Scarborough Castle

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Scarborough Castle
Part of North Yorkshire
Scarborough, England
Scarborough Castle 3.jpg
The keep and curtain wall
North Yorkshire UK location map (2023).svg
Red pog.svg
Scarborough Castle
Coordinates 54°17′13″N0°23′17″W / 54.287°N 0.388°W / 54.287; -0.388
Height49 feet (15 m)
Site information
Owner The Crown
Controlled by English Heritage
ConditionRuinous
Site history
Built12th century
Built by William le Gros
In usePublic access
Materials Limestone
Sandstone
Events English Civil War

Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. [1] 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. [2]

Contents

Fortifications for a wooden castle were built in the 1130s, but the present stone castle dates from the 1150s. Over the centuries, several other structures were added, with medieval monarchs investing heavily in what was then an important fortress that guarded the Yorkshire coastline, Scarborough's port trade, and the north of England from Scottish or continental invasion. It was fortified and defended during various civil wars, sieges and conflicts, as kings fought with rival barons, faced rebellion and clashed with republican forces, though peace with Scotland and the conclusion of civil and continental wars in the 17th century led to its decline in importance.

Once occupied by garrisons and governors who often menaced the town, the castle has been a ruin since the sieges of the English Civil War, but attracts many visitors to climb the battlements, take in the views and enjoy the accompanying interactive exhibition and special events run by English Heritage.

History

Early history of the site

Archaeological excavations in the 1920s produced evidence which suggests a hill fort was built on the headland where the castle now stands. Finds were dated to between 900–500 BC, part of the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age. [2] [3] [4] Among finds dating back about 3,000 years, a Bronze Age sword, thought to have been a ritual offering, is on display in the castle exhibition. [5]

A 4th-century Roman signal station, one of several on the Yorkshire coast, was built on the headland at the cliff top. The station was to warn of approaching hostile vessels, and took advantage of a natural source of fresh water which became known as the "Well of Our Lady". [6] The remains of the signal tower were excavated in the 1920s revealing it to be square in plan around a small courtyard. It measured about 33 metres across and was built of wood on stone foundations with a gatehouse and an outer ditch. [2]

The Anglo-Saxons built a chapel on the station site around the year 1000, the remains of which are still visible. [7] This is reputed to have been destroyed during the invasion of Harald Hardrada in 1066. [6] A much later Icelandic poem [8] claims that a Viking settlement around the harbour was burnt down in 1066 by Hardrada's forces, who built a large bonfire on the headland to supply burning brands to hurl at the villagers below. [9] However, there is no archaeological evidence of such an event, nor any of the Viking presence. The first evidence of the harbour settlement coincides with the establishment of the stone castle around 1157–1164. This grew from a small settlement around a wooden fortress which the stone castle replaced. [10]

Development and decline

William le Gros, Count of Aumale, a powerful Anglo-Norman baron and grand-nephew of William the Conqueror, built a wooden fortification after his receipt of the Earldom of York, from King Stephen in 1138, granted as reward for his victory at the Battle of the Standard. [11] [12] Aumale may have re-founded the town of "Scardeburg", though there is little evidence of this. As with other castles, there would have been at least a small settlement nearby. [13] Some information on the establishment of the castle has survived in the chronicle of William of Newburgh, a monk who in the 1190s wrote about its foundation. The castle had a gate tower, curtain wall, dry moat and chapel. This motte and bailey castle subsequently disappeared, with only the small, raised mound of the motte visible in the inner bailey today. [14]

Henry II was responsible for much of the original stone buildings of the castle; he began the work in the 1150s, and it cost him PS682. Henry II of England.jpg
Henry II was responsible for much of the original stone buildings of the castle; he began the work in the 1150s, and it cost him £682.

