Sauvey Castle is a medieval castle, near Withcote, Leicestershire, England. It was probably built by King John in 1211 as a secluded hunting lodge in Leighfield Forest. It comprised a ringwork or shell keep, with an adjacent bailey; earthwork dams were constructed to flood the area around the castle, creating a large, shallow moat. The castle was occupied by the Count of Aumale in the early reign of Henry III, but it then remained in the control of the Crown and was used by royal foresters until it fell into disuse in the 14th century. By the end of the 17th century, its walls and buildings had been dismantled or destroyed, leaving only the earthworks, which remain in a good condition in the 21st century. Construction Historians are divided as to when Sauvey Castle was constructed; most suggest that it was built by King John in 1211 when he acquired the surrounding lands, although some sources argue it was built during the reign of King Stephen, between 1135 and 1153. The castle was located in a secluded part of Leighfield Forest, part of the wider Forest of Rockingham, and, if built by John, was intended for use as a hunting lodge. Its name in Norman French was Salveé, meaning "dark island". The castle lies on raised ground along a valley, with two tributaries of the River Chater running past it to the north and south. It comprises an oval enclosure across, variously described as a shell keep or a ringwork, separated by a deep ditch from a rectangular bailey to the west, in size. The bailey had a guardhouse at its north-east corner, overlooking the entrance. Buildings were constructed around the south side of the enclosure, with a chapel in the middle. The castle was built largely from stone, with a curtain wall around the enclosure. A ditch was cut along the western site of the castle, between and wide, and an earth bank, or dam, high was built to the south-east; these allowed the area around the castle to be flooded, forming a large, shallow lake or moat. A similar design of moat can be seen at Ravensworth Castle. Fishponds were constructed as part of the complex, linked to the moat. History The first records of Sauvey Castle date around 1216, during the First Barons' War, when the government of the young Henry III ordered the royal castle to