Remains of Benington Castle (In Grounds of the Lordship 15 Metres to South East of House) is a Grade I listed building in the East Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 November 1966. A Medieval Castle.
Remains of Benington Castle (In Grounds of the Lordship 15 Metres to South East of House)
- WRENN ID
- unlit-tallow-tallow
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- East Hertfordshire
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire MP: Chris Hinchliff (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 24 November 1966
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Medieval
- OS grid reference
- TL 296 236
- Coordinates
- 51.89617, -0.11673
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The remains of Benington Castle are located in the grounds of the Lordship, approximately 15 meters southeast of the house. This medieval ringwork castle was built in the 1130s for the de Valognes family. It was slighted by Henry II in 1176/7, garrisoned again in 1192/3, and ultimately destroyed in 1212 after Robert Fitz Walter was outlawed.
The castle features flint rubble walls that are 7 to 8 feet thick, with some sections displaying herringbone-coursed flint facing and oolitic limestone quoins. The plinth offset is made of dressed stone with diagonal tooling, which is visible on the exterior of the north wall. The structure includes a small square stone tower measuring about 44 feet by 41 feet, with pilaster buttresses located at the middle and ends of each face. There is a small northeast annexe that may be part of the original construction.
Demolition of the castle involved the complete removal of one side, leaving the south wall reduced to its footings and the west wall ending at a door jamb. Other walls still stand to about 9 feet in height. A fallen mass of masonry is present on the northeast annexe, and an imitation Norman doorway was added around 1842. The site is of unusual interest and is designated as an Ancient Monument.
Local climate
Remains of Benington Castle (In Grounds of the Lordship 15 Metres to South East of House) sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 86% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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