The fate of the original fortifications is unclear. Henry II ordered that all royal castles be returned to the Crown. [15] [16] He had a policy of destroying adulterine castles, built without royal permission, during Stephen's chaotic reign. Initially, Aumale resisted the call to hand over Scarborough, which he had built on a royal manor, until Henry's forces arrived at York. The wooden castle vanished – William of Newburgh, writing near the time, claimed that the structure had decayed through age and the elements, battered beyond repair on the windswept headland. [17] Later interpretations view this as implausible and argue that Henry wanted to stamp his mark on Scarborough, by demolishing William's fort and creating a much stronger stone complex. [18]

From about 1157, [19] Henry II rebuilt the castle using stone. Much of the building work occurred between 1159 and 1169, when the three-storey keep was built and a stone wall replaced the wooden palisade protecting the inner bailey. [18] [20] By the end of Henry's reign in 1189, a total of £682, 15  shillings and threepence had been spent on the castle, [21] of which £532 was spent between 1157 and 1164. [22] Henry's average annual income during his reign was about £10,000. [23] The castle became a strategic northern stronghold for The Crown. Henry II granted the town that had grown up beneath the fortress, the title of Royal Borough.

While Richard I (reigned 1189–1199) had spent nothing on the castle, his brother King John (reigned 1199–1216) ensured that it was a comfortable residence for himself and his retinue. John's rule was strongly opposed by the northern barons, so the castle at Scarborough was fortified as a strategic stronghold. John visited the castle four times during his reign, and spent a considerable sum on the castle. [24] He built the curtain wall on the west and south sides during 1202–1212, and a new hall called the "King's Chambers", later Mosdale Hall. [25] In total, John spent £2,291, three shillings and fourpence on the castle. This included £780 that was earmarked for repairing the roof of the keep in 1211–1212; John spent more on the castle than any other monarch. [26] The Pipe Rolls, records of royal expenditure, show that John spent over £17,000 on 95 castles during his reign spread, and Scarborough received the most investment. [27]

Improvements continued under Henry III (reigned 1216–1272). By this time, Scarborough was a thriving port, and though he never visited the castle, [28] Henry spent a considerable sum on its upkeep. Around 1240–1250, he installed a new barbican [29] consisting of two towers flanking the gateway, with another two towers protecting the approach. These were completed in 1343, although have been much-modified since. [30] At this time, the castle was a powerful base which an unscrupulous governor could abuse: Geoffrey de Neville, who was governor for 20 years in the 13th century, used the garrison to seize port goods. Since governors were not required to reside in the castle, they often pocketed funds rather than used them for repairs. [31] By the mid-to-late 13th century, the defences were decaying, floorboards rotted, roof tiles were missing and armouries bare of weaponry. [32] Corruption continued among the castle's custodians, who acted with impunity as the castle was outside the jurisdiction of the borough. In the 1270s, governor William de Percy blocked the main road into Scarborough and imposed illegal tolls. [33]

Despite its decline, in 1265 the castle was committed to Prince Edward, later Edward I (reigned 1272–1307), who held court there in 1275 and 1280. In 1295, hostages from his campaigns to subjugate Wales were held at the castle. [34]

Piers Gaveston besieged, 1312

Henry de Percy, who occupied the castle from 1308, had a bakehouse, brewhouse and kitchens built in the inner bailey. [35] and the castle was once again made into a major fortification. Edward II (reigned 1307–1327) imprisoned some of his Scottish enemies there in 1311. [36] In 1312 he gave Isabella de Vesci the castles of Bamburgh and Scarborough. [37] The castle was considered to be the natural place for the king's favourite knight, the Gascon Piers Gaveston, to seek sanctuary when pursued by the barons who had imposed the Ordinances of 1311. The Ordinances were imposed to curb the King's power, and the barons saw Gaveston as a threat to their interests. [38] Sir Robert Felton was governor of Scarborough Castle in 1311 and was slain at Stirling in 1314. [39] In April 1312, Edward made Gaveston the governor of Scarborough Castle, but his tenure would be brief. In May, the Earls of Pembroke and Warenne, together with Henry de Percy, besieged and took the castle. [34] Despite its strong defences, it fell quickly due to lack of provisions. Gaveston was promised safe escort from the castle, but on the journey south was captured by the Earl of Warwick and killed. Scarborough fared little better; Edward punished the town for not supporting Gaveston by revoking its royal privileges and placing it under the direct rule of appointed governors. [40] [41]

