Castle Levington was the only castle we know of that was owned and occupied by Boyntons. Various Boyntons managed castles for others but this one was OURS (on and off) from 1350 to 1545. The story of its tenure in the Boynton family is an interesting lesson in the difficulty of maintaining family control of assets in a time of premature deaths. Click HERE for the story and HERE for more information on Castle Levington.

The castle was about six miles from Acklam and twelve miles from Sedbury - the other major centers of Boynton life during that time.� Today there is a small car park by a babbling brook (the River Levin) with a winding path through pasture land that eventually leads to a distinctive mound. It was easy to imagine, when standing on the path by the brook, how a castle would have looked perched on the prominatory. And scaling the hill was a serious feat, even without armor weighing you down and arrows raining from above.

The castle itself was of the earth and timber variety of which there are no existing examples. Earth and timber was popular with the conquering Normans as it could be constructed fairly quickly, but they were vulnerable to fire. People who could upgrade to stone, did. But the Boyntons did not.

Today, a visit shows you the earth work defenses. You can stand in the hole where the keep was.� You can admire the truly impressive view of the surrounding countryside. All this if you are willing to brave the modern defenses: a thicket of nettles guards the site!