Yarmouth Castle
Yarmouth Castle | |
---|---|
Device fort | |
Site information | |
Owner | English Heritage |
Open to the public | Yes |
Site history | |
Built | 1547 |
Events | |
Official name | Yarmouth Castle |
Designated | 9 October 1981 |
Reference no. | 1009391 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Designated | 28 March 1984 |
Reference no. | 1292631 |
Yarmouth Castle is an
During the 16th and 17th centuries the castle continued to be maintained and modified; the seaward half of the castle was turned into a solid gun platform and additional accommodation was built for the fort's
The fortification remained in use through the 18th and 19th centuries, albeit with a smaller garrison and fewer guns, until in 1885 these were finally withdrawn. After a short period as a
History
16th century
Construction
Yarmouth Castle was built as a consequence of international tensions between England,
In 1533, Henry broke with Pope
The town of Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight may have been attacked by the French in 1543; if so, this raid probably encouraged the construction of a castle there as part of the second wave of Device Forts.
The castle was constructed by George Mills under the direction of Richard Worsley, the Captain of the Island, on land belonging to the Crown, possibly on the site of a church destroyed during the events of 1543.
Initial use
When the
17th century
Yarmouth Castle continued to be an important military fortification, used both as a fortress but also as a transport hub and a stores depot.[21] The repairs recommended in 1599 were carried out in the first years of the 17th century and a further £300 was invested in Yarmouth Castle and nearby Sandown Castle in 1609, including adding two angular buttresses along the walls facing the sea.[22][b]
A survey in 1623 by the castle's captain, John Burley, reported that the garrison comprised only four gunners and the captain, with the buildings in a "ruinous" state and the defences in need of repair; similar concerns were raised in 1625 and 1629.[23] Suggestions that a half-moon battery should be added to the defences were not progressed, but in 1632 the parapets were raised in height and further lodgings and a long room for stores were constructed within the castle.[24] Some of the stone used for this may have been reused from nearby Sandown, whose walls had been destroyed by the sea; before it was used at Sandown, the stone appears to have been taken from the local monasteries.[25]
When
The Crown took over the castle again in 1670, and Robert Holmes, the new Captain of the Isle of Wight, had some of the guns brought back from Cowes to the castle.[27] The site was refortified and a new battery placed on the adjacent quay, but the older earthworks were demolished and the moat was filled in.[27] Holmes built a mansion for himself alongside the castle, where on three occasions he hosted the King.[28]
In 1688, Charles' brother, James II, faced widespread revolt and a potential invasion of England by William of Orange. Holmes was a supporter of James, but although he intended to control Yarmouth Castle on the monarch's behalf, the local inhabitants and the garrison at Yarmouth sided with William, preventing him from openly siding with the King.[27]
18th–21st centuries
Yarmouth Castle continued to be used, and records from 1718 and 1760 show it was equipped with eight 6-pound (2.7 kg) and five 9-pound (4.1 kg) guns along the castle and the quay platforms, respectively.
In 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars, work was carried out to alter the design of the parapet.
The
In the 21st century, Yarmouth Castle is run by the heritage organisation
Architecture
Yarmouth Castle is a square fortification, nearly 100 feet (30 m) across, with an arrow-head bastion protecting the landward side.[41] The north and west walls face the sea, protected by angular buttresses, and a 10-metre (33 ft) wide moat originally protected the south and east side, although this has since been filled in.[42] The castle's 16th-century bulwark, which originally covered the area to the west of Pier Street and the north of Quay Street, and its quay battery have also been destroyed.[43]
The walls of the castle are mainly built from
The arrow-head design of the castle's bastion reflected new ideas about defensive fortifications spreading out from Italy in the 16th century.[47] Earlier Henrician castles had used the older European style of semi-circular bastions to avoid presenting any weak spots in the stonework, but an arrow-headed design enabled defenders to provide much more effective supporting fire against an attacking force.[48] Yarmouth was among the first fortifications in Europe, and the first in England, to adopt this design.[44]
The accommodation and other facilities are on the south side of the castle.
