Rayleigh Castle
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Rayleigh Castle was a masonry and timber castle built near the town of Rayleigh in Essex, England in the 11th century shortly after the Norman conquest. All that exists today are the earthwork remains of its large motte-and-bailey.
The castle was built by Swein (c.1045, Theydon Mount, Ongar, Essex - after 1086, Rayleigh, Essex) (other spellings are Sweyn, Sweyne, Suen), son of Robert FitzWimarc and a wealthy landowner, sometime between the Norman conquest of 1066 and the completion of the Domesday Book in 1086. It is one of the few castles mentioned in the book and as such considered one of the earliest Norman castles in England. It may have been built on the site of an earlier Roman fortification since fragments of Roman bricks have been found on the site. On his death it passed to his son Robert de Essex (c.1085, Rayleigh, Essex - before 1159, Theydon Mount, Ongar, Essex) and thence to his grandson Henry d'Essex. Around 1140 the motte was covered in stone rubble.
Henry was accused of cowardice in battle in 1163 and subject to a trial by combat which he lost. The castle and its estates were confiscated to become the property of the king, Richard I. Extensive alterations were made to it in 1172 and in 1183-4, and the property given by King John to Hubert de Burgh in around 1200 who probably used it as a source of building materials for the castle which he started building in 1230 5 km away at Hadleigh.
On the death of Hubert's son in the latter half of the 13th century, ownership of the castle reverted to the monarch. Documents dating between 1279 and 1303 refer to the motte as being used for pasture, which probably means that the castle was no longer used as a fortification. In 1394 King Richard II gave permission for the townspeople of Rayleigh to use the foundations of the castle as a source of stone. Since the foundations are explicitly mentioned in the document giving permission, it is unlikely that any other masonry structures remained by then.
The site of the castle was used for grazing sheep after it fell into disuse. Photos taken in the 1920's show the mount free from any large trees or shrubs as the grazing prevented their growth, however since the grazing stopped, large trees have grown on the site. The National trust has no plans to remove them for fear of disturbing any potential archeology below.
The castle is known now as Rayleigh Mount and is managed by the National Trust.
The Second World War Convoy rescue ship Empire Rest was originally laid down as a Castle class corvette to have been named HMS Rayleigh Castle after the ruins.
