Battlefields›Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173
Medieval

Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173

1173
Suffolk, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
occupation
Location
Suffolk, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Henry II (royal forces)
VS
Victor
Hugh Bigod (rebel, Earl of Norfolk)
Outcome
According to the Gatehouse Gazetteer's summary of the castle's documented history, Hugh Bigod held Ipswich Castle against Henry II while supporting the rebellion of the king's sons (the Revolt of 1173-74). No specific siege action, battle, or combat at Ipswich in 1173 is described in the sources found; the castle appears to have been held/garrisoned by rebel forces rather than actively besieged in that year. The rebellion ultimately failed; Bigod submitted in July 1174, and Henry II ordered Ipswich Castle demolished in 1176 as part of his punishment of the Bigods.
The Battle

History & Significance

Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173 was a medieval occupation, fought in the area of Suffolk, England in 1173. Hugh Bigod (rebel, Earl of Norfolk) prevailed over Henry II (royal forces). According to the Gatehouse Gazetteer's summary of the castle's documented history, Hugh Bigod held Ipswich Castle against Henry II while supporting the rebellion of the king's sons (the Revolt of 1173-74). No specific siege action, battle, or combat at Ipswich in 1173 is described in the sources found; the castle appears to have been held/garrisoned by rebel forces rather than actively besieged in that year. The rebellion ultimately failed; Bigod submitted in July 1174, and Henry II ordered Ipswich Castle demolished in 1176 as part of his punishment of the Bigods.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173 lies on Lambeth Group, bedrock that formed in the Paleocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

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Everything a full report reveals about Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173

This page covers Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173

Dominican friary (remains of), and a section of the east precinct wall
Dominican friary (remains of), and a section of the east precinct wall
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

The Dominican friary at Dunwich is a scheduled monument comprising the remains of a medieval religious house founded in the thirteenth century. The friary, which served the Dominicans, or Black Friars, was substantially destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century,…

Harry Wood / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Wolsey's Gate, College Street
Wolsey's Gate, College Street
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Wolsey's Gate is a sixteenth-century gatehouse located on College Street in Ipswich, Suffolk. The structure dates from the early Tudor period and forms part of the architectural legacy associated with Thomas Wolsey, the prominent cardinal and Lord Chancellor of England who maintained significant…

Sumitsurai / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Boot Street Bridge
Boot Street Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~4.8 mi

Boot Street Bridge is a medieval bridge located in Suffolk, England. The structure dates from the medieval period and represents an important example of early bridge engineering in the region. The bridge carries a route that has served as a significant communication link across its watercourse. I…

Geographer / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moated site of Old Berghersh House
Moated site of Old Berghersh House
Scheduled monument · ~5 mi

Moated site of Old Berghersh House is a medieval earthwork monument located in Suffolk, England. The site comprises a moat, an extensive water-filled defensive ditch that once enclosed a residential compound, typical of medieval manorial settlements in East Anglia. Such moated sites were particul…

N Chadwick / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moated site at The Old Rectory
Moated site at The Old Rectory
Scheduled monument · ~6.4 mi

Moated site at The Old Rectory is a medieval earthwork monument located in Suffolk, England. The site comprises a substantial rectangular moat that originally enclosed a residential or manorial enclosure, typical of medieval settlement patterns in East Anglia. Such moated sites were common featur…

Moated site at The Old Rectory, 150m north east of Malting Farm
Moated site at The Old Rectory, 150m north east of Malting Farm
Scheduled monument · ~6.9 mi

The moated site at The Old Rectory, located 150 metres north-east of Malting Farm near Stradbroke in Suffolk, is a medieval monument consisting of a substantial rectangular moat with internal platforms. The site dates to the medieval period and represents the residential headquarters of a substan…

Sandy Gerrard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Area of Middle and Late Saxon town between Upper Brook Street and Upper Orwell Street
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 miles
Area of middle and late Saxon town, and medieval defences, off Old Foundry Road
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Siege of Ipswich Castle 1173

Viking Sack of Ipswich 991
991
~0.2 miles away
French Raid on Ipswich 1338
1338
~0.3 miles away
Battle of Landguard Fort
1667
~10.7 miles away
Raid on Groton
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~12.7 miles away
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