Cawood Castle

Last updated

Cawood Castle
North Yorkshire, England
Cawood Castle.jpg
Banqueting hall and gatehouse at Cawood Castle
North Yorkshire UK location map (2023).svg
Red pog.svg
Cawood Castle
Coordinates 53°49′53″N1°07′51″W / 53.8315°N 1.1309°W / 53.8315; -1.1309
Grid reference grid reference SE573376
Type Quadrangular castle
Site information
Owner Landmark Trust
Open to
the public
For holiday let
Site history
MaterialsStone and brick
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated5 December 1928
Reference no. 1011518

Cawood Castle is a grade I listed building in Cawood, a village in North Yorkshire, England. The surviving fifteenth-century structures formed part of a fortified medieval palace belonging to the Archbishops of York, which was dismantled in the aftermath of the English Civil War.

Contents

History

The Saxon King Athelstan probably built the first fortification at Cawood on the site of the present castle ruins. Cawood became an archiepiscopal residence by the twelfth century. A castle was first mentioned in 1181 before being converted into a quadrangular castle between 1374 and 1388. It was visited by many kings, including King John, who hunted game in nearby Bishop's Wood in the 13th century. Documents show that the palace was often improved. Among these improvements was the gatehouse, which was constructed by Archbishop John Kemp. It was constructed with stone from Huddlestone quarry near Tadcaster which supplied stone for York Minster.

George Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465 and held a feast at the castle. The Earl of Warwick, the Archbishop's brother, aided in the preparation of the feast and is said to have wanted a feast larger than the King's coronation feast. Guests included the Duke of Gloucester, the King's brother. The feast lasted several days and became known as the "Great Feast of Cawood" due to the size of it. Records from the feast show that a substantial quantity of food was consumed, including 104 oxen, 6 wild bulls, 400 swans, 1000 capons and 104 peacocks; 25,000 gallons of wine were consumed with the meal.

The castle was the main residence of Thomas Savage while he was Archbishop of York, and he died at Cawood Castle in September 1507. [1] Cardinal Wolsey came to Cawood as Archbishop of York in 1530 and made himself popular with the villagers by putting right years of neglect. However, before he was installed as archbishop in York, the Earl of Northumberland arrested him on charges of high treason; Wolsey fell ill at Leicester on his way to London, and died. He therefore fulfilled Mother Shipton's prophecy, that he would see the towers of York Minster but would never be enthroned there.

In 1642, the English Civil War began and the castle was initially held by the Royalists. The castle was captured by the Parliamentarians; however the Earl of Newcastle briefly recaptured it for the Royalists in 1644. Shortly after, however, Lord Fairfax recaptured it and it was used as a prisoner of war camp. Once the war ended the castle was abandoned and destroyed, with only the farm buildings and parts of the wall remaining. The cellar was filled in with rubble and soil.

Current status

The only remaining parts of the castle are the gatehouse and the banqueting hall. Stones from the destroyed castle were used in the construction of surrounding houses. The foundations of some other structures do remain as well as the castle's cellar, which was excavated in the 19th century.

The gatehouse served as a courthouse until the 1930s, before being used as an officers' mess and a building for the Home Guard during World War II.

The castle is now in the ownership of the Landmark Trust, which has restored the gatehouse as a holiday home, while leaving the two-storey banqueting hall sound and weathertight but not habitable. Outside the banqueting hall can be seen remains of other structures – there were more modern farm buildings and a wall along the road, which were removed when the Landmark Trust took over the castle and restored it.

The castle garth was bought by the parish council in the 1980s in order to keep it as an open space in the heart of the village. [2] The garth is home to a population of great crested newts: at its centre is a pond, built as a skating pond in the 19th century. There are also remains of the medieval fish-ponds. The area has been enhanced with funding from the Local Heritage Initiative, a small grants scheme launched in 2000 to help communities bring their local heritage to life. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishopthorpe</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York unitary authority area and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is close to the River Ouse, and has a population of 3,174, increasing to 3,237 at the 2011 Census. The area of Main Street and the Palace were made a conservation area in 1989 along with other open areas of the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Castle</span> Grade I listed monument in York, England

York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the south side of the River Foss. The now ruined keep of the medieval Norman castle is commonly referred to as Clifford's Tower. Built originally on the orders of William I to dominate the former Viking city of Jórvík, the castle suffered a tumultuous early history before developing into a major fortification with extensive water defences. After a major explosion in 1684 rendered the remaining military defences uninhabitable, York Castle continued to be used as a gaol and prison until 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontefract Castle</span> Castle in West Yorkshire, England

PontefractCastle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandal Castle</span> Medieval castle in England

Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare's plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chepstow Castle</span> Castle in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales

Chepstow Castle at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Located above cliffs on the River Wye, construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Norman Lord William FitzOsbern. Originally known as Striguil, it was the southernmost of a chain of castles built in the Welsh Marches, and with its attached lordship took the name of the adjoining market town in about the 14th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Savage (bishop)</span> 16th-century Archbishop of York