Further assaults and decay, 1318–1635

At the time of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453), Scarborough was an important port for the wool trade, so was attacked several times by enemy forces. With rumours of a French invasion, a 1393 inquiry into the state of the castle led to repairs being carried out in 1396 and 1400. [34] Henry VI (reigned 1422–1461; 1470–1471) ordered major repairs between 1424 and 1429. Richard III (reigned 1483–1485) was the last monarch to enter its grounds. He resided at the castle in 1484 while forming a fleet to fight the Tudors, a struggle he lost along with his life the following year. [35]

After assaults by forces from France and Scotland in the early 16th century, in 1536 Robert Aske unsuccessfully tried to take the castle during the Pilgrimage of Grace, a revolt against the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Henry VIII's (reigned 1509–1547) break with the Roman Catholic Church. [42] Repairs were made in 1537, and in 1538 some of the lead of the towers was used by the keeper, Sir Ralph Eure (Evers), to make a brewing vessel; Eure reported that some of the walls had fallen down. [34] In 1557, forces loyal to Thomas Wyatt the younger, who opposed Mary I (reigned 1553–1558) and Catholicism, took the castle by entering disguised as peasants. Their leader, Thomas Stafford, held the castle for three days, and was subsequently executed for high treason on Tower Hill. [30] [42]

Civil War sieges, 1642–1648

In September 1642, at the outbreak of the English Civil War (1642–1651), Sir Hugh Cholmley occupied the castle as a Parliamentarian loyal to Oliver Cromwell but swapped sides in March 1643. [34] The castle was refortified on Cholmley's orders, including the establishment of the South Steel Battery for artillery. [43] After Cholmeley's defection, the castle, with its garrison of 700 Royalist soldiers, the town and its strategic supply port were on the side of Charles I. (reigned 1625–1649) The Parliamentarians saw Scarborough as a valuable Royalist target because it was the only port not under their dominion. [44]

On 18 February 1645, Sir John Meldrum took the town from the Royalists, cutting off any escape routes by land or sea and delivering the port for Parliament. [34] The same day, Cholmley retreated into the castle and refused to give in, so the Parliamentarians prepared for what would be a five-month siege – one of the most bloody of the Civil War, with almost continuous fighting. The Parliamentary forces set up what was then the largest cannon in the country, the Cannon Royal, in the 12th-century St. Mary's Church below the castle, and proceeded to fire 56–65 pounds (25–29  kg ) cannonballs that pounded the castle's defences. [45] In turn, the church was extensively damaged over the three days of fighting. [46] [47] [48] The bombardment partially destroyed the castle keep, but the outer walls were not breached. The Parliamentary forces were unable to take the castle and there followed a period of particularly bloody hand-to-hand fighting around the barbican gateway in which Sir John Meldrum was killed. [49]

By July the tide was turning in the Parliamentarians' favour: bombardment, scurvy, lack of water, perhaps a shortage of gunpowder and the threat of starvation and only 25 men fit to fight meant that the castle surrendered on 25 July 1645. Only about half of the original 500 defenders emerged alive. [50] Subsequently the castle was repaired and rearmed for Parliament with a company of 160. Matthew Boynton, the castle's new governor, declared for the king on 27 July 1648 when the soldiers went unpaid. [51] This led to a second siege which brought the castle back under Parliamentary control on 19 December, when the garrison was defeated as much by the oncoming winter as by the Parliamentary forces. [52] The castle changed hands seven times between 1642 and 1648. [34] [53] The castle was later used as a prison for those who were deemed to be enemies of the Commonwealth of England, the country's brief period of republicanism; the shell of the keep survives, minus the west wall, which was destroyed in the bombardment. The castle was returned to the Crown following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

From 1660

George Fox, who founded the Quakers, was imprisoned in Scarborough Castle in the 17th century. George Fox.jpg
George Fox, who founded the Quakers, was imprisoned in Scarborough Castle in the 17th century.

