CSG Annual Conference - April Middleham

Transcription

1 ABOVE: Middleham Castle. The NE view. Drawing by W Tayleure, engraved by R Sands, for the Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain, John Britton, 1835, (London) Vol. 4, BELOW: The SW view of Middleham, with the round corner tower. Other drawing details as above, except engraved by M. S. Barenger. Note the water filled moat below the south front. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 21

2 Middleham Castle. The Gatehouse. In about 1400 the main castle entrance was moved from the east side (see plan to its current position, inserted into the existing north-east tower, the latrine chutes for which can be seen under the modern bridge. It was heightened about 1440 to create a third floor. Turrets rise above the machicolated parapet, the north-east one having an inverted keyhole gunloop. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 22

3 Middleham: The north-east (gatehouse) tower from the east, with later additions above. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 23

4 History The first castle at Middleham was the ringwork and bailey known as William s Hill, on the crest of the high ground to the south of the stone castle. It was probably built by Alan the Red (Alan Rufus), builder of Richmond Castle and one of King William I s supporters, after the grant of Yorkshire lands in 1071, or by Ribald, an illegitimate brother of Alan. The site of the ringwork was later utilised for a corn mill, in the north west part of the ditch. It was in the late twelfth century, possibly in the 1170s, that the castle was moved downhill to its present site, overlooking the market town. We cannot be certain of the builder of the great tower and whatever surrounded it, but it may have been erected by Robert fitz Ranulph, one of Ribald s grandsons. The castle passed to Robert Neville on his marriage to Mary fitz Ranulph in 1260, and it is the castle s association with the Neville family that Middleham is arguably best known (see pp in particular in the current guidebook), notably Richard Neville, earl of Warwick (d. 1471), the kingmaker. About the middle of the thirteenth century a chapel block was built against the east side of the great tower, with a gatehouse placed in the middle of the thin curtain wall, of which only a fragment remains; the gatehouse connected the core of the castle with a now vanished outer bailey. An unimpressive and buttressed curtain wall was built around the castle by the Nevilles about 1300, with towers at the corners and with a variety of accommodation at ground level against the curtains. Then in about 1400 the ranges against the curtain were rebuilt with first-floor provision, causing the walls to be stabilised with further buttressing. The northeast tower was converted into a gatehouse. In the sixteenth century, when the castle was in Crown hands, pastry ovens were added on the south-west side, with ovens inserted in the south range and a malt kiln in the south-east tower (incorrectly coloured on the EH plan). The horse mill on the south side is likely to date to the eighteenth or nineteenth century, although one was proposed in a survey of The castle continued to languish through to the twentieth century, although garrisoned briefly and used for prisoners during the Civil War. Colonel Thomas Wood (d.1860) built a wall around the castle with locked gates to help preserve the site from further decay and then in the first decade of the twentieth century the then owner, the second Lord Masham, embarked on repairs, and stones dated, for example, 1906 and carved with the letter M can be seen in the keep s latrine towers and in the gatehouse. Description The description follows that in the red guide, starting with the keep, the chapel tower and then the east curtain, moving in a clockwise direction and ending with the gatehouse. The Great Tower The two-storey keep (upper floor over a basement) is one of the largest in area in the country,but it never was enclosed by anything truly substantial, even in the later Middle Ages, and Middleham is arguably best viewed as a grand country house rather than a military fortress, surrounded by parks and gardens. The basement of the keep contained kitchen and storerooms, with the accommodation on the upper floor. The main entrance was on the east side, on the site of the modern timber staircase; halfway up the stairs was a guard chamber. With an ante-chamber at the top of the stairs, the tower was entered through a round-headed doorway. A screen passage would have divided the hall to the right from the pantry on the left. Off the narrow hall was a small chapel in the north-east turret, and in the dividing wall a doorway led into the private chambers on the west side. The one staircase, in the south-east corner, led up to a turret; the two small rooms or closets here were added about 1400, providing views over the gardens to the south. Half way up the stairs a narrow passage led to the battlements. There is still some debate whether an additional floor was added over the hall, or whether the upper walling and windows acted as a clerestory. The south-east staircase led down to the vaulted basements. The pillar bases that supported the vault on the east side are still THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 24

