The
motte-and-bailey castle first built on the spot seems to have been constructed very soon after the
Norman Conquest, perhaps under order of
Geoffrey Alselin who was granted the property in 1066, though more likely under order of Alselin's son-in-law, Robert de Caux, who used Laxton as his seat after Alselin's death. The construction of the inner courtyard, or bailey, is common for smaller earthwork castles of Norman construction. The second wave of construction of the castle may have followed the appointment of de Caux to Hereditary Keeper of the Royal Forests of Nottingham and Derbyshire, although the extent of renovations undertaken by
King John, who seized the castle for several years in 1204, is unknown. In 1230, the property and title passed to the Everingham family, until they were stripped of the title in 1286; the property found insufficient to sustain the family further, they left it for other property in
Yorkshire. The castle subsequently fell into disrepair. The British Archaeological Association spotlighted the castle's defences, noting: The greatness of the outer court, the formidable character of the defences of the base court, the placement of the keep-mount on the edge of the steep natural escarpment on the northern side, and the evidence of the guarded track ways to the place, all tend to show the importance of Laxton Castle in the fighting days of its early existence, when feudal lords cared only for what they could get and hold, and had little thought for the rights of their neighbours. ==Laxton Hall==