Description

ST 11 SW HEMYOCK CORNHILL, Hemyock
5/55 Hemyock Castle Gatehouse snd
Curtain Walls (formerly listed as
5.6.66 Castle Gatehouse and Walls)
13.2.86 II*
Ruined castle gatehouse and curtain walls. Circa 1380: in this year Sir William
Asthorpe was licensed to erect a 'wall of stone and lime'. There was already a
structure of some sort on this site, referred to in a C13 document as a 'court'; the
early work on the gatehouse (see below) may date from this period. Random chert
rubble. The curtain wall enclosed a roughly rectangular site; the principal remains
are the circular towers flanking the main (east) entrance, and a corner tower at the
north-east angle. There are remains of 4 other circular mural towers and stretches
of curtain wall. No dressed stone or detailing survive, and it is not clear where
the entrances to the towers were originally; clearly they were not at ground level.
To the rear of the gatehouse towers is a vertical masonry joint probably indicating
that part of the structure ante-dates the 1380s work.
Historical note: Sir William Asthorpe was a courtier, and appointed by Richard II
as Sheriff of Devon in the 1380s in the face of considerable local hostility; he
had married into the Dynham family, a connection that led to protracted family
litigation in the Court of Chivalry; after his year in office as Sheriff, about a
dozen cases of embezzlement and other corrupt practices were brought against him by
numerous members of the local nobility. He was temporarily imprisoned in The Fleet
prison, but pardoned by Richard II. His vulnerability probably explains in part the
erection of the castle, but it was doubtless also intended to impress the local
gentry.

Listing NGR: ST1354613276

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Hemyock Castle at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q15223566

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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