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Fact 5 - Pottery dated from the 12th century found on the castle mound amongst the stonework informs us that the castle had another transformation, this time from timber to stone. The castle had passed from Baldwin FitzGilbert de Clare (1130 -1154) to his son in law, Hugh Wake. There was another Wake in the 12th century; he was Baldwin FitzGilbert de Clare's grandson, also called Baldwin. All three could be associated with the construction of the stone castle.

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Fact 6 - There was another building next to the donjon, discovered in the 2006 and 2021 resistivity survey, which may either have been another Great Hall in conjunction with the 'hall' in the keep. There is no mention of the Great Hall by Peak's* in his description, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist because he also doesn't describe any of the other buildings within the inner bailey, like the bakehouse, or the blacksmith (These buildings would have existed as they are synonymous with castles. Some evidence of these buildings have been discovered in the 2002 watching brief and the 2021 resistivity survey). Peak's does not even mention the chapel which we know had been in existence in 1362.

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If the structure detected by the resistivity survey was not a Great Hall, then there is a strong possibility it may have been a Manor House which may have been built after the main donjon fell out of use, and as fashion may have dictated in the 15th century. It may have belonged to the Holland family and/or Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII.

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There is also a possibility that it was constructed during the ownership of the Cecil family as we are aware that the Cecil family had built a Manor House in West Deeping in 1634.

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(*Peak's was possibly a 15th or 16th century antiquarian based on the writing style)

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Fact 7 -  Bourne Castle had a chapel. There had been a wedding between Andrew Luttrell of Irnham and Hawise Despenser (Cousin of the Despenser at Essendine manor) in 1362. They had married in the chapel of Blanche Wake within the castle of Bourne.

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Fact 8 - There are two known entrances to the inner Bailey of Bourne Castle, one to the north, and one to the west. The western gatehouse would appear to have consisted of two circular towers and a draw bridge; the northern entrance may have been a solid bridge (Peake's mentions a drawbridge. He does not mention the northern entrance; but this does not mean it didn't exist at the time of writing).

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Fact 9 - A 2021 resistivity survey revealed what may appear to have been a small jetty on the western side of the mound. This would suggest the moat was used for travel. It may also have been the postern gate.

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Fact 10 - The outer moat, often associated with a leat for the west street mill, seems to have been a Norman moat, (and possibly a Saxon moat prior (theory)). This is evidenced in the 1996 watching brief of a borehole within the old Victorian horse pool where the moat's depth was discovered to be 4.3 metres. This depth, as expressed by experts in the field, is excessive for a leat on relatively flat land and would suggest this ditch was purpose built as a moat. (I feel an auger test on the northern and eastern side of the moat would give us something more conclusive). Peake's writes that Bourne consisted of 7 streets which included Water Street. This street ran parallel with the eastern outer moat.

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Fact 11 - Pottery found during a watching brief in 2002 would suggest that the site was in use from the 12th century to the 17th century where there is a local tradition the castle had been slighted by the Parliamentarians during the 17th century civil war. The lack of pottery beyond the 17th century would seriously support the notion that there may have been truth to these stories. Also, the 2021 resistivity survey shows walls within the moat, normally associated with slighting, but not conclusive.

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Fact 12 - Another local tradition is that the four mounds to the west (two incomplete) were battery's for the parliamentarian canons. The 2021 resistivity survey revealed that two of these mounds contained a diamond shape associated with civil war bastions. The other two were incomplete and this was evidenced by the same 2021 resistivity survey.

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Fact 13 - It would seem Bourne Castle was at its height during the Wake dynasty which ended in 1349 upon the death of Thomas Wake. The manor passed to Thomas's sister, Margaret, thence onto her son who died in 1352, and thence onto Joan of Kent, Princess of Wales, mother of King Richard II.

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Fact 14 - Thomas Wake, in 1330, was deprived of his estates, and the castle returned momentarily to the crown (Acting Regent's, Isabella and Mortimer). Edward III stayed at Bourne Castle during the month of August, 1330, as evidenced in the Calendar Close Rolls of the same year.

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Fact 15 - The watching brief of 2002 revealed ashlar blocks, but the officials did not determine whether these were the same type to be used in the Shippon barn which has been reputed to have been built using the castle stone.

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In 2019, whilst work was being undertaken by landscapers in the northern end of the Wellhead, they had smashed through part of the old castle wall (unfortunately there was no watching brief because the stone was inches away from the surface. On this occasion we were able to take a sample over to the shippon barn for comparison. Both the stone from the ground and the Shippon barn were identical (It would be prudent to have both samples examined by a professional for an adequate conclusion).

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I would conclude in conjunction with all of the above facts that it is evident Bourne had a castle. It was most likely not the fortified castle one would find under the ownership of a King or a very wealthy noble, but rather it was a low grade defensive castle. Yet, Peak's describes the castle as being 'portlie' which is an ancient word used for 'stately'.

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Could such a low grade defensive castle have held back an army of great numbers? Possibly not, but then Bourne Castle was of no interest to an invading army as there would have been no political or military gain to its capture. Could Bourne Castle have held back a marauding band of men, or feuding neighbours? I feel that most castles within the surrounding areas of Bourne, like Corby (Glen) castle and Essendine Castle, were built with just enough fortification in place to withstand a small local assault. It is evident that in 1320 one of the Wake's manors, possibly Bourne or Deeping, had been robbed by people of Spalding, who stole goods and murdered the castle's servants, taking the bodies with them. (I think this goes to show that a castle, for all its defensive measures, can still be infiltrated by the everyday criminal).

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I believe Bourne Castle was a residential/farming castle with the centre of its power firmly within the parameters of its main caput. The history of the farming castle of Bourne situated in the south of Lincolnshire is firmly embedded within its local culture. The growth of the local area as a historical market/farming town is deeply rooted and influenced by what would have been sited at the Wellhead park, which had once been Bourne Castle.

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The facts above are anchor points to the story of Bourne Castle. The evidence informs us that it began as a ringwork, evolved into a motte and Bailey, and evolved again into a stone castle. What the facts don't provide us with is the story in between the anchor points. Therefore, what I have discovered so far is that the story of Bourne Castle reads more like one of those early adventure books. If you recall, in those adventure books the reader is given a choice how to continue their adventure by selecting a page at the end of the chapter. For example, the story in one chapter may state that a ringwork had been built by Oger the Breton. The choice at the end of the chapter given will be; if you believe the next contributor to the evolvement of Bourne Castle was William du Rullos, please turn to page --, if you feel that it was Baldwin FitzGilbert de Clare then please turn to page --.

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Unfortunately, this is how the story of Bourne castle will read until more anchors points are provided with tangible evidence to each of its evolutionary phase. This evidence would have to be in the form of 'and Baldwin FitzGilbert de Clare paid each of his men a small sum of money to erect the mound to his new castle in preparation for the uncertain times ahead.' It is highly unlikely that any such evidence exists, but not improbable. Recently, there had been no evidence that Bourne Castle had a chapel. It was only when old writings, unrelated to Bourne, had been unearthed that such a discovery had been made. Who knows, this could be how we find out more about the really early beginnings of Bourne Castle. I would insist, then, that if you would like to know more about the early life of Bourne Castle, then it would be prudent to search through old documents, and not necessarily pertaining to Bourne. Who knows, you maybe the one to discover another anchor point in the story of Bourne Castle!

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Steve Giullari

Chairman

Investigator

Bourne History Group

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