Bristol Castle
Bristol Castle | |
---|---|
General information | |
Town or city | Bristol |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°27′21.4″N 2°35′17.51″W / 51.455944°N 2.5881972°W |
Client | William the Conqueror |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester |
Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the reign of William the Conqueror, and later owned by Robert FitzHamon, it became an important royal castle and was the scene of several imprisonments and executions. The castle was modified and further fortified between the 12th and 13th centuries under Robert of Gloucester and King Henry III. By the 16th century it was mostly neglected; it was torn down in 1656 under orders from Oliver Cromwell.
Site
The castle was built on a strategic site on the eastern side of the walled town, between the River Avon on the south and the River Frome on the north, joined by a canal to form the castle moat on the east side, with a weir on the north to compensate for differing water levels in the two rivers. As the town of Bristol was itself built in the angle of the junction of those two rivers, the construction of the castle moat meant that the town and castle became completely surrounded by water and thus highly defensible.[1]
History
The first castle built at Bristol was a timber
After William II triumphed, the English lands of the rebels were redistributed to his loyal followers. Among the recipients was
This great fortress was to play a key role in the civil wars that followed the death of Henry I of England. Henry's only legitimate son
Stephen reconnoitred Bristol in 1138 but decided that the town was impregnable. As his chronicler reported: "On one side of it, where it is considered more exposed to siege and more accessible, a castle rising on a vast mound, strengthened by wall and battlements, towers and divers engines, prevents an enemy's approach."[6] After Stephen was captured in 1141, he was imprisoned in Bristol Castle until Robert of Gloucester was also captured and an exchange of prisoners was made.[7]
Bristol Castle was Robert of Gloucester's principal seat in England. He added greatly to its exterior fortifications and rebuilt the interior.[8]
The castle and title of Earl of Gloucester passed to Robert's son,
The two young sons of
The first detailed description of the castle was written in 1480.
The castle was demolished in 1656, according to Millerd's map of Bristol. However one octagonal tower survived until it was torn down in 1927. It was sketched by Samuel Loxton in 1907.[14] There are some remains of the banqueting hall incorporated in a building which still exists above ground today, known as the Castle Vaults. In 1938 the Castle Vaults was used as a tobacconist's shop.[15]
The castle moat was covered over in 1847 but still exists and is mainly navigable by boat, flowing under Castle Park and into the Floating Harbour. The western section is a dry ditch and a sally port into the moat survives near St Peter's Church.[16]
A 16-metre (52 ft) long postern tunnel runs underneath the south west part of the castle.[17]
Today
The area was redeveloped for commerce, and later largely destroyed in the Bristol Blitz. It was subsequently redeveloped as a public open space, Castle Park.[18]
The vaulted chambers of the Castle are a
See also
Notes
- ISBN 0-907145-01-9
- ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
- ^ G.E.C[okayne], The Complete Peerage, 2nd edn. ed. V. Gibbs (London 1910–59).
- ^ "Bristol Past and Present" (Arrowsmith, 1881, pages 74-79), J. F. Nicholls and John Taylor
- Chibnall, Marjorie, The Empress Matilda (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991), p.83
- ^ Gesta Stephani ed. and trans. K.R. Potter (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1976), pp. 37–8, 43–4.
- ^ William of Malmesbury, The Historia Novella, trans. K. R. Potter (London : T. Nelson, 1955), p.50.
- ^ Orderic Vitalis (1856). Forester, Thomas (ed.). The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy. IV. Translated by Forester, Thomas. London: Henry G. Bohn. Page 200.
- ^ Colvin, H. M.; Brown, R. A. (1963), "The Royal Castles 1066–1485", The History of the King's Works. Volume II: The Middle Ages, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, pp. 578–579
- ^ "GREEN, Sir Henry (c.1347-1399), of Drayton, Northants". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ William Worcestre, The Topography of Medieval Bristol, Bristol Record Society vol. 51 (2000), nos. 396, 422.
- ^ John Leland's Itinerary: Travels in Tudor England, ed. John Chandler (Sutton Publishing: Stroud, 1993), pp. 178–9.
- ^ "History and Archaeology of Castle Park" (PDF). Bristol City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ George Frederick Stone, Bristol As It Was And As It Is (Bristol 1909), p. 99.
- ^ Andrew Foyle & David Martyn, Bristol: City on Show, The History Press, 2012
- ^ "Bristol Castle". Fortified England. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- doi:10.5284/1000320.
- ISBN 0-335-15633-9.
- ^ "Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Bristol". Bristol City Council. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
External links
- Bristol Castle : a history by Jean Manco from Bristol Past.
- English Heritage Monument No. 1009209
- Investigation History