The site of Moor End Castle (historically known as Moreende) is situated opposite Moor End Farm, along Moor End Road in the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Yardley Gobion

Yardley Gobion

Yardley Gobion is a village in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire off a by-pass of the A508 Northampton to Milton Keynes road.-Facilities:The Grand Union Canal runs nearby east of the village....

, within the historic county of Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 (the Modern Authority of Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, the pre-Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 county of Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

).

The castle was created in 1347 when Thomas de Ferrers was given licence to crenellate his house at Moor End. Later owners sold it to the Crown

The Crown

The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...

 in 1363.

Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 regularly visited Moor End during the 1360s, building a royal chamber, a royal chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 and rebuilding the dilapidated gatehouse

Gatehouse

A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...

.

Over the following two centuries, the castle passed to a succession of royal and commoner

Commoner

In British law, a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as Prince Harry of Wales or Anne, Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family, including someone who holds only a courtesy title,...

 owners before falling into disrepair by 1580, where it was described as "utterly decayed, with no timber or stone remaining".

In 1650 and 1728 the site was known as Castle Yard, and in the 1830s a tenant of Castle Close recovered over 2,000 yards of stone while digging up the foundations.

By the 1970s the only feature visible on the site of the castle was a much-altered moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

, fed by the stream which flows from Potterspury Lodge through Moor End to Potterspury village.

Today, a wooded island surrounded by the moat is all that remains.

Sources

• A History of the County of Northamptonshire: Volume 5: The Hundred of Cleley (2002), pp. 289-345 - Riden, Philip and Insley, Charles (eds), 2002
• The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) - Salter, Mike, 2002
• Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge), p183 - Emery, Anthony, 2000
• Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2, p319 - King, D.J.C., 1983
• An inventory of the historical monuments in the County of Northampton. Vol4: South-west Northamptonshire (HMSO), p175 - RCHME, 1982
• The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) pp. 742-3 - Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963
• Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2, p414 - Turner, T. H.
  Thomas Hudson Turner
  Thomas Hudson Turner archaeologist and architectural historian, was born in London of Northumbrian extraction. He was educated at Mr Law’s school in Chelsea and then apprenticed as a printer...
  
  and Parker, J. H., 1859