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Within Hamstead Park at Hamstead Marshall stand three, much eroded, castle mottes. Two of them are near the church. The other is half a mile to the east, standing near the old manor fishponds, which were stocked with Royal bream as early as 1230. This latter may have been a Norman conquest castle set up by Hugelin Stirman. He also had a hall at Ebrige, now Irish Hill, but was forced to tear it down when his rights there were disputed.
The suffix of the parish of Hamstead Marshal recalls the celebrated Marshal family who held the manor in Norman times. The two mottes near the church are almost certainly all that is left of their home. One may be the Newbury Castle mentioned in an early French journal. It was held for the Empress Matilda by John Marshal during the Civil War of King Stephen's Reign. Stephen besieged him there for two months in 1153. When eventually overwhelmed by the King's forces, Marshal was forced to give up his eldest son, William, as a hostage to ensure his good behaviour. Many times, Stephen threatened to kill poor William in many different ways, all of them horrible. The young lad survived though to become the Earl of Pembroke and Protector of England. He held many manors, Pembroke Castle was probably the most significant, but Hamstead and Caversham were two of his principal residences: nestling in the Kennet & Thames Valleys, a mere horse-ride from London. He entertained Henry III at Hamstead in 1218. The third castle motte is thought to be a very late example built by William's brother, Gilbert, in the 1230s. This was in Royal hands by the fourteenth century and Edward III stayed there several times in the 1350s. He was probably on hunting expeditions: the park had been stocked with deer a hundred years earlier. An earlier castle stood to the east.
Hinton was the centre of the Honour of St. Valory, a large amalgam of estates once belonging to the family of that name who built their castle here after the Battle of Hastings (hence the corrupt Waldrist). It was a motte and bailey affair and can still be clearly seen. The moat is more than half full. The wooden castle was rebuilt in stone in medieval times when it came into the hands of the Bohun Earls of Hereford. It remained one of their more minor residences. However, it was given in dower to the last Earl's widow, and it was hear that Mary de Bohun, future wife of King Henry IV, grew up. Their son, Henry V, visited often in his younger days.
La Beche Castle once stood on the site of what is now merely Beche Farm in Aldworth. This was the main residence of the De La Beche family, after whom it was named. They were a well-known family of medieval knights holding many high positions at court since at least 1260. Their grand monuments can still be seen in the church. Known as the "Aldworth Giants", they were erected by the most influential member of the family, Lord Nicholas De La Beche in the 1340s. The most tangible link with the castle however is seal of the latter's sister-in-law that was dug up at the Farm.