Guildford Castle
Guildford Castle | |
---|---|
Guildford Borough Council | |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Ruined |
Site history | |
Materials | Bargate stone |
Events | |
Official name | Guildford Castle |
Designated | 1 January 1920 |
Reference no. | 1012340 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Castle Keep, Guildford |
Designated | 1 May 1953 |
Reference no. | 1377881 |
Guildford Castle is in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is thought to have been built by William the Conqueror, or one of his barons, shortly after the 1066 invasion of England.
History
From the eleventh to the thirteenth century
Construction and development
After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 William led his army to Canterbury and then sacked towns along the Pilgrims' Way, including Guildford. Later William, or one of his barons, built Guildford Castle.[1] There is no record of it in the Domesday Book so construction probably started after 1086.[2]
First to be built at the Castle would have been the
Late 11th or early 12th century, a wall made of Bargate stone was built around the top of the motte creating what is known as a shell keep, and then around the 1130s a keep (tower) was added, again made of Bargate stone from nearby Godalming bonded with hard and durable mortar.[3][5] The keep may have been built over part of the shell keep and its foundations went down to the chalk bedrock.[3] The general form was quadrangular, its exterior dimensions being 47 feet (14 m) by 45.5 feet (13.9 m). The walls are about 10 feet (3.0 m) thick at the base [2] and taper towards the top.
The
In the 12th century the King moved to better apartments located in the bailey. The main bailey buildings would have included a great hall, apartments for the King and Queen and their chapels. The great hall is thought to have been located at the site of the two houses at the bottom of Castle Hill and was made of stone. Henry III made a number of improvements in the 13th century which resulted in the castle being known as a palace. The Queen's apartment was improved with large new windows and two marble columns were added. The great hall was decorated with coloured glass windows and paintings. King Henry had his room painted green with gold and silver stars and he also built a garden surrounded by marble columns. A fire damaged the hall in 1254 but the changes to the buildings continued.[3]
Henry purchased some extra land in 1245 to extend the bailey so allow him to build a set of room for Edward, his son and heir to the throne, which were completed in 1246. The gate at Quarry Street was completed in 1256 which suggests that Henry made changes to the castle but no evidence of the previous gate (thought to have been opposite Tunsgate) remains.[3]
Military use
The castle was mainly used as a royal residence but it was also a fortress and did play a part in warfare and although the Castle was never attacked it was strengthened at various points in its history.[3]
The keep is thought to have been heightened during the
On 9 July 1216
During the rebellion of
Constables and sheriffs
In 1218 (the 10th year of the reign of Henry III), William de Coniers was constable of the castle;
From the fourteenth to the twentieth century
Guildford, along with some other royal inland castles, was no longer needed for defence and were neglected. From the 1360s a royal moated hunting lodge (situated on the other side the river from the castle) was improved and enlarged, so royalty chose to stay there when visiting the area rather than the castle. The royal apartments at the castle were neglected and by 1379 only the King's great chamber remained, the rest of the royal apartments having decayed beyond repair.[3]
This castle keep continued to be used as the common gaol for both Surrey and Sussex until 1487 (in the third year of the reign of
Twenty-first century
The gardens are "extremely popular, displaying an amazing array of colourful bedding, centred on the 12th Century Castle Keep",[1] and include a life-size statue of Alice Through the Looking Glass, which is a memorial to Lewis Carroll who stayed nearby in The Chestnuts, his sisters' house, from 1868 until he died in 1898.[20]
Starting in 2003 there was a year-long conservation project. The keep was partially renovated, and the first floor was floored and roofed. During this project which ended in 2004 original features such as
The castle's old gatehouse now houses part of Guildford Museum, a local history and archaeology museum with a specialist needlework collection.
Notes
- ^ a b c d Guildford Borough Council 2010b.
- ^ a b c d e Cromwell 1821, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Guildford Borough Council 2010h.
- ^ "The bailey was probably divided into an inner and outer bailey, partly along the line of the path between the Bowling Green and the castle grounds" (Guildford Borough Council 2010h)
- ^ Bargate stone from the Godalming area, as it is stronger than the local chalk"(Guildford Borough Council 2010h).
- ^ Brayley 1850, p. 320 Cites: M Rot. Pat. 10 Hen. III. m. 1. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. ii. p. 291.
- ^ The years are given as an approximation of the year of the reign which is used in the sources. For example King Edward II's reign started on 7 July 1307, so the first year of his reign was from 7 July 1307 to 6 July 1308.
- ^ Brayley 1850, p. 320 Cites: Placit. Coron. ap. Bermondsey, Crast Trin. 39 Hen. III. Rot 26, dors
- ^ Brayley 1850, p. 320 Cites: Rot. Pip. 51 and 52 Hen. III. m. 30.
- ^ a b Anonymous 1801, p. 41.
- ^ "'Oliverus de Burdegala, pro munitione castri de Guldeford, &c. [mandatum est constabulano] Mich, brevia retornab.' Madox's Hist. Exchequer". Anonymous 1801, p. 41
- ^ "BROCAS, Sir Bernard (c.1330-1395), of Beaurepaire in Sherborne St. John and Roche Court, Hants. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ Burrows, Montagu (1886). The family of Brocas of Beaurepaire and Roche Court; hereditary masters of the Royal Buckhounds; with some account of the English rule in Aquitaine. Robarts - University of Toronto. London Longmans, Green.
- ^ Storer 1818, p. 48.
- ^ Brayley 1850, p. 321 Cites: M Rot. Pat. 41mo. Edw. III. pars 2, m. 19.
- ^ Brayley 1850, p. 321.
- ^ Brayley 1850, pp. 321, 322 Cites Rot. Pari. vol. vi. p. 388.
- ^ a b Cromwell 1821, p. 18.
- ^ Alexander 2006, p. 51.
- ^ Guildford Borough Council 2010c.
- ^ Guildford Borough Council 2010.
References
- Alexander, Mary (2006). "With ramparts crown'd" The early history of Guildford Castle. Guildford: Guildford Museum. ISBN 978-0-95-532510-6.
- Anonymous (1801). The history of Guildford, the county-town of Surrey containing its antient and present state... J and S Russell. p. 41.
- Cromwell, Thomas (1821). Excursions in the county of Surrey: comprising brief historical and topographical delineations, ... Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. pp. 15, 18.
- Guildford Borough Council (2010). "Guildford Castle". Guildford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- Guildford Borough Council (2010b). "Guildford Castle Grounds". Guildford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- Guildford Borough Council (2010c). "Guildford Castle Grounds leaflet with map and site description". Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- Guildford Borough Council (2010h). "History of Guildford Castle". Guildford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- Storer, James Andrew (1818). The antiquarian and topographical cabinet: containing a series of elegant views of the most interesting objects of curiosity in Great Britain ... Vol. 5. J. Murray. p. 48.
- Sturley, Mark (1990). The Breweries and Public Houses of Guildford. ISBN 0-900753-39-0.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Brayley, Edward Wedlake (1850). A topographical history of Surrey: the geological section by Gedeon Mantell. G. Willis. p. 320.
External links
- Guildford Castle - official site at Guildford Borough