Odiham Castle¹ is described as a small 13th-Century ruin on the banks of the River Whitewater near Odiham Hampshire. The Castle (known as king John's Castle) is an example of fortification known as a shell keep. This type of fortification was a direct development of the Norman motte and bailey, replacing the original timber walls with stone, many of the walls were strengthened even further by the building of gatehouses, towers and buttresses, Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight is an excellent example.

Odiham castle however was of a much more sophisticated design and represents the final stage in the development of the shell keep. Built on a slightly elevated site with the north and western approaches protected by a loop of the river Whitewater² approximately 500 meters west of the canal bridge at North Warnborough. The original river crossing that the castle guarded was the ford situated near castle mill house. What stands today are the remains of the octagonal shell keep. The best way to describe a shell keep is to imagine a doughnut, the pastry being a curtain wall which contain the rooms in their width.

The walls surrounded an inner courtyard that was accessed by a fortified gate in the eastern side. There were originally bank and ditch defences and an inner and outer moat surrounding the keep with a palisade between the two³, there is only archaeological evidence remaining of these features. The defences were mentioned in an account of an action that was recorded in 1322, when Robert le Ewer attempted to take the castle.

Early History

Although King John had 90 royal castles, Odiham is one of only three castles built during his reign. The 20 acre site was part of the royal estate with palace and lodgings from the time of the first Saxon Kings to King Harold who held the estate in 1066. By 1086 Odiham had been declared a royal burgh, and construction of the castle was begun in 1207.

The records indicate that by 1214 the castle was complete, however excavations indicate that a domus regis or 'king's house' was the first building on the site⁴ the keep that stands today was not the building that withstood the 1216 siege. The damage to that castle was not repaired it resulted in the construction of the much stronger fortress. As John was king from April 6 1199, until October 19 1216, it would appear that John never stayed in the castle we see today, what stands today are the remains of a later octagonal shell keep. There are however there are 12 recorded visits to Odiham by the king between 1207 and 1216.

Magna Carta

Odiham was said to be King Johns favourite residence and as such was a substantial building, it played its part in the most important days of his reign. It was at Odiham that the royal party spent the night before travelling to Runneymede to sign the Magna Carta. It is also thought that Brother Aymeric, master of the Templar’s, was part of his retinue so by the standards of the day it would have been comfortable residence. The Magna Carta was signed on the 15 June 1215.

French Invasion

On 21 May, 1215 , a French army landed at Stanhope and Louis Dauphin of France, son of Louis VIII of France (later to become Louis IX), landed at Sandwich and marched to London. The French had previously taken John's French lands, and now it looked like it was time to finish the job. John fell back to Winchester, and moved to on Windsor just before the Dauphin laid siege to the city. In October of that year Dover fell to the French forces and French army of 35,000 held London and the Home Counties and would remain there for almost a year. The French army also took John's favourite castle at Odiham in Hampshire in July 1216 after a siege 15 days - this indicates Odiham was fairly a substantial fortification as it was held by just three knights and ten sergeants. The castle was not taken as the French army accepted the surrender of the garrison and allowed them the honour of leaving with their horses and armour. This was a mark of respect only granted to gallant and worthy enemies.

The 1321 and 1322 Rebellions

In November 1322, Robert le Ewer, the Constable of Odiham Castle, rebelled against Edward II, the cause of the rebellion was the rise to power of the Despenser family. Robert was declared an outlaw and the custody of the castle placed in the care of John St John of Basing, and Ralph de Camoys. Robert attempted to retake the castle, he and his supporters mounted a serious assault. The assault failed despite doing some damage to the fabric of the castle and the attackers were forced to retreat. Robert escaped but was captured at Southampton in December 1322, he was placed in chains and died in prison due to deliberate neglect.

During excavations on the site, there were some round stones found in the back filled moat, these have been identified as shot for siege weapons probably a catapult or light trebuchet. It has been speculated that these date from the time of the siege of 1322.

In the period 1325 to 1326, the castle played a small part in the Dispenser’s rebellion as it was part of the holdings of the rebel, Hugh Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser, known as Hugh Despenser the younger. Amongst his many titles was Constable of Odiham Castle.
Hugh Despenser was also Lord chancellor and warden of both Portchester castle Hampshire and Hanley castle in Worcestershire. He also held warden ship of other castles in the west country and Wales Bristol and, in Wales. The rebellion was a political move against Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella of France, the wife of Edward II. This cost Hugh his life he was executed on the 24th November 1326.

The Odiham Parliament

During the 14th century Odiham castle was the venue for a sitting of Parliament.

The Royal Prison

David Bruce⁵, King of Scots, was held at Odiham for after being taken in battle by the English in by the English at Battle of Neville’s Cross in October 1346. It took eleven years to raise the ransom of 100,000 marks. King David’s fate is recorded by Shakespeare in his play Henry V.⁶

Later History

By the 15th century the castle lost its status as a Royal residence and became a hunting-lodge. During the following 200 years little was spent on the upkeep of the building in fact much of the valuable castle stone was incorporated in local buildings and by 1603 it was classed as being a ruin.

Odiham Castle Today

Sadly the castle is in such poor condition both because it has been out of use since the 1500's, however the ruin is still impressive. If you do visit and you should you will find a site that evokes both the power and majesty of kings and is also a reflection of their folly. Hampshire county council purchased the castle site in 1977 and redeveloped the area council have done am excellent job of presenting the site to the visitor, and is a perfect place for a summer picnic. There is good car parking and perfect for a relaxed visit.

Odiham A place In History

Odiham is recorded in the Doomsday Book as a pre conquest royal estate. After the conquest it was retained as one of the crowns properties. It remand as a hunting lodge until King John built the castle on the site. Odiham was only in the spotlight of history for around 200 years the rest of the time it was a minor royal property or a ruin.

Local Attractions

An oasis of peace and tranquillity amid one of the busiest parts of the country, the Basingstoke Canal is a fully-navigable waterway which runs for 37 miles between Greywell in Hampshire and Woodham in Surrey. Built in the 18th Century to allow barges to deliver agricultural produce from Hampshire to London, it fell into disuse with the advent of the railways and was for the most part derelict by the 1940s.

A short walk along the towpath to the west of St John's Castle lies the 1,120m long Greywell Tunnel. In the latter half of the 20th Century the roof collapsed - a restoration job too far for the canal society volunteers. Greywell marks the western end of the navigable section, although ramblers can follow the footpath through to Basingstoke. Today, the disused Greywell canal Tunnel houses an important bat colony.

Just a short distance away are the ruins of Basing House, this was a major palace which was fortified during the English Civil War. It once was as glorious as Hampton Court Palace, it suffered so badly at the hands of the Parliamentary forces that today just the foundations and Civil War fortifications remain.

A superb site map of Odiham castle can be found at http://www.hart.gov.uk/north_warnborough_cam2-3.pdf