New Publication from the History Society: The Bishops' Castle: Waytemore & Bishop’s Stortford
ISBN: 9781738528929 (Sep 2025). Price £25.
Copies are available from The Tourist Information Centre, Market Square, or directly from the Society (please see the Publications page).
Copies are also be on sale at meetings of the Society, with a 10% discount for members.
About the book
Waytemore Castle in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, was probably built around 1070 by William, the Bishop of London. This was early for Norman castle-building, and of hundreds of such castles in England, only a dozen or so were episcopal. Waytemore remained in active use for over five centuries, far longer than most of its contemporaries. It housed a gatehouse, prison and chapel and there were many burials there. These simple facts suggest the site’s importance, yet Waytemore is largely ignored in academic researches. Why was it called ‘Waytemore’? Was it really a castle, as we think of the term? The Normans built to impress, so why was it located in a river valley? How was it built? Why a Norman Bishop, not a Norman military baron? Why in Bishop’s Stortford? Using archaeological and historical evidence, with many original maps and illustrations, the authors have thoroughly researched the history of the castle; this book proposes some answers to these questions and provides a new perspective on the development of Bishop’s Stortford.