The site of Deddington Castle lies to the east of the town and comprises some 8 acres. At the present time the Castle Grounds are a grassed-in enclosure surrounded by banks and trees on three sides and is used as a recreational area for walking dogs and so on. There have been two recent archaeological "digs", one in 1947-53 and one in 1977-79. These have uncovered evidence of some Saxon building on the site, but the main evidence, both archaeological and documentary, is of the castle in the eleventh to fourteenth centuries. There was an inner bailey containing a stone hall, a solar and chapel, with a tower on the east side and a gatehouse on the west side giving access to the large outer bailey. Pottery from the 11th to 13th centuries was found on the site. A full report on the 1977-79 digs by Queens University Belfast can be read HERE (pdf)


A very full account of the history of the castle, written by Richard Ivens, was subsequently published as an article in Oxoniensia 49 (1984), pp. 101–19. It is reproduced HERE (pdf) with grateful thanks to the Editor and Committee of the Oxford Architectural and Historical Society. Richard was a student of Martyn Jope, a well known archaeologist (as his Royal Academy biography recounts) who had also carried out diggings between 1945 and 1950. However, all these excavations were not fully published. Richard finalised the 1977-1979 excavation incorporating Jopes’ 1945-50 excavations and had a draft ready but he found further material from the the earlier Jope excavations when he was clearing Jope’s house in Oxford after his wife, Margaret, died in 2004. Following his untimely death from Covid-19 in May 2020, Richard’s partner, Dr Isobel Lisboa, is now going to collate, record and send all the artefacts and records to the Ashmolean Museum.
The Deddington News also carried an article in September 1977 by Andrew Macgregor
and The Banbury Guardian had a photo and article in 1977
Further history
The site is described by National Heritage as 'A large undifferentiated enclosure with a substantial motte at its east
end. This is a very unusual form and unique in the Oxfordshire area….
Its great size and early date may suggest that it was of more than
ordinary importance, in fact a baronial castle’ (R.J.Ivens).
Deddington Castle is a scheduled ancient monument, the inner bailey site
in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the outer
bailey of Deddington Parish Council. English Heritage: ‘The earthworks
…lie in a rural location to the south east of the village of
Deddington. No stonework is visible above ground today, but the site is
nevertheless a striking one owing to the scale of the earthworks – the
rampart is 15m (49 ft) high in places – and the size of the enclosed
area.’
What is its history?
The site was occupied by Saxons until the Battle of Hastings, 1066.
Overnight, England changed from Saxon to Norman rule, under William the
Conqueror, Duke of Normandy. Under the new ruling, King William owned
all the land in England, every hide. He kept a quarter of it for
himself (mainly Royal forests for hunting, such as the New Forest) and
the rest he ‘granted the use of’ to barons and bishops who would obey
and fight for him – feudalism is rightly called ‘a system of
interlocking obligations’. One important man who was granted use of land
was King William’s half-brother Odo (they had the same mother,
Arlette). Odo, whom William had made Bishop of Bayeux in 1049, was
closely involved in the Norman invasion of England, contributing 100
ships to the expedition as well as being present during the Battle of
Hastings. In reward, William gave Odo the title Earl of Kent as well as
granting him the use of vast estates of land over 23 English counties –
Odo became the largest landowner in England after the King, needing
four castle hubs at Dover, Rochester, Deddington and Snettisham.
Was there a castle there when Odo was granted the land?
There was a mound and timber castle but when Odo took over the Castle he
strengthened its defences, building a stone castle on the site some
time after 1086. This was reinforced in the 1100s but became less
useful in the 1200s, and by the end of the 14th century the castle had
largely gone, the stones being sold, “borrowed”, or carted away. The
inner bailey was excavated in the 1940s and 1970s, revealing fine ashlar
stone foundations which still lie under today’s grass mound. A Saxon
penny was found near it; 12th century glass from it is in the Ashmolean
Museum; excavations revealed the oldest black rat skeleton in the
country.
The Castle Grounds
More information on the Castle Grounds, its use and flora & fauna is continued HERE