Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Bolingbroke Castle is a ruined 13th-century hexagonal castle in Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire, in the Parts of Lindsey. Most of the castle is built of Spilsby greenstone and is a prime example of a 13th-century castle design complete with a large gatehouse, round towers and a moat. It was originally surrounded by a large water-filled moat 102 feet wide. The curtain wall was up to 16 feet thick and defended by five D-shaped towers and a twin-towered gate house. Today the castle is a ruin with only the ground floors of the towers remaining and the lower parts of the walls. Bolingbroke was built by Randulph de Blundeville, the Earl of Lincoln, and became the home of the powerful John of Gaunt in the 14th century. It was the birthplace of his son, Henry Bolingbroke, who later became King Henry IV. The castle came to prominence again in the Civil War serving as a royalist garrison laid siege by a Parliamentarian force who in October 1643 defeated a relieving force of Royalists at the nearby Battle of Winceby. After the Civil War the castle was dismantled and gradually deteriorated until in 1815 the last remaining structure fell. The site was a bumpy field until archaeologists excavated the site in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 1995 the site has been managed by Heritage Lincolnshire in co-operation with English Heritage. Much of the lower walls are still visible, as are the ground floors of the towers. In the summertime, the castle is home to numerous events including performances of Shakespeare. It is within the council area of East Lindsey (Lincolnshire).
Historic England Grade I Listed 1309023.

Place Type: Mediæval Castle
Historic County: Lincolnshire
Division of County: Parts of Lindsey
Lat, Long: 53.165382,0.016606525
Grid Reference: TF 3491 6503
Civil Parish: Bolingbroke CP
Council Area: East Lindsey CA (Lincolnshire CA)
Strategic Authority Area: Greater Lincolnshire SA
Police Area: Lincolnshire PA

GBPN ID: 319924
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Bolingbroke_Castle,_Lincolnshire_319924

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