| Helmsley Castle | |
|---|---|
| Helmsley, North Yorkshire | |
 Helmsley Castle | |
  Helmsley Castle | |
| Coordinates | 54°14′21″N1°03′56″W / 54.2391°N 1.0655°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference SE6183 |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | English Heritage |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Site history | |
| Demolished | English Civil War |
Helmsley Castle (also known anciently as Hamlake) is a medieval castle situated in the market town of Helmsley, within the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England.
Although the estate of Helmsley was granted to Robert, Count of Mortain following the Norman conquest; there is no evidence that he built a castle in the area. The castle, constructed in wood around 1120, was built by Walter l'Espec. [1] It is positioned on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Rye. Featuring double ditches surrounding a rectangular inner bailey, the castle bears little resemblance to the motte and bailey castles built at the time (such as the nearby Pickering Castle). [2] The castle at Helmsley was only 1.9 miles (3 km) from Rievaulx Abbey and Walter l'Espec granted the land for the abbey. Aelred, who was the abbey's first novice master, was known to be involved in l'Espec's affairs (military and personally) and Helmsley was often used as a place of safety during periods of instability. [3]
Walter was childless, and on his death in 1154 the castle passed to his sister Adelina who had married Peter de Roos. [4] In 1186 Robert de Ros, son of Everard de Ros, [5] began work on converting the castle to stone. [6] He built two main towers, the round corner towers and the main gateway on the south side of the castle. [7] He died in 1227, granting the castle to his older son William who lived there from 1227 to 1258. [8] The only change made to the castle during this time was the construction of the chapel in the courtyard. [9]
William's son, Robert, inherited the castle and was Lord of Helmsley from 1258 to 1285. His marriage to Isabel d'Aubigny (heiress to Belvoir Castle) funded the building of the new hall and kitchen, as well as strengthening the castle. [10] This may include the building of the impressive south barbican which was constructed between 1227 and 1285. He built a wall dividing the castle into north and south sides, with the southern half for the private use of the lord's family in the new hall and east tower, and the northern half containing the old hall to be used by the steward and other castle officials. The strengthening of the castle continued into Robert's son William's life. [11] William de Ros II died in 1316. [10] The East Tower may have been heightened specifically for the visit of King Edward III, who stayed at the castle for around five days in 1334. [12]
Helmsley Castle remained in the possession of the de Roos family until 1478 when Edmund de Roos sold it to Richard, Duke of Gloucester who later became Richard III. [13] Richard did nothing to the castle, staying instead at Middleham Castle. [14] After Richard III's death at the Battle of Bosworth, Helmsley Castle was restored to Edmund de Roos by Henry VII. [15]
Edmund died childless in 1508 and the castle passed to his cousin Sir George Manners of Etal on whose death in 1513 his son Thomas inherited it. [13] He was created Earl of Rutland in 1525. [15] On his death in 1543, Thomas was succeeded by his son, Henry, but it was under the rule of his grandson Edward, that the castle was altered next. He had the old hall converted into a Tudor mansion, converted the 13th-century chapel into a kitchen linked to the old hall by a covered gallery, and knocked the new hall down. The south barbican was converted into a more comfortable residence at this time. [16] A letter of April 1578 describes the slow progress of the mason's work (and the payment of a £10 sum to the mason), and that timber was available for a gallery in the attic of the mansion. [17] On Edward's death in 1587 his brother John Manners inherited the castle, followed by John's son Roger, and then Roger's younger brother Francis. On the death of Francis in 1632 the castle passed to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham through his marriage to Katherine, Francis's daughter. [18]
During the English Civil War, the castle was besieged by Sir Thomas Fairfax in 1644. [19] Sir Jordan Crosland held it for the king for three months before surrendering. Parliament ordered the castle to be slighted and much of the walls, gates and part of the east tower were destroyed. [20] However the mansion was spared. [21] The castle had by this time been inherited by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham who married Mary, daughter of Thomas Fairfax in 1657. [22]
After his death in 1687 the castle was sold to Charles Duncombe in 1695. [23] He was a banker and politician who was knighted in 1699 and became Lord Mayor of London in 1708. The 40,000 acre estate was purchased for the sum of £90,000 (roughly £11,000,000 in 2018). [24] His sister Mary's husband, Thomas Brown, inherited the castle on Charles's death in 1711. Thomas changed his name to Duncombe. [24] He hired William Wakefield, a protégé of Sir John Vanbrugh, to build a country house at Duncombe Park overlooking the castle, and left the castle to decay. [25] The castle was designed as a picturesque backdrop for the Duncombe Park estate, and was even sketched by the great J. M. W. Turner. [26] As the castle fell into disrepair the local community took advantage of the site to hold fêtes, pageants and even agricultural shows. The vicar of All Saints' Church, Charles Norris Gray, often held events in the castle throughout the latter part of the 19th century. [27] The castle passed into the hands of the Office of Works in 1923 (under the guardianship of Sir Charles Peers), who began the clearing of debris and trees from the site. The castle's remarkable earthworks were planned to be part of an anti-tank defence during the Second World War. Although it is still owned by Lord Feversham's family, of Duncombe Park, the castle is now in the care of English Heritage. [28]
Middleham Castle is a ruined castle in Middleham in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. The castle was the childhood home of King Richard III, although he spent very little of his reign there. The castle was built to defend the road from Richmond to Skipton, though some have suggested the original site of the castle was far better to achieve this than the later location. After the death of King Richard III the castle remained in royal hands until it was allowed to go to ruin in the 17th century. Many of the stones from the castle were used in other buildings in the village of Middleham.
Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. It was one of the great abbeys in England until it was seized in 1538 under Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The wider site was awarded Scheduled Ancient Monument status in 1915 and the abbey was brought into the care of the then Ministry of Works in 1917. The ruins of its main buildings are today a tourist attraction, owned and maintained by English Heritage.
Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whose family's line the title continues. The heir apparent to the dukedom has the privilege of using the courtesy title of Marquess of Granby.
Baron de Ros of Helmsley is the premier baron in the Peerage of England, created in 1288/89 for William de Ros, with precedence to 24 December 1264. Premier baron is a designation and status awarded to the holder of the most ancient extant barony of the Peerage of England. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Prior of the Order of St John in England was deemed the premier baron.
Baron Feversham is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation, in the Peerage of Great Britain, came in 1747 when Anthony Duncombe, who had earlier represented Salisbury and Downton in the House of Commons, was made Lord Feversham, Baron of Downton, in the County of Wilts. He had previously inherited half of the enormous fortune of his uncle Sir Charles Duncombe. However, Lord Feversham had no sons and the barony became extinct on his death in 1763. The peerage was revived in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1826 in favour of his kinsman Charles Duncombe, who was created Baron Feversham, of Duncombe Park in the County of York. He was a former Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury, Aldborough, Heytesbury and Newport. Duncombe was the grandson of Thomas Duncombe, son of John Brown by his wife Ursula Duncombe, aunt of the first Baron of the 1747 creation. Ursula had inherited the other half of her brother Sir Charles Duncombe's fortune. Lord Feversham son, the second Baron, sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Yorkshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Edmund Ros or Roos, 10th Baron Ros of Helmsley was a follower of the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses. He regained his family title after the accession of King Henry VII of England.
George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros of Helmsley was an English peer.
Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, 12th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, was created Earl of Rutland by King Henry VIII in 1525.
Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, whose titles he inherited in 1563.
William Cecil, 16th Baron Ros of Helmsley was an English peer, whose ill-advised marriage to Anne Lake resulted in a major scandal, which dragged on for years after his early death.
Sir Robert de Ros was an Anglo-Norman feudal baron, soldier and administrator who was one of the twenty-five barons appointed under clause 61 of Magna Carta to monitor its observance by King John of England.
Rievaulx Terrace is a site located in the North York Moors National Park, in North Yorkshire, England, overlooking Rievaulx Abbey and owned by the National Trust. The site is a grass-covered terrace following a serpentine course across the side of a wooded escarpment overlooking the ruins of the abbey. At either end of the terrace stand two mid-18th century follies: small Palladian temples.
Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pickering.
Duncombe Park is the seat of the Duncombe family who previously held the title Earls of Feversham. The title became extinct on the death of the 3rd Earl in 1963, since when the family have continued to hold the title Baron Feversham. The park is situated one mile south-west of Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England and stands in 300 acres (120 ha) of parkland. The estate has a commanding location above deeply incised meanders of the River Rye within the North York Moors National Park.
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles William Reginald Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham, known as Viscount Helmsley from 1881 to 1915, was a British Conservative Party politician and soldier.
William Reginald Duncombe, Viscount Helmsley, was a British Conservative Party politician.
Ribston Hall is a privately owned 17th-century country mansion situated on the banks of the River Nidd, at Great Ribston, near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.
(Charles Anthony) Peter Duncombe, 6th Baron Feversham, was a British nobleman and writer.
Kilton Castle is a ruined castle overlooking the valley of Kilton Beck, near to the village of Kilton in the historic county of the North Riding of Yorkshire in England. The castle was built in the 12th century and was described as being in a ruinous state by the 14th century, with it being totally abandoned by the 16th century. Kilton Castle was owned by several noble families who hailed from the area; de Brus, de Kilton, Autrey, de Thweng, de Lumley.
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.
