Jul 18 2007
English Castles
Barnard Castle
The castle was founded by the Normans shortly after the conquest, but enjoyed its heyday under Bernard de Bailleul during the latter half of the 12th century. The castle passed into the hands of the Balliol family (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was the most important member), and then into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death. The remains are now in the care of English Heritage.
Walter Scott frequently visited his friend John Sawrey Morritt at Rokeby Hall and was fond of exploring Teesdale. He begins his epic poem Rokeby (1813) with a man standing on guard on the round tower of the Barnard Castle fortress.
Charles Dickens and his illustrator Hablot Browne (Phiz) stayed at the King’s Head in Barnard Castle while researching his novel Nicholas Nickleby in the winter of 1837-38. He is said to have entered William Humphrey’s clock-maker’s shop, then opposite the hotel, and enquired who had made a certain remarkable clock. William replied that his boy Humphrey had done it. This seems to have prompted Dickens to choose the title “Master Humphrey’s Clock” for his new weekly, in whichThe Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge appeared.
The Bowes Museum housed in a chateau-like building, was founded by John Bowes and his wife and is of national status. It contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automation, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now demolished). His Streatlam stud never had more than ten breeding mares at one time, but produced no fewer than four Derby winners in twenty years. The last of these, “West Australian”, was the first racehorse to win the Triple Crown (1853).
Castle Rising
The castle keep at Castle Rising is one of the most famous twelfth-century hall-keeps in the country, and it is likely that it is modelled on Norwich Castle. To the north of the castle is a ruined church that dates to around 1100, and both this church and the keep appear to have been rendered and whitewashed during the early medieval period.
The earthworks surrounding the castle keep are one of the largest in the country, although it should be noted that both the castle and the earthworks were originally half their current size. Their present appearance is the result of a major building program of the late 12th or early 13th century.
It is possible that this major rebuilding took place as a reaction to the Revolt of 1173-1174 and the increased military activity generated. The chief rebel in East Anglia was Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk a rival to William D’Albini, who seized Norwich Castle during the rebellion. William returned from Normandy to meet Bigod in battle, and the upgrading of Castle Rising may be seen as a result of this.
During the Anarchy the castle was the site of a mint producing pennies for King Stephen. Between 1330 and 1358, it was the residence of the disgraced former queen, Isabella of France, who may have died here.
Corfe Castle
The oldest surviving structure on the castle site dates to the 11th century, although evidence exists of some form of stronghold predating the Norman Conquest. Edward the Martyr was assassinated at the site on March 18, 978.
Construction of a stone hall and inner bailey wall occurred in the 11th century and extensive construction of other towers, halls and walls occurred during the reigns of Henry I, John and Henry III. By the 13th century the castle was being used as a royal treasure storehouse and prison. The castle remained a royal fortress until sold by Elizabeth I in the 16th century to Sir Christopher Hatton her Lord Chancellor.The castle was bought by Sir John Bankes, Attorney General to Charles I, in 1635. The castle now belongs to the National Trust. It is a grade I listed building.
During the English Civil War, the castle twice came under siege by Parliamentarian forces. Sir John Bankes was away from his estate attending to Charles I so defence of the castle was led by his wife Lady Mary Bankes — “Brave Dame Mary” as she became known.
The first siege, in 1643, lasted for six weeks before the Parliamentarians withdrew with the loss of 100 men. The second siege, in 1646, was resisted for two months before the castle was betrayed by a member of the garrison. After its capture, the castle was slighted (destroyed) with some explosives and mainly by undermining to ensure that it could never stand again as a Royalist stronghold. In the centuries that followed, the local populace took advantage of this easy source of building material and masonry, door frames and other items originally from the castle can be seen in a number of nearby houses.
After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Bankes family regained their properties. Rather than rebuild or replace the ruined castle they chose to build a new house at Kingston Lacy on their other Dorset estate near Wimborne Minster.
Deal Castle
Deal Castle is one of the most impressive of the Device Forts being built by Henry VIII between 1539 and 1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It is shaped like a Tudor rose, being perfectly symmetrical, with a low, circular keep at its centre. Around the circumference of the keep are six bastions, with a further series of six bastions in the curtain wall, one of which serves as the gatehouse. All the outer walls of the castle and bastions are rounded to both provide strength and to deflect shot more efficiently than flat walls. Over 200 cannon and gun ports were set within the walls and the entire structure was completely surrounded by a very deep, wide moat.
In 1648, during the Civil War, Deal Castle was besieged but after that it never engaged in any further military action. Fortified during the Napoleonic Wars, many alterations were made during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Governor’s lodgings were rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century, only to be destroyed again in 1941 by German bombs in the Second World War. It was the official residence of the Captain of the Cinque Ports, until 1951 and is now owned by English Heritage.
Dover Castle
Originally the site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which don’t seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle, although archaeological excavation at the Castle has found no evidence of prehistoric activity.
The site also contained one of Dover’s two 80 foot (24 m) high Roman lighthouses (or Pharoses), one of which still survives. On the site is a classic montrol (campsite) where the Normans landed after their victorious conquest.
Tower of London
Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically simply as The Tower), is an historic monument in central London, England on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the Tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two parallel rings of defensive walls and a moat.
The Tower’s primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase “sent to the Tower” (meaning “imprisoned”). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation. The castle’s floor area is approximately 45,000 square metres (about 484,000 square feet).
Together with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, it is one of the principal official residences of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends of the year at the castle, using it for both state and private entertaining.
Most of the kings and queens of England have had a direct influence on the construction and evolution of the castle, which has been their garrison fortress, home, official palace, and sometimes their prison. The castle’s history and that of the British monarchy are inextricably linked. Chronologically the history of the castle can be traced through the reigns of the monarchs who have occupied it. When the country has been at peace, the castle has been expanded by the additions of large and grand apartments; when the country has been at war, the castle has been more heavily fortified. This pattern has continued to the present day.