Excavations between 1970 and 1976 and in 1987 are described in this volume.
Traces of a substantial timber structure interpreted as a late Saxon bow-sided hall were revealed below the Norman keep. The church and the defences were found to be contemporary with the keep, although the keep itself seems to have remained unfinished until some time in the 13th century. Two residential ranges with a chapel and a timber kitchen date from the years of Queen Isabella’s occupancy (1331–1358) but by the end of the 15th century most of the buildings, including the keep, were seriously dilapidated. One of the residential ranges was entirely rebuilt to accommodate hunting parties for a time but everything except the shell of the chapel was systematically demolished at the end of the 16th century. Antiquarian interest in the site led to repairs to the keep and widespread levelling operations around it which included clearance of the Norman church.