5 visible. The large kitchen fireplace is located at the south end of the spine wall. Projecting from the west and south sides of the great tower are latrine turrets, much restored. That on the south side was accessed from off the pantry and servery, and also from an upper level, whilst that on the west was a double latrine, with, at first-floor level, one serving the inner or presence chamber, the other the great chamber, that room also containing a wash basin by the entrance to the latrine. The Chapel Tower Little remains of the chapel itself, which was at second-floor level, and accessible from the keep. The first floor would have been occupied by a priest or priests and perhaps contained the sacristy, with the ground floor used as store; a stair in the south-west corner connected the floors. The East and South Curtain Walls Little remains of the east curtain, although it is noticeable that footings of the wall and gatetower are wider than the curtain as rebuilt c When the north east tower became the main entrance, the east gatehouse entrance was narrowed and a new bridge abutment built, with a second latrine added to the existing one south of the east gatehouse. The south-east tower had two floors, and running off to the west was a range of rooms, with a privy chamber on the first floor added after the outline of the roof of the original range of c.1300 can be seen on the west side of the south-east tower. Doorways led into the ground-floor rooms, with a staircase built against the range providing access to the rooms on the first floor. As part of the fifteenth-century improvements a timber bridge linked this side of the castle to the great tower via its south-west turret. Later use of the range, with ovens and a horse mill added, has led to the blocking of a number of windows in the outer walls. The rounded tower at the south-west corner is known as the Prince s Tower, said to be where Edward, son of Richard Ill and Anne Neville, was born; the 1538 survey makes mention of a nursery immediately to the north of this tower. The tower was heightened in the later Middle Ages. The West Range This range is divided by a three-storey latrine tower (partly rebuilt in 1907), a tower that appears to have been connected to the great tower at first-floor level. The ground and firstfloors had two rooms apiece either side of the latrine, the upper floors being well lit and provided with fireplaces, whilst the ground floor chambers were low ceilinged and poorly lit, with three rooms having fireplaces. Access to the upper floors must have been via the cornertowers and staircases built against the inner walls of the ranges. The north-west tower was heightened in about 1400 and then again about The original height is marked by gargoyles visible on the external faces. The provision of fireplaces and latrines signify a tower of some status. The North Range This range included a kitchen for the auditor who would be housed on the first floor, according to the 1538 survey. Next to the entrance to the kitchen are the remains of a staircase that led to the first floor and also the latrine turret. The fenestration of this range was altered at some date, possibly part of the fifteenth-century work or in the early Tudor period. The Gatehouse In about 1400 the main castle entrance was moved from the east side to its current position, inserted into the north-east tower, the latrines for which can be seen under the modern bridge. Across the ditch from the gatehouse was a litill towre, noted in The gatehouse was heightened about 1440 to create a third floor. Turrets rise above the machicolated parapet, the north-east one having an inverted keyhole gunloop. Carved figures may have decorated the battlements; a number were found when the castle was being cleared from 1930, after it had been gifted to the State (in guardianship from 1926). Within the gate passage there is a porter s lodge, possibly converted from a small kitchen. The passage itself contains benches, and the inner half, between the central doorway and the portcullis, is vaulted. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 25

6 Middleham Castle ground plan English Heritage / Historic England THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 26

7 Middleham Castle. The north-west corner of the keep (1170s-80s) showing the chamfered plinth. Middleham Castle first-floor plan English Heritage / Historic England THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 27

8 ABOVE: Middleham - keep from the east. c , with site of original stairs replaced by a modern wooden staircase that emulates its approximate rise. BELOW: Upper (first) floor of the keep (Great Hall) interior, looking east; i.e. the interior façade of the keep wall seen above. Private chapel/oratory entrance far left. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 28

9 Middleham Castle. View of the Keep (east basement - storerooms and kitchens) and vaulted first floor (Great Hall). Entrance to the keep was on the first floor to the east (right). View is from the entrance foyer looking north. Spine wall to the left. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 29

