the castle; also, on the south side, those of the officers and ladies of the household, beneath which were a prison, a cellar, and a scullery.

The keep was surrounded by a deep moat crossed by means of a drawbridge, and protected by a strong gatehouse, terminating with an embattled parapet; and a massive door within the solid round-headed doorway, eight feet high, gave access to stone steps leading to the top are also mentioned; also several “niches” i.e. crossbow slits the exterior stones of which are now built into the end of an adjacent barn, whose materials were derived from the remains of this gatehouse that once protected the inner bailey of the castle. A second moat, also, defended the outer baily which contained about eight acres of land, and to this was subsequently added another piece of entrenched ground, at what date we do not know.

Cromwell is said to have destroyed this castle; but when Leland** visited it scarcely anything but the earthworks of the castle remained, he saying: “There appear great ditches, and the dungeon hill of an ancient castle against the west side of the priory, somewhat distant from it: it belonged to the Lord Wake, and much service of the Wake fee is done to this castle; and every feodary knoweth his station and place of service."

From the site of the castle Cromwell again is said to have directed the fire of his artillery against the town, or according to others from the rising ground to the west; but this is entirely without foundation, although Bourne was burthened with the maintenance of a garrison that appears to have been quartered on the castle site from the following memorandum in the parish register: ”Octr. 11th, 1645. The garrison of Bourne Castle began.”

Owing to the excavations that have just been so zealously carried on in anticipation of the Society’s visit, a very interesting discovery has been made, whence the plan of the gatehouse protecting the inner baily has been ascertained. As might have been presumed this gatehouse was flanked with two circular towers, although one only is mentioned by Peak, of which however he gives the height, viz., 30 feet. The lower moulds of these were found. The space between them was 16 feet 6 inches, and the walls of the central feature were from 3 to 3 feet 6 inches thick.

Within it, the timber substructure, connected with the leverage of the drawbridge over the inner moat, was revealed. This consisted, in the first place, of a large timber 18 inches thick within a sunk chamber 10 feet 6 inches long, by from 6 feet 3 inches to 6 feet 9 inches wide; into this timber three upright ones had been morticed; and over it another timber 15 inches thick was placed at right angles. Opposite to this gatehouse, but below the soil, are remains of a wall that probably served as the support of the drawbridge when let down, and the moat there seems to have been 43 or 44 feet wide. It, as well as the other moat, was supplied with water from Peter’s Pool.

Reproduced from Reports and Papers read at the meetings of the Architectural Societies of the County of York, diocese of Lincoln, Archdeaconry of Northampton, County of Bedford, Diocese of Worcester and County of Leicester during the year 1861

My footnotes: * Peak's MS is a source common to all accounts of Bourne Castle but his identity appears to be unknown as is the whereabouts of his MS.

** The 16th century antiquarian John Leland called here while making a tour of the country between 1534 and 1543.