The castle was used as a prison from the 1650s, and the garrison increased in 1658, and in 1662 it returned to the Crown. [34] George Fox (1624–1691), founder of the Religious Society of Friends was imprisoned there from April 1665 to September 1666 for religious activities viewed as troublesome for Charles II (reigned 1660–1685). [7] The castle declined again: James II (reigned 1685–1688) did not garrison it, he gambled that its defences would be sufficient to resist any Dutch invasion, [34] but the town was seized for William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution that ousted James. [54]

The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, a series of uprising aimed at restoring the Catholic House of Stuart to the throne, saw the castle refortified with gun batteries and barracks for 120 officers and men by 1746. The keep was used as a powder magazine, storing gunpowder, and the South Steel Battery was rebuilt. A barracks, containing twelve apartments accommodated 120 soldiers. Three batteries were built to protect the town and harbour. Two faced south and the other was on the north side of the castle yard. In 1748, the Master Gunner's house was constructed and served as accommodation until the early 20th century and today hosts the exhibition on the castle. [55] The castle saw no action during this time. Later still, the threat of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars led to the permanent establishment of a garrison, which remained until the mid-19th century; French prisoners were held at the castle during 1796. [3] [56]

During the First World War, Scarborough was used for British propaganda purposes after the bombardment of the town by two warships of the German Empire, SMS Derfflinger and SMS Von der Tann, on 16 December 1914. The raid killed 19 people and damaged the castle's keep, barracks and curtain walls. The castle was severely damaged by the hail of 500 shells [11] directed at it and the town. The barracks were demolished due to the extensive damage wrought by the bombardment. [36] In the Second World War, the castle served as a secret listening post. [56]

Features

The 12th-century keep Scarborough Castle keep, 2007.jpg
The 12th-century keep

The castle's location takes advantage of a naturally defensive site on a headland with steep cliffs, 300 feet (91 m) high, on three seaward sides. The promontory is joined to the mainland by an isthmus, where a ditch or moat was cut, and a wall or palisade with a gatehouse built on the southwest landward side. The stone curtain wall dates from the late 12th and early 13th centuries when it was strengthened by the addition of twelve round towers at intervals on its 230 yards (210 m) length. [2] [57] [58] The wall does not surround the inner buildings of the castle. The entrance consists of a barbican, or fortifications to protect the gateway, completed in the 14th century and flanked by two half-circular towers on high ground. [36] Modifications to the barbican have removed evidence of a portcullis and its grooves. [34] The barbican stands in the place of a 12th-century fortification built close to the remains of an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon chapel.

Beyond the main gateway, a stone bridge, built between 1337 and 1338, to replace two drawbridges, leads to the baileys or courtyards. [34] It leads to the inner bailey, which was used for workshops, offices, a kitchen, and a storage area. Usually a castle's inner bailey is accessed through the outer bailey. However, the opposite is the case at Scarborough.

The 86-foot-tall (26 m) 12th-century keep and the castle's 150-foot-deep (46 m) well lie within the inner bailey. The keep, with its entrance on the first floor, survives as a shell, with the west wall, interior floors and roof missing, as a result of bombardment in the 17th century. With its sloping plinth to aid defence, flat roof and four turrets, [59] this square four-storey building was over 100-foot-tall (30 m). The walls range from 11 to 15 feet (3.4 to 4.6 m) in thickness, the west wall being strongest, and there are several windows, some blocked up along its length. The corners have decorative rounded mouldings. There are the remains of a hearth in the west wall on the first floor, which comprised a single Great Hall, where the occupants ate and often slept. The second and third floors were each divided into two rooms for important visitors or the governor, and the basement was a storage area. [34] [60] Late 20th-century resistivity surveys of the inner bailey have traced the outlines of more 12th-century buildings. [61]

The Master Gunner's House The Master Gunner's House.jpg
The Master Gunner’s House