Notes
- ^ Historians are divided as to whether the French attack of 1543 reached the town; Stuart Rigold suggests that they did not move this far across the island, while W. Page and C. Winter argue the reverse.[8]
- ^ a b c d Comparing early modern costs and prices with those of the modern period is challenging. £1,000 in 1547 could be equivalent to between £497,000 and £210 million in 2014, depending on the price comparison used, and £50 in 1587 to between £11,000 and £4.4 million. £300 in 1609 could equate to between £50,000 and £14 million; £78 in 1655 to between £12,000 and £2.4 million. For comparison, the total royal expenditure on all the Device Forts across England between 1539–47 came to £376,500, with St Mawes, for example, costing £5,018, and Sandgate £5,584.[15]
References
- ^ Thompson 1987, p. 111; Hale 1983, p. 63
- ^ King 1991, pp. 176–177
- ^ Morley 1976, p. 7
- ^ Morley 1976, p. 7; Hale 1983, pp. 63–64
- ^ Hale 1983, p. 80
- ^ Harrington 2007, pp. 29–30
- ^ Hopkins 2004, p. 3
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 13; Hopkins 2004, p. 3
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 12–13
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, pp. 11, 13; William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, p. 14; William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 14
- ^ a b William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; "List Entry", Historic England, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, p. 13
- ^ a b c d e f William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ Biddle et al. 2001, p. 12; Lawrence H. Officer; Samuel H. Williamson (2014), "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 29 May 2015
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 13; Fritze 1982, pp. 274–275
- ^ Biddle et al. 2001, p. 40; Pattison 2009, pp. 34–35
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 13
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 11, 13–14; Hopkins 2004, p. 7
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, p. 14
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 14–15
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; "List Entry", Historic England, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, pp. 14–15
- ^ a b c d William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, p. 15
- ^ a b "List Entry", Historic England, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, p. 15
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; "List Entry", Historic England, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ a b c d William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, p. 16
- ^ Hopkins 2004, p. 7; William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 18
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, p. 18
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 16
- ^ Hopkins 2004, p. 3; Rigold 2012, p. 1
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 18–19
- ^ "History of St Catherine's Castle", English Heritage, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, p. 19
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; Rigold 2012, p. 19
- ^ William Page, ed. (1912), "The Borough of Yarmouth", British History Online, retrieved 14 June 2015; Hopkins 2004, p. 7; Rigold 2012, p. 19
- ^ Rigold 1958, p. 6
- ^ "Yarmouth Castle", English Heritage, retrieved 14 June 2015; BDRC Continental (2011), "Visitor Attractions, Trends in England, 2010" (PDF), Visit England, p. 65, archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2015, retrieved 19 September 2015
- ^ "Yarmouth Castle, Yarmouth", British Listed Buildings, retrieved 14 June 2015
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 3
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 3; Hopkins 2004, p. 7
- ^ Hopkins 2004, p. 7
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, p. 4
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, p. 5
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, p. 11
- ^ Saunders 1989, p. 55
- ^ Saunders 1989, pp. 50–55
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 7–8
- ^ a b Rigold 2012, pp. 6–7
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 8–9
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 9
- ^ Rigold 2012, p. 10
- ^ Rigold 2012, pp. 10–11
Bibliography
- Biddle, Martin; Hiller, Jonathon; Scott, Ian; Streeten, Anthony (2001). Henry VIII's Coastal Artillery Fort at Camber Castle, Rye, East Sussex: An Archaeological Structural and Historical Investigation. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books. ISBN 0904220230.
- Fritze, Ronald H. (1982). "The Role of Family and Religion in the Local Politics of Early Elizabethan England: The Case of Hampshire in the 1560s". The Historical Journal. 25 (2): 267–287.
- Hale, J. R. (1983). Renaissance War Studies. London, UK: Hambledon Press. ISBN 0907628176.
- Harrington, Peter (2007). The Castles of Henry VIII. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472803801.
- Hopkins, Dave (2004). Extensive Urban Survey – Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. London, UK: English Heritage. doi:10.5284/1000227.
- King, D. J. Cathcart (1991). The Castle in England and Wales: An Interpretative History. London, UK: Routledge Press. ISBN 9780415003506.
- Morley, B. M. (1976). Henry VIII and the Development of Coastal Defence. London, UK: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 0116707771.
- Pattison, Paul (2009). Pendennis Castle and St Mawes Castle. London, UK: English Heritage. ISBN 9781850747239.
- Rigold, S. E. (1958). Yarmouth Castle, Isle of Wight. London, UK: HMSO. OCLC 810988359.
- Rigold, S. E. (2012) [1978]. Yarmouth Castle, Isle of Wight (revised ed.). London, UK: English Heritage. ISBN 9781850740490.
- Saunders, Andrew (1989). Fortress Britain: Artillery Fortifications in the British Isles and Ireland. Liphook, UK: Beaufort. ISBN 1855120003.
- Thompson, M. W. (1987). The Decline of the Castle. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 1854226088.
External links