What is recorded here

King John II of France sat captive in Somerton Castle during 1359 and 1360, while a local sheriff collected two shillings a day for the honour of guarding him. The limestone walls rise beside the River Witham, still private and excluded from public entry, preserving a royal prison rather than a display hall. What feels striking is the distance between a foreign king in a small Lincolnshire castle and the ordinary man paid to watch him.

The National Heritage List for England records Somerton Castle as a scheduled monument. The saved point comes from the centre supplied by the official record. Listing does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Somerton Castle was built in the 13th century by the de Mohun family, a prominent noble lineage in Devon. It is remembered for its historical association with the Black Death and for being the site of the 15th-century "Somerton Man" mystery, though the latter is unrelated to the castle itself.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.