Power, conflict and ritual on the fen-edge: the Anarchy-period castle at Burwell, Cambridgeshire, and its pre-Conquest landscape

ABSTRACT

Burwell, Cambridgeshire, is best known as possessing a castle constructed by King Stephen during the mid- twelfth-century civil war commonly referred to as ‘the Anarchy’. Documentary sources confirm that the king built a series of fortifications around the East Anglian fen-edge during a.d. 1144 in an attempt to restrict the activities of the rebellious baron Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, who was using the Isle of Ely as a base to raid the surrounding countryside. Written texts also reveal how de Mandeville was mortally wounded during a skirmish or siege which subsequently took place at Burwell. A combination of topographic and geophysical survey, supplemented by documentary analysis, suggests that the castle was constructed in a landscape with a complex earlier history. It is suggested that during the Romano-British period a temple complex was developed on the site, with a spring rising on the edge of the fens providing the likely focus for ritual activity. Burwell later developed into an important early medieval place and the castle itself may have been inserted into a thegnly enclosure — an act which probably sought to appropriate a recognised pre-existing centre of power. The current research provides the most comprehensive assessment of the site to date, and supports existing interpretations which consider the twelfth-century castle to be incomplete. Analysis also gives additional insight into the functional and symbolic significance of the castle at Burwell, and sheds important light on the character of power and conflict in the fenland during the mid-twelfth century.

KEYWORDS:

• Anarchy
• castle
• conflict
• fenland
• King Stephen
• Roman temple
• thegnly enclosure
• burh-geat

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to English Heritage and Burwell Parish Council for allowing access to the site, and to the local people of the village who were extremely helpful. Sincere gratitude is expressed to Rob Athol, who visited and transcribed the sixteenth-century terriers at Queen’s College on our behalf. The members of staff at the Cambridgeshire Archive and the Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record were also very helpful. Thanks are offered to Andrew Reynolds and Stuart Brookes who provided valuable information regarding early medieval Burwell, and to Michael Shapland for his comments on the standing fabric of St Mary’s church. This research was undertaken with funding from the Leverhulme Trust: ‘Anarchy? War and status in twelfth-century landscapes of conflict’ (RPG-2012-734).

Notes

1 Leverhulme Trust Award Research grant (RPG-2012-734): see above).

2 Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record.