Sleaford Castle | |
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Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England | |
Coordinates | 52°59′48″N0°24′55″W / 52.99667°N 0.41528°W |
Grid reference | grid reference TF064455 |
Site history | |
Materials | Stone |
Sleaford Castle is a medieval castle in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. Built by the Bishop of Lincoln in the early 1120s, it was habitable as late as 1555 but fell into disrepair during the latter half of the 16th century. Two English monarchs are known to have stayed at the castle, King John and Henry VIII.
The castle was built between 1123 and 1139 by Alexander de Blois, Bishop of Lincoln from 1123 to 1147. Alexander built a quadrilateral castle, akin to his construction at Newark Castle, with square towers and massive keep. He sited it on flat fen rather than on high ground, perhaps even replacing an earlier moated manor house on the site. [1]
The building fulfilled its manor house function for most of its life, never withstanding an armed attack or siege but becoming one of the chief episcopal strongholds and an agricultural focus for the Bishop’s estates in Sleaford and elsewhere. An outline of a 40 by 15 metre tithe barn (said to be the largest in England, and with a cattle shed and hay loft attached) can still be seen in the southern half of the castle. [2]
A dam was placed across the river Slea at the end of Westgate, with a two-wheeled watermill behind it, producing large quantities of agricultural products for the local people. [3]
The nearest the castle came to a siege were on two occasions when the bishop was forced to hand over his keys to King Stephen during the Anarchy (by Alexander himself, to buy his release after Stephen's successful siege of Newark Castle) and to Edward II in the 1320s when his loyalties were doubted. [4]
King John spent a night in the castle in October 1216 just after his disastrous crossing of the Wash and just before his death, and in 1430 Bishop Richard Fleming died in the castle. [5]
Henry VIII stayed at Sleaford twice (once in 1541 with his queen Catherine Howard) and held a State Council at the Castle. The castle passed into the hands of the Duke of Somerset in 1544, from whom it was confiscated by the crown in 1546. On both occasions, and in 1555, it was still said to be defensible and habitable. John Leland described it at this time as well maintained with a gatehouse, which housed two portcullises, and a high central tower, "but not sette upon a hille of raised yerth". [6]
The castle began to fall into disrepair during the second half of the 16th century with the timber and lead roof being removed to be reused in buildings in the town, some of which survives to the present day. The process of decline continued under the ownership of the Carre family. In 1604 it was described as ‘the late fair castle’, suggesting it had been largely or even fully dismantled before 1600. An early 18th-century engraving of the castle shows a ruin with a considerable amount of stonework still visible. [7]
The visible remains are now only a moat, a scrap of masonry (one small, toppled portion of a wall in the north-east corner of the inner bailey) and associated earthworks. It is now a scheduled monument and a Grade II listed building protected by law. It is also cultivated for wildlife.
Sleaford Castle was excavated during the 1860s, [8] and was not excavated again until the Sleaford Castle Heritage Group excavated the castle grounds between 19-21 July 2023. [8] The castle was excavated to determine its layout, and the finds included a floor tile fragment which featured a cat paw print on it, and also a Jetton of Hans Krauwinkel II from Nuremberg, dated to 1586-1635. [9]
Bolingbroke Castle is a ruined castle in Bolingbroke in Lincolnshire, England.
Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the north and Old Sleaford to the east. The town is on the edge of the fertile Fenlands, 11 miles north-east of Grantham, 16 mi (26 km) west of Boston, and 17 mi (27 km) south of Lincoln. Its population of 17,671 at the 2011 Census made it the largest settlement in the North Kesteven district; it is the district's administrative centre. Bypassed by the A17 and the A15, it is linked to Lincoln, Newark, Peterborough, Grantham and King's Lynn.
William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, primarily remembered for his command of the English forces at the Battle of Damme and for remaining loyal to his half-brother, King John. His nickname "Longespée" is generally taken as a reference to his great physical height and the oversize weapons that he used.
The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulted from King John's disastrous wars against King Philip II of France, which led to the collapse of the Angevin Empire, and John's subsequent refusal to accept and abide by the Magna Carta, which John had sealed on 15 June 1215.
Lincolnshire, England derived from the merging of the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough Stamford. For some time the entire county was called 'Lindsey', and it is recorded as such in the Domesday Book. Later, Lindsey was applied to only the northern core, around Lincoln; it was defined as one of the three 'Parts of Lincolnshire', along with Holland in the south-east and Kesteven in the south west.
Lincoln Castle is a major medieval castle constructed in Lincoln, England, during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is one of only two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in East Sussex. Lincoln Castle remained in use as a prison and court into modern times and is one of the better preserved castles in England; the Crown Courts continue to this day. It is open to the public most days of the week and possible to walk around the walls from which there are views of the castle complex, cathedral, the city, and surrounding countryside. Displayed within the castle is one of only four surviving exemplars of the Magna Carta of 1215. The castle is now owned by Lincolnshire County Council and is a scheduled monument.
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln, known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester, was one of the "old school" of Anglo-Norman barons whose loyalty to the Angevin dynasty was consistent but contingent on the receipt of lucrative favours. He has been described as "almost the last relic of the great feudal aristocracy of the Conquest".
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Alexander of Lincoln was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England under King Henry I, and he was also related to Nigel, Bishop of Ely. Educated at Laon, Alexander served in his uncle's diocese as an archdeacon in the early 1120s. Unlike his relatives, he held no office in the government before his appointment as Bishop of Lincoln in 1123. Alexander became a frequent visitor to King Henry's court after his appointment to the episcopate, often witnessing royal documents, and he served as a royal justice in Lincolnshire.
Brothertoft is a village in the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft, in the Boston district, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest from the market town of Boston.
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Burton Pedwardine is a hamlet and civil parish in the district of North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 187. The hamlet is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) south-east from the market town of Sleaford and south-west of the village of Heckington.
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