10 ABOVE: An 18th century print of Middleham Castle from the east with the keep in the centre and the south range to the left. There appears to be a stone bridge that may at one time linked the keep to the south range. Other drawings/sketches show something similar but it cannot now be verified by present archaeology. BELOW: The full length of the south range from the SE Tower (right) to the Prince s Tower (far left). The small strip pilaster buttresses probably c The larger stepped buttresses c THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 30

11 Middleham. The round or D shaped corner tower (the Prince s Tower) from the south, c (base only); additions to the east (right) (late 14th century) to facilitate latrine chutes, and upper (top) section with the large septfoil window later (late 14th century). THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 31

12 Middleham. The round corner tower (the Prince s Tower), c (base), from the west; upper sections later. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 32

13 Bibliography Kenyon, John R., 2015, Middleham Castle (London: English Heritage) Fox, Joseph, 2012, Middleham - A Castle made for Kings (Loyalty Binds Me Studio) DVD Goodall, John, 2011, The English Castle (Yale University Press) passim Moorhouse, S., 2007, The Medieval Parks of Yorkshire: Function, Contents and Chronology in Liddiard, R. (ed) The Medieval Park new perspectives (Windgather Press) Jackson, M. J., 2001, Castles of North Yorkshire (Carlisle) Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 368 J. Cherry, The Middleham Jewel and Ring (York, 1994). J Weaver, 1993, Middleham Castle, Yorkshire (London, English Heritage). Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles from the Air (Cambridge University Press), Brown, Stephen V., n.d. (post 1985), Castle, Kings and Horses An Illustrated History of Middleham (Middleham: Old School Arts Workshop) King, D. J. C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2, 521 Ryder, P. F., 1982 (paperback edn 1992), The Medieval Buildings of Yorkshire (Ash Grove Book), Morley, B. M., 1981, Aspects of fourteenth-century castle design in A. Detsicas (ed), Collectanea Historica: Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold (Kent Archaeological Society), Colvin, H. M., Ransome, D. R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King s Works, Vol. 3: (part 1) (London), 226, 232n Renn, D. F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker), 243, 244 Pevsner, N., 1966, Buildings of England: Yorkshire: the North Riding (London, Penguin), Illingworth, J. L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield), 64-7 Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH Yorkshire: North Riding Vol. 1, Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co), Allcroft, A. Hadrian, 1908, Earthwork of England (London) Speight, H., 1897, Romantic Richmondshire, Mackenzie, J. D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2, Clark, G.T., 1884, Mediaeval Military Architecture in England (Wyman and Sons) Vol. 2, Whellan, T., 1859, History and topography of the city of York and the North Riding of Yorkshire Vol. 2, Britton, John, 1835, The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain (London) Vol. 4, Grose, Francis, 1785 (new edn. orig. 1756), Antiquities of England and Wales (London) Vol. 6, Periodical Articles Mercer, David, 2017, Book Reviews: Middleham Castle - English Heritage guidebook' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol. 30. Kerr, Sarah, 2016, Late-medieval settlement: The effect of Bastard Feudalism on the great houses of England Medieval Settlement Research Vol. 31, Taylor, C., 2000, Medieval Ornamental Landscapes Landscapes Vol. 1 p (reprinted in Liddiard, Robert (ed), 2016, Late Medieval Castles (Boydell Press) Butler, Lawrence, 1994, The Origins of the Honour of Richmond and its Castles Château Gaillard Vol. 16, (Reprinted in Liddiard, Robert, (ed), 2003, Anglo-Norman Castles, (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)) Thompson, M. W., 1992 Nov, A suggested dual origin for keeps Fortress: The castles and fortifications quarterly Vol. 15 p Thompson, M. W., 1986, Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list The Archaeological Journal Vol. 143 p. 320 Kenyon, J. R., 1981 Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Reappraisal The Archaeological Journal Vol. 138, 217 Brown, R. Allen, 1959, A List of Castles, The English Historical Review Vol. 74 p (Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press), ) Faulkner, P. A., 1958, Domestic Planning from the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Centuries The Archaeological Journal Vol. 115, THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 33