Hartshill Castle

Hartshill Castle is a castle ruin in Warwickshire situated on a ridge with five-sided stone walls featuring cross-shaped loopholes. The remains include sections of defensive ditches and show multiple building phases across its history.

Hugh de Hardreshull built the first timber and earth fortification on the ridge in 1125. John de Hartshill later reinforced the site around 1330 with solid stone walls to make it more permanent.

The ruins show how medieval people transformed wooden fortifications into solid stone walls over time. The site reflects the shift in defensive design that took place across medieval England.

The site can be visited via a public footpath that runs along the southern side of the former defensive ditch. Access is freely available, but the ground is uneven and requires sturdy footwear.

Archaeological excavations near the ruins have uncovered flint tools from the Stone Age and bones of extinct animals. These discoveries show that people inhabited this area thousands of years before the castle was built.