Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle | |
---|---|
William I of England | |
Demolished | Bailey wall and keep battlements, 17th century |
Events | 1216 siege in the First Barons' War 1648 capture in the Siege of Colchester |
Colchester Castle is a
Construction
The attribution of the castle as a royal foundation is based on a charter of
Construction of the keep
At one and a half times the size of the ground plan of the White Tower,
The initial preparation of the site involved the demolition of surviving superstructure of the Roman temple, resulting in a layer of mortar rubble at the Norman ground level. The walls of the keep sit on narrow foundation trenches filled with rubble and mortar, and directly abut the edge of the Roman podium, except in the south where they are set back to avoid the original temple steps and to facilitate the digging of a well. The walls are made of coursed rubble, including
Initially, the keep was only built to the height of the first floor; remnants of the
This is based on pre-demolition depictions of the castle, which despite errors and inconsistencies, all show the squat profile evident today rather than an immensely tall three- or four-storey tower, also the short time frame in which demolition can have occurred, and finally analysis of various surviving internal details which suggest that, unlike the White Tower, the great hall was on the first floor.[16] Further uncertainty surrounds the position of the original entrance; the current main doorway in the southwestern tower dates from the second phase of construction which saw the addition of the first floor and staircases. Architectural features suggest that this second phase was undertaken after about 1100, probably by Eudo following the charter of 1101.[17] In the mid-13th century, a masonry barbican was built adjacent to the south-west tower to protect the main doorway,[18] replacing an earlier forebuilding.[14]
Construction of the bailey
The defences of the bailey consisted principally of a large earthen rampart and ditch surrounding the keep, the northern section of which survives but was heavily landscaped in the 19th century. Archaeological evidence has found that these embankments were thrown up over the remains of the Roman wall of the temple precinct and on the northern side were probably constructed at the same time as the first phase of the keep. The rampart to the north-east was 28.5 metres (94 ft) wide by 4 metres (13 ft) high.[19] The southern embankment seems to have been completed during the second phase of keep construction around 1100.[20] Inside the bailey, a late Anglo-Saxon chapel stood close to the southern edge of the keep and a domestic hall to the southeast of, and aligned with the chapel, were both retained during the first phase of keep construction.[19]
The chapel was rebuilt during the second phase and the hall had a large fireplace added at around the same time.
Later history
Medieval
Control of Colchester Castle reverted to the crown following the death of Eudo in 1120 and thereafter, the castle was governed by crown-appointed constables, or was in the care of the High Sheriff of Essex when no-one had that role. In 1190, the acquisition of 26 military tunics for the castle are evidence of a permanent garrison.[14] Kings Henry I, Henry II and Henry III are all known to have visited the castle.
In 1214, the hereditary constable was William de Lanvalai, who was one of the barons opposed to King John. In November of that year, John arrived at Colchester, probably in an unsuccessful attempt to win over Lanvalai, who shortly afterwards left the castle in the care of the sheriff and joined the other rebel barons at Bury St Edmunds. Meanwhile, John sent a replacement constable to Colchester, Stephen Harengood, who was probably a Flemish mercenary, with orders to improve the castle's defences. The barons later marched on London, forcing John to accept the Magna Carta at Runnymede in June 1215, which included a provision that Colchester be returned to Lanvalai. Within months, John had refused to be bound by the terms of the charter and the First Barons' War broke out.[23][page needed]
John besieged Rochester Castle before sending an army towards Colchester, under the command of a French mercenary called Savary de Meuleon. In the meantime, the barons had appealed for help to King Louis VIII of France and accordingly, a French contingent had arrived to garrison Colchester Castle for the barons. The siege began in January 1216 and ended in March when King John himself arrived; the French garrison of 116 men were able to negotiate a safe passage to London. although that didn't prevent them from being arrested there.[23][page needed] Following the capture of Colchester, Harengood was reinstated as constable and made sheriff, but in 1217, the castle was handed-over to the French and the barons as part of a truce agreement. However, it was recovered by the boy king Henry III in the Treaty of Lambeth in September 1217 which finally ended the war, and William of Sainte-Mère-Église, the Bishop of London, was made constable.[14]
17th and 18th centuries
In 1607 custody of the castle was granted for life to Charles, Baron Stanhope of Harrington (1593–1675). In 1624 Stanhope granted the lease to Thomas Holmes, gentleman and maltster, the father of John Holmes, who emigrated to Plymouth Colony and became Messenger of the Court there.[24] Custody of the castle, the bailey, and King's Meadow north of the river Colne remained in the Holmes family until after 1659.[25] In 1629 Charles I alienated the reversion of the castle to James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, which passed in 1636 to Archibald Hay. In 1649 Hay sold his interest to Sir John Lenthall, while in 1650 a Parliament Survey condemned the building and valued the stone at five pounds.[26] In 1656 Lenthall sold his interest to Sir James Norfolk or Northfolk, who finally bought out Stanhope's interest in 1662.[14] In 1683 an ironmonger, John Wheely, was licensed to pull it all down - presumably to use as building material in the town. After "great devastations" in which much of the upper structure was demolished using screws and gunpowder, he gave up when the operation became unprofitable.[27]
The castle has had various uses since it ceased to be a royal castle. It has been a county prison, where in 1645 the self-styled Witchfinder General,
In 1705 Wheely sold the castle to
19th and 20th centuries
The part of the castle under the chapel remained in use as a gaol, which was enlarged in 1801. A long-serving gaoler called John Smith lived on site with his family. His daughter Mary Ann Smith was born there in 1777 and lived her whole life in the castle, becoming the librarian until her death in 1852. She is believed to have planted the sycamore tree which is still growing on top of the southwest tower, either to celebrate the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 or to mark her father's death in the same year.