Thomas Savage was a prelate, diplomat and scholar during the Tudor period. Savage served as Chaplain to King Henry VII and was Archbishop of York from 1501 until his death in 1507. Prior to his consecration as a Bishop, Savage served as a diplomat and rector. As a diplomat Savage held the positions of English Ambassador to Castile and Portugal, during which time he helped broker the marriage treaty between Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon in 1489, and later held the position of English Ambassador to France from 1490, where he took part in the conference at Boulogne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bickleigh Castle</span> Manor house in Devon, England

Bickleigh Castle is a fortified manor house that stands on the banks of the River Exe at Bickleigh in Devon, England. Once considerably larger, Bickleigh now comprises a group of buildings from various periods which together formed a water castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denbigh Castle and town walls</span> Ruined castle and fortifications in Denbigh, Wales

Denbigh Castle and town walls were built to control the lordship of Denbigh after the Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England in 1282. The lands were granted to Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, who began to build a new walled town, colonised by immigrants from England, protected by a substantial castle and surrounded by deer parks for hunting. The work had not been completed by 1294, when the Welsh temporarily seized the castle during the Madog ap Llywelyn revolt. The defences continued to be improved, although the castle was not completely finished by the time of Henry's death in 1311.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of York</span> History of the city of York, England

The history of York, England, as a city dates to the beginning of the first millennium AD but archaeological evidence for the presence of people in the region of York dates back much further to between 8000 and 7000 BC. As York was a town in Roman times, its Celtic name is recorded in Roman sources ; after 400, Angles took over the area and adapted the name by folk etymology to Old English Eoforwīc or Eoforīc, which means "wild-boar town" or "rich in wild-boar". The Vikings, who took over the area later, in turn adapted the name by folk etymology to Norse Jórvík meaning "wild-boar bay", 'jór' being a contraction of the Old Norse word for wild boar, 'jǫfurr'. The modern Welsh name is Efrog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarborough Castle</span> Castle in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England

Scarborough Castle is a former medieval royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Anglo-Scandinavian settlement and chapel, the 12th-century enclosure castle and 18th-century battery, is a scheduled monument of national importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cawood</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Cawood is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England that is notable as the location of the Cawood sword. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brougham Castle</span> Medieval castle in Cumbria, England

Brougham Castle is a medieval building about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, had been chosen by the Romans for a Roman fort called Brocavum. The castle, along with the fort, is a scheduled monument: "Brougham Roman fort and Brougham Castle".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skipton Castle</span> Medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England

Skipton Castle is a Grade I Listed medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, and has been preserved for over 931 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whorlton, North Yorkshire</span> Hamlet and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Whorlton is a hamlet and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It is very near Swainby and the A19, and 6 miles south west of Stokesley. Features include the remains of Whorlton Castle and the Church of the Holy Rood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halton Castle</span> Castle ruins in Cheshire, England

Halton Castle is a castle in the village of Halton, part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The castle is on the top of Halton Hill, a sandstone prominence overlooking the village. The original building, a motte-and-bailey castle began in 1071, was replaced with the current sandstone castle in the 13th century. Building alterations continued until at least 1609, when the structure is recorded as in disrepair. The castle is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and a scheduled ancient monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Langley Palace</span> Palace in Hertfordshire, England

Kings Langley Palace was a 13th-century Royal Palace which was located to the west of the Hertfordshire village of Kings Langley in England. During the Middle Ages, the palace served as a residence of the Plantagenet kings of England. It fell into disuse sometime during the 16th century and became a ruin. Today, nothing remains of the building except for some archaeological remains. The site is a scheduled ancient monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Castle</span> Well preserved 12th-century castle in Rochester, Kent, South East England

Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France.

William Rokeby was a leading statesman and cleric in early sixteenth-century Ireland, who held the offices of Bishop of Meath, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He is commemorated in the Rokeby Chapels in two Yorkshire churches, St Oswald's Church, Kirk Sandall, and Halifax Minster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whorlton Castle</span> Castle ruins in North Yorkshire, England

Whorlton Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated near the abandoned village of Whorlton in North Yorkshire, England. It was established in the early 12th century as a Norman motte-and-bailey associated with the nearby settlement. The castle is an unusual example of a motte-and-bailey that remained in use throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Piercebridge</span> Battle of the First English Civil War

The battle of Piercebridge was fought on 1 December 1642 in County Durham, England, during the First English Civil War. The Earl of Newcastle was advancing with an army of 6,000 from Newcastle upon Tyne to York to reinforce the local Royalists. Aware of his approach, the Parliamentarians defended the main crossing over the River Tees, at Piercebridge. Under the command of Captain John Hotham, around 580 troops had barricaded the bridge.

References

  1. S. J. Gunn, ‘Savage, Thomas (d. 1507)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2008 accessed 21 June 2013
  2. "Cawood Castle Garth Group – a voluntary organisation of residents from the area of Cawood, North Yorkshire, England, aiming to raise awareness and investigate the archaeology, history and natural history of the site". Cawood Castle Garth Group. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  3. Local Heritage Initiative Archived 23 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine