"At Pevensey doth a ruin’d castle stand”: The development of the post-Norman castle and its decline’.

Abstract

In c.1193 part of the south wall of the Roman fort (subsequently referred to as ‘the fort’) at Pevensey collapsed, prompting the construction of what has become the postern gate of the medieval castle (subsequently referred to as ‘the castle’). This was apparently built to fit a pre-existing earthwork defence that appears to have been constructed in the decades after 1066. Documentary evidence for this structure continues until the mid-13th century. It appears that the current stone castle was constructed between c.1254 and the year-long siege of 1264–5. This seems to have taken place in several stages, presumably as the pre-existing timber and earthwork structure was replaced, a section at a time, to allow the castle to remain potentially defensible. Around the inside of the walls of the castle, there is evidence for a series of single-storeyed buildings, seven of which were heated by fireplaces. Once the castle came into the possession of Queen Eleanor of Provence in 1268, references can be found to at least one hall, various chambers and a chapel. On her death in 1291, it passed to her son, and in 1302 a new timber-framed chapel appears to have been constructed. However, it is clear that by 1306 the castle buildings were beginning to decay, and a slow process of decline and abandonment began, although the site remained of sufficient military significance to be pressed into action again in 1399, 1588, and during the Second World War.