The baileys are separated by a stone wall, ditch and bank, with two defended gateways. [60] The larger outer bailey would have seen entertaining events staged, vegetables grown, and animals kept; there was a graveyard and St. Mary's Chapel, which has completely disappeared, though the remains of the old Anglo-Saxon chapel on the site of an old Roman signal station can still be seen. A 12th-century medieval building, 100 feet (30 m) in length, stood in the outer bailey to accommodate royal visitors. It consisted of a long hall and private chamber with a fireplace used by the monarch, and rooms for preparing and storing food. The building was demolished sometime before a survey of 1538, which makes no mention of it: only the foundations, excavated in 1888, remain. [34] [62]

In the outer bailey, a building named the "King's Chambers" or Mosdale Hall, after a 14th-century governor responsible for upgrading it, is an example of how the castle has been altered over the years. Originally built in the 13th century and upgraded by Mosdale after 1397, the two-storey building adjoining the curtain wall was converted to red-brick barracks in the 18th century. After being badly damaged by German shelling in 1914, the building was demolished. The red brickwork is clearly visible next to the much earlier outer stone wall, as viewed from Scarborough's South Bay. The 13th-century Queen's Tower, in the wall nearby, also had different uses: initially luxurious accommodation with private latrines, a porch and large windows with bay views were added in 1320. [34] Two of these windows were later blocked up and one was changed to a cupboard with a rubbish chute. The Master Gunner's House, built in 1748, served as accommodation until the last on site caretaker, Hudson Rewcroft, retired in 1965. His nephew, Ted Temple shares his story of being the last resident of The Master Gunner's House in the Scarborough Review of June 2017, page 12. [63]

Development as a tourist attraction

During the second half of the 19th century the castle became a tourist attraction. The foundations of a medieval hall were excavated in 1888, [34] and an 1890 photograph shows visitors using the grounds to practice archery. [64] By 1920, the site was taken into public ownership by the Ministry of Works. [36] The demolition of the 18th-century barracks exposed the medieval foundations of Mosdale Hall, which can still be seen.

SouthBay Panorama.jpg
Scarborough Castle dominates the promontory overlooking the town; St Mary’s Church is at centre

The castle site, a scheduled ancient monument managed by English Heritage since 1984, [36] is host to various events, usually in summertime, such as pirate and Robin Hood-themed activities [65] and an annual Kite Festival. [66] The castle grounds are reputed to be haunted – by three ghosts, among them a Roman soldier. [67] The 18th-century Master Gunner's House, now a museum, has an exhibition whose centrepiece is a Bronze Age sword discovered in 1980. English Heritage invested £250,000 in making the site a tourist attraction. [5] A visitor centre provides admission to all extant remains, and has an exhibition of artefacts from the site and viewing platforms. [68]