Between 1920 and 1922, the Castle and the associated parkland were bought by the
Ownership
The later inheritance of the castle and its grounds is illustrated below. Only those greyed out did not at some time own the building. Though Charles Gray Round died before the area was sold to the corporation of Colchester, his will ensured that it was held in trust with that eventual purpose.
Mary Webster | John Webster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ralph Creffeild (1) | Sarah Webster | Charles Gray (2) | Mary Wilbraham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter Creffeild | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thamer Creffeild | James Round | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
James Round | Charles Round | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charles Gray Round | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes
- ^ "Colchester Castle and the Temple of Claudius, Non Civil Parish - 1002217 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "THE CASTLE KEEP (INCLUDING EXCAVATED REMAINS OF FOREBUILDING IN MOAT), Non Civil Parish - 1123674 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ Goodall 2011, p. 79.
- ^ a b Radford 2013, p. 371.
- ^ Creighton 2002, p. 150.
- ^ Hull 2006, p. 101.
- ^ Friar 2003, p. 16.
- ^ MS 2011, History.
- ^ a b Radford 2013, p. 369.
- ^ Morris 2012, p. 54.
- ^ Radford 2013, p. 380.
- ^ Crummy 1994, p. 6.
- ^ Crummy 1994, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f Cooper 1994, pp. 241–248.
- ^ Radford 2013, p. 370.
- ^ a b Davies 2016, pp. 3–20.
- ^ Radford 2013, pp. 371, 374.
- ^ Radford 2013, pp. 378–379.
- ^ a b Radford 2013, p. 373.
- ^ Radford 2013, pp. 377–378.
- ^ Radford 2013, p. 375.
- ^ Radford 2013, p. 379.
- ^ a b Phillips 2017.
- ^ J. Horace, Round (1889). "Some Documents Relating to Colchester Castle". Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society. Series 2. III: 143–154.
- ^ "Assignment of rest of 21 yr. lease by Tobias Weaton, turner, of Colchester, Amos Woodward, carpenter, of Colchester, and Thos. Holmes, maltster, of Colchester (Executors of Susan Morton, widow, of Colchester) to Jn. Rayner, senr., merchant, of Colchester". The National Archives.
- ^ "Extract from Parliamentary Surveys, 1650 (ERO T/P 64/24)". Essex Records Office.
- ^ Wheeler 1920, p. 87.
- ^ Baggs et al. 1994.
- ^ The Best,HH Martyn and Co, John Whitaker, p. 146
- ^ "Colchester Castle Redevelopment - History". www.cimuseums.org.uk. Colchester & Ipswich Museums. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ Burton 2012, p. 17.
References
- Baggs, A P; Board, Beryl; Crummy, Philip; Dove, Claude; Durgan, Shirley; Goose, N R; Pugh, R B; Studd, Pamela; Thornton, CC (1994). "Castle". In Cooper, Janet; Elrington, C R (eds.). A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9, the Borough of Colchester. London: Victoria County History. pp. 241–248.
- Burton, Peter A., ed. (2012). "Colchester Castle" (PDF). The Castle Studies Group Bulletin. 14. ISSN 1741-8828. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Cooper, Janet; Elrington, C. R., eds. (1994). A History of the County of Essex: The Borough of Colchester. Vol. IX. London: Victoria County History. pp. 241–248. ISBN 978-0-19-722784-8. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Creighton, Oliver (2002). Castles and Landscapes. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-5896-3.
- Crummy, Philip (1994). A Survey of Colchester Castle (PDF) (Report). The Colchester Archaeological Trust. ISSN 0952-0988. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- Davies, John A; Riley, Angela; Levesque, Jean-Marie, eds. (2016). "IV". Castles and the Anglo-Norman World. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78570-022-4. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Friar, Stephen (2003). The Sutton Companion to Castles. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-3994-2.
- Goodall, John (2011). The English Castle: 1066–1650. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11058-6. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Hull, Lise (2006). Britain's Medieval Castles (illus. ed.). Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-275-98414-4. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Morris, Marc (2012). Castle: A History of the Buildings that Shaped Medieval Britain. Windmill Books. ISBN 978-0-09-955849-1.
- "Colchester Castle Museum: History". Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service and Colchester Borough Council. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Phillips, Andrew (2017) [2004]. "IV". Colchester: A History. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0750987509. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Radford, David; Gascoyne, Adrian; Wise, Philip, eds. (2013). Colchester, Fortress of the War God: An Archaeological Assessment. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-84217-508-8. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- Wheeler, R. E. M. (1920). "The Vaults under Colchester Castle: A Further Note". The Journal of Roman Studies. X: 87–89. JSTOR 295791. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
Further reading
- Crummy, Philip (1981). Aspects of Anglo-Saxon and Norman Colchester (PDF). Published by the Colchester Archaeological Trust and the Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 0-906780-06-3. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- Appendix 4 Notes on Colchester Keep (PDF) This section includes a plan of the keep.
- Appendix 5 Notes on the borough seals (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2010, retrieved 13 September 2011 Borough seals include mediaeval representations of the castle.
- Wheeler, R. E. Mortimer; Laver, Philip G. (1919), "Roman Colchester", Journal of Roman Studies, IX: 139–169, JSTOR 296003