| Rockingham Castle | |
|---|---|
| Part of Northamptonshire | |
| Corby, England | |
 The main gateway at Rockingham Castle | |
| Type | Enclosure castle |
| Height | 10 metres (33 ft) |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Saunders Watson family |
| Condition | Renovated |
| Site history | |
| Built | 11th Century |
| In use | Private |
| Materials | Limestone Sandstone |
| Events | English Civil War |
Rockingham Castle is a former royal castle and hunting lodge in Rockingham Forest, [1] approximately two miles north from the town centre of Corby, Northamptonshire.
The site on which the castle stands was used in the Iron Age, in the Roman period, by the Saxons, Normans, Tudors and also in the medieval period. This is because its position on elevated ground provides clear views of the Welland Valley from a strong defensible location.
William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a wooden Motte and Bailey at Rockingham in the 11th century shortly after the Norman conquest of England. Within three decades, William II replaced it with a stone castle. A stone keep was added to the large motte and the outer bailey was enclosed by a curtain wall. The castle was then used as a royal retreat throughout the Norman and Plantagenet periods. Nearby Rockingham Forest was especially good for hunting wild boar and deer.
A church/state council was held at the castle in 1095 to address the issue of episcopal appointments. It was attended by William II and Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, but failed to reach a resolution. [2] [3]
In 1270 Henry III strengthened the castle with the addition of a twin D-tower gatehouse. But less than a century later Edward III became the last monarch to visit the castle while it was possessed by the Crown.
By the late 15th century Rockingham Castle had fallen into disrepair. Sir Edward Watson, [1] founder of the Watson dynasty, acquired the lease of the castle from Henry VIII. Parts of the castle were later replaced with a Tudor house with gardens. The former royal castle became a hunting lodge for the nobility. [4] Watson's grandson Lewis Watson acquired the freehold of the castle and lands from the Crown. Watson was successively a knight, baronet and baron. [5]
In the 1640s, during the English Civil War, Rockingham was garrisoned by royalist troops. They fought several small skirmishes with Parliamentary forces. In 1643 Rockingham was captured by Parliamentarian general Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford and Lewis Watson was temporarily forced to leave. Its remaining walls were slighted in 1646. In the latter 17th and 18th centuries, Rockingham returned to being a civil residence.
Lewis' grandson, also Lewis, already Baron Rockingham, was created Earl of Rockingham and Viscount Sondes in 1714. He had inherited Lees Court, in 1709 on the death without issue of his brother in law Louis De Duras 2nd Earl of Ferversham, The earldom was extinguished with the death of the 5th baron (3rd earl) in 1746. While the Barony of Rockingham passed to another cousin, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, who was created Marquess of Rockingham later that year, The Rockingham estate along with Lees Court, Sheldwich then passed to his cousin Lewis Monson, who changed his name to Watson and later became in 1760 Baron Sondes of Lees Court. Lees Court was a modern house having been rebuilt in the mid 16th Century by George Sondes 1st Earl of Feversham and it became the principal family seat, meaning that Rockingham Castle remained unaltered during this period. Both estates descended via the 2nd and 3rd Barons Sondes, until the later's death. He was Lewis Richard Watson who died unmarried in 1836. At this point the estates of Rockingham Castle and Lees Court diverged, Lees Court remained with the Baron Sondes line and passed to Lewis Richard's brother George John Watson 4th Baron Sondes, However, from the 3rd Baron Sondes, Rockingham Castle passed firstly to his younger brother The Rev. Henry Watson and then another brother Richard Watson. The castle was inherited by successively by the sons of Richard Watson, George Lewis Watson (d.1899) and Rev Wentworth Watson, on whose death in 1925 the estate passed to his great nephew Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 5th Baronet in 1925. He lived here with his wife, Lady Mary Faith Montagu, a daughter of the 9th Earl of Sandwich, until 1967, when he transferred it to his nephew, Commander Michael Saunders Watson CBE, chairman of the British Library. [6]
Today the mainstay of the castle is the home of the Saunders-Watson family led by James Saunders Watson, the son of Michael Saunders, who achieved £4,000,000 in revenue from its events and rentals in 2017. [7] He served as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire for 2018/19. [8]
The castle has a strong gatehouse, which is to be expected for castles of its time. There are two large semicircular towers, protruding from the castle wall, located on either side of the gate. These are also known as D-towers. This gatehouse is on the east side of the structure, facing almost entirely towards the field. The plan of the castle is a typical rectangular shape, with a passage through the center of the structure. This passage is entered through a porch beneath a drop arch, and was guarded by a portcullis in front of a wooden door. Another door is located at the end of the passage. Along the sides of the passage are openings, leading to rectangular chambers. In the east walls of these were the doorways two the semicircular chambers of the towers. The gatehouse and its towers have only two floors. This design is reminiscent of the rectangular stone gatehouse of the early Norman castle. [9] The remainder of the castle is contained by stone walls. Within this castle are many halls, units of housing, and other buildings.
The parish borders directly onto the town of Corby. Rockingham (and Corby) are part of North Northamptonshire, part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire.
The castle overlooks the villages of Rockingham and Caldecott, and has views over the Welland Valley. Privately owned, it is open to the public for events and on certain days.