Notable Governors

See also

Notes

  1. "Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire". The Heritage Trail. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Scarborough Castle (1011374)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  3. 1 2 Walmsley 1998 , p. 3
  4. Scarborough Archaeological Society 2003 , pp. 7, 13 The Society speculates that this structure, might have been the "hill-fort bay" mentioned by Ptolemy (c. 90–168 AD), the Greco-Roman geographer (p. 13).
  5. 1 2 "A gift to the gods... and a godsend for museum". Yorkshire Evening Post . 11 May 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  6. 1 2 Binns 2002 , p. 17
  7. 1 2 Walmsley 1998 , pp. 1, 3
  8. Monsen & Smith 1989. Translation of the work of the 13th-century Icelander Snorri Sturluson.
  9. Goodall 2000 , pp. 22–23
  10. Scarborough Archaeological Society 2003 , p. 8
  11. 1 2 "Scarborough Castle, Yorkshire". Castlexplorer. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  12. Binns 2002 , p. 15
  13. Binns 2002 , pp. 14, 18
  14. Scarborough Archaeological Society 2003 , pp. 12, 14
  15. Binns 2002 , pp. 18–19
  16. Binns 2003 , p. 14
  17. "GENUKI: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890".
  18. 1 2 Goodall 2000 , p. 23
  19. Sources disagree on exactly what year the stone castle was begun. Page 1923 suggests that it might have been in the reign of Stephen, but others, e.g. Walmsley 1998 , p. 1, cite the dates of the first entries on English Treasury documents, the Pipe Rolls, to put forward a date of 1158 for the first foundations being laid. Binns 2002 , p. 19, in a detailed account of Scarborough's history, accepts 1157.
  20. Walmsley 1998 , p. 1
  21. Binns 2002 , p. 19
  22. Muir 1997 , p. 173
  23. Brown 1976 , p. 109
  24. Goodall 2000 , p. 24
  25. Clark , p. 181
  26. Binns 2002 , p. 24
  27. Brown 1955 , p. 356
  28. Binns 2002 , p. 32
  29. Binns 2002 , p. 28
  30. 1 2 Walmsley 1998 , pp. 2–3
  31. Binns 2002 , p. 27
  32. Goodall 2000 , p. 25
  33. Binns 2002 , p. 33
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Page 1923
  35. 1 2 Goodall 2000 , p. 27
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 Walmsley 1998 , p. 2
  37. Rowntree 1931 , p. 142
  38. Binns 2003 , pp. 35–40
  39. Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). "Felton, Thomas (d.1381)"  . Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 18. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  40. Binns 2002 , p. 38
  41. Binns 2003 , p. 25
  42. 1 2 Beattie 1842 , p. 76
  43. Binns 2000 , p. 141
  44. Binns 2000 , p. 147
  45. Goodall 2000 , pp. 29–31
  46. Pope , p. 13
  47. Binns 1996 , pp. 165–166
  48. Scarborough Archaeological Society 2003 , p. 31
  49. Binns 1996 , pp. 153–156
  50. Binns 1996 , pp. 157–165
  51. Binns 1996 , p. 199
  52. Binns 1996 , pp. 207–212
  53. Binns 1996 , pp. 73–220
  54. Goodall 2000 , p. 33
  55. Walmsley 1998 , pp. 1–4
  56. 1 2 "Scarborough Castle – Background Information". English Heritage. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  57. Walmsley 1998 , p. 4
  58. Binns 1996 , p. 17
  59. Page 1923 reports that the roof must always have been flat, because there are no weather-mouldings.
  60. 1 2 Walmsley 1998 , pp. 4–5
  61. Goodall 2000 , pp. 12–13
  62. Walmsley 1998 , pp. 3–5
  63. "Scarborough Review June 2017". Issuu. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  64. Goodall 2000 , p. 34
  65. See the English Heritage website "Events at Scarborough Castle"; examples include a medieval joust in 2008, and a "Wartime Weekend" in 2009, featuring battle re-enactments and RAF fly-bys. See Scarborough Evening News: "It's joust good fun at Scarborough Castle event as hundreds turned out", 4 August 2008, and "Return to war years at castle", 21 May 2009.
  66. "First Ever Kite Festival At Scarborough Castle". Yorkshire Coast Radio. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  67. Marsden, Horlser & Kelleher 2006 , p. 135
  68. "Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire". English Heritage. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  69. Burke, Bernard. A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages. p. 392.
  70. 1 2 3 A Guide to Scarborough and its Environs ... Seventh edition. p. 12.
  71. The British Chronologist: Comprehending Every Material Occurrence ..., Volume 2. p. 149.
  72. A List of the Officers of the Army and Marines, with an Index. p. 206.

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Carlisle Castle is a medieval stone keep fortress located in the city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1092 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over 930 years old and has been the scene of many episodes in British history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirby Muxloe Castle</span> Fortified manor house in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, England

Kirby Muxloe Castle, also known historically as Kirby Castle, is a ruined, fortified manor house in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, England. William, Lord Hastings, began work on the castle in 1480, founding it on the site of a pre-existing manor house. William was a favourite of King Edward IV and had prospered considerably during the Wars of the Roses. Work continued quickly until 1483, when William was executed during Richard, Duke of Gloucester's, seizure of the throne. His widow briefly continued the project after his death but efforts then ceased, with the castle remaining largely incomplete. Parts of the castle were inhabited for a period, before falling into ruin during the course of the 17th century. In 1912, the Commissioners of Work took over management of the site, repairing the brickwork and carrying out an archaeological survey. In the 21st century, the castle is controlled by English Heritage and open to visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Acre Castle and town walls</span> Grade I listed castle in United Kingdom

