Elmley Castle (castle)

Elmley Castle, formerly located 1 km south of the village of Elmley Castle in Worcestershire, was a late 11th century earthwork and timber castle which received stone additions in the 12th and possibly 13th centuries.

History
The ruins of this important Norman and medieval castle are located on the flanks of Bredon Hill, 1 km to the south of the village to which it gives its name. The castle is supposed to have been built for Robert Despenser, Steward to William the Conqueror in the years following the Norman Conquest. After his death (post 1098) it descended to his heirs, the powerful Beauchamp family. It remained their chief seat until William de Beauchamp inherited the earldom and castle of Warwick from his maternal uncle, William Maudit, 8th Earl of Warwick, in 1268. Thereafter, Elmley Castle remained a secondary possession of the Earls of Warwick until it was surrendered to the Crown in 1487. In 1528, the castle seems to have been still habitable, for Walter Walshe was then appointed constable and keeper. In 1544, however, prior to its grant by the Crown to Sir William Herbert and Christopher Savage, a survey was made of the manor and castle of Elmley, and it was found that the castle was completely uncovered and in decay. John Leland writing at about this time says, "Ther stondithe now but one Tower, and that partly broken. As I went by I saw Carts carienge Stone thens to amend Persore (Pershore) Bridge about ii miles of. It is set on the Tope of a Hill full of Wood, and a Townelet hard by."

Only earthworks now remain, which are designated as a Scheduled Monument. A medieval deer park surrounding the castle still survives.