The Castle Studies Trust

Slighted after the Civil War & abandoned for 180 years before being rebuilt in C19, it has been thought that Sudeley Castle was a modern build. Recent investigations indicate that it may not be. Andy Moir explains why & how they hope to get a clearer answer: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/02...

Slighted after the Civil War & abandoned for 180 years before being rebuilt in C19, it has been thought that Sudeley Castle was a modern build. Recent investigations indicate that it may not be. Andy Moir explains why & how they hope to get a clearer answer: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/02...

Make Ready! 🏰 On 3 March, Isobel Barnard from @kingshistory.bsky.social will present: ‘The Castle in 14th Century Scotland: A Sociological Study of Masculine Identity'.

🗓️ 03 March
⏰ 17:30 GMT
🏛️ IN PERSON @ihr.bsky.social & 💻 ONLINE

Sign up now: bit.ly/londonmedieval

We are funding 8 projects this year: 2 geophys surveys; 2 building surveys; a reconstruction drawings project; a photogrammetry and analysis project, a dendro-dating project; and publishing reports and analysis an old dig. Find out exactly what and where read: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/02...

We are delighted to share that our project 'Finding Flemingstown' has been awarded one of the eight @castlestudies.bsky.social grants

We will use geophysical survey to locate & map the lost 13th century Flemingstown of Kilkenny Castle

@opwireland.bsky.social @heritagecouncil.ie

We are delighted to announce that we have awarded a record £44,500 to eight castle research projects from all parts of the UK and one from Ireland. To find out what we funded please go here: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/02...

Articles about the Marlborough Mound | Wiltshire, England Some of the intriguing stories about people and events connected with the history and context of the Marlborough Mound and Castle

A fascinating conference awaits for castle fans, a conference marking 25 years of of the Marlborough Mound research project. Once a major royal castle it has had a fascinating history before and since all discovered by this programme. More details here: www.marlboroughmoundtrust.org/articles/ann...

Duncan Wright took less than 5k worth of CST grants and turned that in to a successful 200k application to the AHRC. To find out more, see below...

Between 2018-21 we awarded Duncan Wright of @newcastleuni.bsky.social 3 grants totalling less than 5k, to explore Laughton en le Morthen castle. This led to an AHRC grant to investigate the transition of power btwn Saxons & Normans. This is what they found: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/02...

Occurs to me now that the outer surface of the door has graffiti (arrowheads) v similar to another door from this space, on display. That door is v likely 15th c in date. This door has iron strips overlying the graffiti, and the strips align w the hasps and jamb-set loops. Good phasing here.

Visiting Higham Ferrers there's no sign that it was the site of a royal castle. The reason we know there was one is written sources. In 2024 we funded Steve Parry & MoLA to carry out the 1st geophysical survey of the castle to see what survived. They found:
castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/01...

Visiting Higham Ferrers there's no sign that it was the site of a royal castle. The reason we know there was one is written sources. In 2024 we funded Steve Parry & MoLA to carry out the 1st geophysical survey of the castle to see what survived. They found:
castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/01...

In our first blog post of the year we head to warmer climbs, notably Alicante Spain where Juan Antonio Mira Rico, co-editor of a new book on the castles and towers of Alicante looks at how to resurrect interest and use of once much neglected buildings. castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2026/01...

Between 2018-21 we awarded Duncan Wright 3 grants to research Laughton castle which developed the proof of concept for an AHRC grant. Now it's up for a Current Archaeology awards under From Bayeux to Bosham. The winner is decided by public vote so vote for this great project: archaeology.co.uk/vote

Hopefully you or someone else will be able to explore it further with an excavation at some point in the future and we'd love to receive an application for a grant to do so.

In a nice end to the year, I can draw your attention to this short (ish) report on the
earthwork survey of Cockroad Wood Castle in Somerset which I led this year. A fascinating, if slightly enigmatic site. historicengland.org.uk/research/res...
. One for @castlestudies.bsky.social

Following the Trust receiving 21 applications asking for £170,000, will you help us fund major new castle research projects in 2026? Since 2013, we have made a major contribution to boosting the understanding & preservation of castles. To help please donate here: donate.kindlink.com/castle-studi...

Originally it was thought that there was not much information on Dover in the folios. This has proved to be false and has given a lot of very useful information on the castle in what when we had previously known little. To find out see: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/12...

The remains of Gresham castle photographed with a regular camera and how it looks with a LiDar drone camera.

With the transcribing and translating of the survey of southern England fortifications finished Drs Paul Pattison and Esther van Raamsdonk are interpreting the text. They reveal that there's far more there than thought, especially on Dover. To learn more: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/12...

Of the 21 applications we have received, we had 13 from England, 4 from Scotland and two each from Wales and Ireland. They are for a wide range of sites and are wanting to do a variety of things including excavations and our first ever under water geophys one. Read more on the link below.

On Monday, the deadline for applications passed for our 13th round of grants. We received 21 applications (most since our first year) asking for a record amount of over £170,000. To find out what applications we received you can read here: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/12...

Peter Fergusson PhD Scholarship in English Medieval Architecture, Courtauld, statement of intent deadline 17 November 2025 The Courtauld is offering a a new fully funded Peter Fergusson PhD Scholarship in English Medieval Architecture for eligible projects focusing on England from the eleventh to the early sixteenth centuries. Statement of intents are due by 17 November 2025.

The Courtauld is offering a a new fully funded Peter Fergusson PhD Scholarship in English Medieval Architecture for eligible projects focusing on England from the eleventh to the early sixteenth centuries. Statement of intents are due by 17 November 2025.

Christian Clarkson of Simpson Brown look at the work they carried out at the iconic castle of Carrickfergus. Done as part of a City Deal, their work shows that we can still learn more from even the most extensively studied castle. To find out more read here: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/11...

Christian Clarkson of Simpson Brown look at the work they carried out at the iconic castle of Carrickfergus. Done as part of a City Deal, their work shows that we can still learn more from even the most extensively studied castle. To find out more read here: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/11...

Closing date for applications to the CST, is now exactly 4 weeks away on Monday 1 December

@katiemcgown.bsky.social gives an update on how Visualisation of Canterbury Castle project we funded has progressed and looking at how visiting other similar sites can help with the visualisation of a very ruined structure: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/10...

David's experience at Finlaggan shows the importance of the multi-disciplinary research on castles especially when written sources are so sparse. Find out how the excavation of Finlaggan transformed our understanding of it and history of the area.

"There's no castle here" however Finlaggan's dig director David Caldwell thought before he led a multi year excavation there. Find out how he changed his mind with a castle not thought to exist including when and by whom it was built by: castlestudiestrust.org/blog/2025/10...

Just back from a really fascinating afternoon looking at the preliminary results of the Crookston Castle geophysical survey explained by Nick Hannon of HES and they are as positive as the turn for the fun day with lots of intriguing anomalies both inside and outside the fenced castle area.