Castle Acre Castle and town walls are a set of ruined medieval defences built in the village of Castle Acre, Norfolk. The castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, at the intersection of the River Nar and the Peddars Way. William constructed a motte-and-bailey castle during the 1070s, protected by large earthwork ramparts, with a large country house in the centre of the motte. Soon after, a small community of Cluniac monks were given the castle's chapel in the outer bailey; under William, the second earl, the order was given land and estates to establish Castle Acre Priory alongside the castle. A deer park was created nearby for hunting.

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

Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman fort of Verterae to protect a key route through the Pennine Mountains. The initial motte and bailey castle was attacked and destroyed by the Scots in 1174 during the Great Revolt against Henry II. Rebuilt after the war, a square keep was constructed and the rest of the castle converted to stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pevensey Castle</span> Castle in East Sussex, England

Pevensey Castle is a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shore fort at Pevensey in the English county of East Sussex. The site is a scheduled monument in the care of English Heritage and is open to visitors. Built around 290 AD and known to the Romans as Anderitum, the fort appears to have been the base for a fleet called the Classis Anderidaensis. The reasons for its construction are unclear; long thought to have been part of a Roman defensive system to guard the British and Gallic coasts against Saxon pirates, it has more recently been suggested that Anderitum and the other Saxon Shore forts were built by a usurper in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to prevent Rome from reimposing its control over Britain.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longtown Castle</span> Norman fortification in Longtown, England

Longtown Castle, also termed Ewias Lacey Castle in early accounts, is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey fortification in Longtown, Herefordshire. It was established in the 11th century by Walter de Lacy, reusing former Roman earthworks. The castle was then rebuilt in stone by Gilbert de Lacy after 1148, who also established the adjacent town to help pay for the work. By the 14th century, Longtown Castle had fallen into decline. Despite being pressed back into use during the Owain Glyndŵr rising in 1403, it fell into ruin. In the 21st century the castle is maintained by English Heritage and operated as a tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deddington Castle</span> Motte-and-bailey castle in Oxfordshire

Deddington Castle is an extensive earthwork in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire, all that remains of an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle, with only the earth ramparts and mound now visible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corfe Castle</span> 11th-century castle in Dorset, England

Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built at least partly using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Siege of Scarborough Castle</span>

The Great Siege of Scarborough Castle was a major conflict for control of one of England's most important stone fortresses during the First English Civil War fought between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists loyal to King Charles I. In February 1645, Parliamentarians laid siege to Scarborough Castle. For five months, they bombarded it, destroying most of the keep, and engaged in bloody fighting before the defenders finally surrendered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkhamsted Castle</span> Norman castle in Hertfordshire, UK

Berkhamsted Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The castle was built to obtain control of a key route between London and the Midlands during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century. Robert of Mortain, William the Conqueror's half brother, was probably responsible for managing its construction, after which he became the castle's owner. The castle was surrounded by protective earthworks and a deer park for hunting. The castle became a new administrative centre of the former Anglo-Saxon settlement of Berkhamsted. Subsequent kings granted the castle to their chancellors. The castle was substantially expanded in the mid-12th century, probably by Thomas Becket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peveril Castle</span> Ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton in Derbyshire

Peveril Castle is a ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. It was the main settlement of the feudal barony of William Peverel, known as the Honour of Peverel, and was founded some time between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and its first recorded mention in the Domesday Survey of 1086, by Peverel, who held lands in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as a tenant-in-chief of the king. The town became the economic centre of the barony. The castle has views across the Hope Valley and Cave Dale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warkworth Castle</span> Ruined medieval castle in Northumberland, England

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.

Helmsley Castle was a Royalist stronghold in North Yorkshire during the First English Civil War. It was besieged by Parliamentarian forces in September 1644 and surrendered on 22 November after a siege of two to three months.

References

This article incorporates material from the Citizendium article "Scarborough Castle", which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License but not under the GFDL.