Torrington man aims to dig up his ancestor’s castle!

Great Torrington is about to start an exciting community excavation, uncovering parts of its lost historic castle.

The town’s Barley Grove car park, the adjacent ‘tump’ and bowling green have disguised the location of a sizable and important castle within the town’s centre.

Mostly forgotten about and, as recently as the 1970’s, declared as of no historic importance, the castle is again set to become centre stage when the local community and a group of professional archaeologists take two weeks to dig various trenches and pits to find out if anything remains of the castle’s heritage.

The dig takes place during September and October, and will enable over 100 members of the community and 120
school children to get involved in all aspects of a real excavation.

In a coincidence stranger than fiction, one of the projects organisers and head of the town's heritage museum has discovered one of his ancestors used to own the castle! Local resident Dave Gibbons spent the Covid lockdown hunting down his family tree, and found to his amazement that having drawn all the strands together, one of his ancestors was lord of the manor of Torrington and at the same time, he had just signed up to help organise the excavation of the very property his forebears owned.

Local resident and lead archaeologist of the voluntary group Emily Wapshott says: "Torrington's Norman motte and bailey castle site has not received much specific research attention in the past and there is much we still don't know about the site. We hope to be able to gain a better understanding of what remains of the early earthworks and how they may relate to the areas under the bowling green, some parts of which have been previously excavated. The castle was the seat of one of Devon's great Norman Baronies, so deserves to be put back on the map!"

Funded with grants and sponsorship from the various Torridge and Great Torrington councils, councillors and businesses, the Dig the Castle admin team have spent 18 months preparing the ground for this ambitious community project.

With a surge in interest in local archaeology stemming from various TV shows and real life finds, the community have got involved.

John Eeles, lead administrator, said: “The opportunity for the whole of the community to do a bit of archaeology, in their own town, and learn more of the history of the place they live, is exciting, and allied to the recently opened Heritage Trail and website across the town, this will provide a legacy for the town’s residents and visitors for the future.”

The dig is being run specifically by the community, for the community and is free to participate. For more information visit: www.onegreattorrington.uk/digthecastle/