The place was visited by writer Charles Dickens, who was a friend of Richard and Lavinia Watson, ancestors of the current family. The castle is arguably the inspiration for Chesney Wold in Dickens' novel Bleak House , published in 1853.[ by whom? ]
The castle takes its name from the manor of Rockingham, which was the only manor of the parish which in turn had markedly few churchlands,[ clarification needed ] especially as is common[ clarification needed ] after the dissolution of the monasteries. Rockingham Forest was, largely outside of the parish, named after the place during the time of William the Conqueror because of the castle's importance as a royal retreat.
A cricket pitch lies within the grounds and is home to Old Eastonians Cricket Club.
Rockingham Castle was used as a principal setting for the BBC English Civil War period drama By the Sword Divided . In the TV series, "Arnescote Castle" was the home of the Royalist Lacey family. The castle also featured in the film Top Secret! , which starred Val Kilmer.
Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England, managed by English Heritage; much of it is still in ruins. The castle was founded during the Norman conquest of England; with development through to the Tudor period. It has been described by the architectural historian Anthony Emery as "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant for its scale, form and quality of workmanship".
Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family descended from Lewis Watson, Member of Parliament for Lincoln. He was created a Baronet, of Rockingham Castle in the County of Northampton, in the Baronetage of England in 1621. In 1645 he was further honoured when he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Rockingham. The third Baron served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. In 1714 he was created Baron Throwley, Viscount Sondes and Earl of Rockingham in the Peerage of Great Britain. His eldest son Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes, predeceased him and he was succeeded by his grandson, the second Earl. The second Earl was Lord-Lieutenant of Kent before his early death in 1745. He was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Thomas. He had previously represented Canterbury in Parliament.
Baron Monson, of Burton in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 18th century for Sir John Monson, 5th Baronet. The Monson family descends from Thomas Monson, of Carleton, Lincolnshire. He sat as Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire, Castle Rising and Cricklade. On 29 June 1611 he was created a Baronet, of Carleton in the County of Lincoln, in the Baronetage of England. His eldest son, the second Baronet, fought as a Royalist during the Civil War and also represented Lincoln in the House of Commons.
Earl Sondes, of Lees Court in the County of Kent, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the former Conservative Member of Parliament for East Kent, George Milles, 5th Baron Sondes. He was made Viscount Throwley, of the County of Kent, at the same time, which title was used as a courtesy title by the eldest son and heir apparent of the Earl. The titles became extinct on the death of his great-grandson, the fifth Earl, in 1996.
The history of Northamptonshire spans the same period as English history.
Lydford Castle is a medieval castle in the town of Lydford, Devon, England. The first castle in Lydford, sometimes termed the Norman fort, was a small ringwork built in a corner of the Anglo-Saxon fortified burh in the years after the Norman conquest of England. It was intended to help control Devon following the widespread revolt against Norman rule in 1068. The Norman fort had been abandoned by the middle of the 12th century.
Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham, styled Hon. Thomas Watson until 1745, was an English nobleman and politician. He represented Canterbury in the House of Commons and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Kent after succeeding to the earldom, but died shortly thereafter.
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.
Grosmont Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly commissioned by William fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford, it was originally an earthwork design with timber defences. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place, and in response King Stephen brought together Grosmont Castle and its sister fortifications of Skenfrith and White Castle to form a lordship known as the "Three Castles", which continued to play a role in defending the region from Welsh attack for several centuries.
Lewis Watson, 1st Earl of Rockingham was an English peer and politician. He was the eldest son of Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham and Anne Wentworth, daughter of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford.
George Sondes, 1st Earl of Feversham KB was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1626 and 1676 and was then created a peer and member of the House of Lords.
Richard Milles was an English landowner, horticulturalist and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1780.
George Watson was a British Member of Parliament.
The Honourable Richard Watson was a British Whig politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury from 1830 to 1835 and briefly in 1852 for Peterborough.
Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes of Lees Court, Sheldwich, Kent, and Park Place, London, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1708 and 1722.
Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is uncertain: traditionally its construction has been ascribed to Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, in the mid-12th century, but it may have been built by King Henry II of England when he took control of England's northern counties. Warkworth Castle was first documented in a charter of 1157–1164 when Henry II granted it to Roger fitz Richard. The timber castle was considered "feeble", and was left undefended when the Scots invaded in 1173.
Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. A second moated site 190 metres (620 ft) to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right. The castle is now a ruin, and all that remains is a large fragment of sandstone wall. What remains of the estate is now an urban park, owned and run by Coventry City Council, but much of it was sold and developed into housing estates in the early 20th century.
Lewis Watson, 1st Baron Sondes, called Hon. Lewis Monson before 1746 and Hon. Lewis Watson from 1746 to 1760, was a British Whig politician and peer.
Lewis Thomas Watson, 2nd Baron Sondes, was a British Whig politician and peer.
Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham was an English landowner and peer. He was the only surviving son of Lewis Watson, 1st Baron Rockingham of Rockingham Castle and his second wife, Eleanor Manners, daughter of Sir George Manners, of Haddon Hall, Derbyshire and Grace Pierrepont, daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepont.
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Hartshorne, Charles Henry (1845). "Rockingham Castle". Archaeological Journal. Vol. 1. pp. 356–378. doi:10.1080/00665983.1844.10850537 – via Wikisource.