| Beaumys Castle | |
|---|---|
| Swallowfield, Berkshire, England | |
  Beaumys Castle | |
| Coordinates | 51°22′34″N 0°58′53″W / 51.3760°N 0.9813°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference SU710646 |
| Type | Fortified manor house |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Earthworks |
Beaumys Castle, also known as Beams Castle, was a 14th-century fortified manor house in the parish of Swallowfield in the English county of Berkshire.
Beaumys Castle was a manor in the parish of Swallowfied, given to Sir Nicholas de la Beche in 1335. De la Beche received a licence to crenellate in 1338 and produced a fortified manor house.[1] The castle was rectangular, protected by earthworks approximately 130m by 110m across, surrounded by a water-filled moat, with the castle accessed from an entrance to the north-west.[2]
De la Beche died, leaving the manor to his wife Margery, who in turn remarried,[1] to Thomas Arderne.[3] On Arderne's death in 1347, however, John de Dalton and a small group of followers broke into the castle, where they killed Michael de Poynings, an important nobleman; terrified Lionel, the son of Edward III who was staying there at the time; stole £1,000 worth of goods, and seized Margaret, whom, as a wealthy widow, was forced to marry John.
The surrounding manor was broken up in 1420; the surviving earthworks are a scheduled monument.[4]