The Castle Builders. Part I. The “embattled walls” of Hartshill (original) (raw)
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The Castle Builders. Part III Ludford’s Hartshill Castle
The walls of Hartshill Castle are not easily dated. To the naked eye it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell apart the work of the last decade from that of the medieval mason. This study reveals that the illusion of Hartshill Castle’s antiquity was already being forged about two and a half centuries ago. Archaeological and geological analytical techniques are combined to test 18th century statements about the castle's reconstruction, gradually exposing the endeavours of a relatively unknown Warwickshire heritage conservationist: John Newdigate Ludford.
The Castle Builders Part II. Hartshill Castle: The Celebration of Divine Worship
In 2016, the restitution of the medieval ruin of Hartshill Castle in north Warwickshire entered its eleventh year: an unusual independently-undertaken project. Throughout the 12th and 14th centuries, Hartshill Castle had been the fortified residence of a prominent noble Norman family, the De Hardreshulls. A decade ago, few but those in the locality knew of the castle’s existence. The crumbling ruin seemed like a lost cause. The project’s success may be measured by Hartshill Castle’s recognition this year as one of the highly-prized jewels in the county’s box of Cultural Heritage Assets. The repair and restoration project presented me with a unique opportunity to conduct a detailed analytical archaeological study of the castle, to explore its chronological development and to uncover the various characters who have contributed the castle’s fortunes and misfortunes over the centuries. Since all projects need a title of some sort I thought ‘Demystifying Hartshill Castle’ just about captured all of the aims of the study. The CADAS Bulletin has presented me with the opportunity to provide a somewhat alternative form of interim summary of the results of archaeological recording and research, while at the same time proffering some insight and appreciation of the restoration project. In this second instalment of ‘The Castle Builders’, I explore the possible form and chronological development of the medieval chapel, which is now in a ruined state. The analysis draws on the results of a detailed archaeological survey of the above-ground remains and the examination of fragments decorative stonework and associated artefacts that have come to light during the restoration work.
Power, Status and War: The Archaeology of the Castle in North West England
2012
Buckton Castle is one of the least known, but most dramatically situated, castles in North West England. Its origins have been shrouded in mystery until quite recently, with tales of treasure and battles, but little in the way of hard fact. This monograph summarises the archaeological work on the site between 1995 and 2010. This included research and community excavations within the scheduled ancient monument from 2007 to 2010. For the first time scientific study has been used to highlight the castle’s story, from its foundation, probably by one of the earls of Chester, to its regional strategic importance. It now takes its place as one of the earliest stone castles in North West England.
This paper presents a case study of the eleventh-century elite landscapes of the now non-extant Nantwich Castle and the neighbouring hundredal head manor of Acton, both manors situated within Warmundestrou Hundred, in Cheshire, north-west England. It stresses that any preconceived assumptions about the direct continuity of temporal and spatial succession from a head manor of a pre-existing Anglo-Saxon estate to the site of an Anglo-Norman castle should be disregarded. Highlighting the dangers of an interpretative approach based on a myopic focus on one site for one particular period, this paper instead calls for a close examination of the wider landscape of castles and their sitings within their Domesday hundreds. The research approach is interdisciplinary, thus examining all available architectural, cartographic, documentary, place-name, archaeological and topographical material. Initial conclusions point to a late eleventh-century paradigm shift of power from Acton to Nantwich; there is no evidence for an early-built baronial fortification at Nantwich, but there is evidence that Acton’s manorial landscape retained its elite significance without a castle build. Comparing Nantwich with the salt town of Droitwich in Worcestershire, the paper concludes that this apparent paradigm shift of power can be attributable to the semi-autonomous earls of Chester, and their freedom to control the economics of the county independently of the Crown. This paper will contribute to future multidisciplinary research of castles and their landscapes, by demonstrating that any lack of continuity of site significance, can be experienced instead by the continuity of a zone of elite, social, political, and economic power.
Northamptonshire Archaeology, 2021
Northampton Castle was a major royal castle through the 12th and 13th centuries but thereafter it declined in importance. Through the 15th and 16th centuries it was the site of the county gaol and sessions house, but became fully derelict once these functions transferred to the town following the destructive town fire of 1675. The castle then stood as a scenic ruin, but encroachment of housing onto the Inner Bailey defences began in the early 19th century. In the mid-19th century the building of a new rectory, followed by the first railway and a straightened approach to the new West Bridge affected parts of the Outer Bailey. By this time there was antiquarian interest, particularly from Sir Henry Dryden and local architect E F Law and family, who together provided plans and photographs of the castle as it then survived. Further recording was carried out in 1879-80 when much of the Inner Bailey was swept away in the construction of a new railway. Eighty years later, the small portion of the northeast corner of the Inner Bailey that had survived and the nearby Castle Hill mound were subject to excavation in the early 1960s. This included examination of the castle bank and ditch, as well as royal apartments and a kitchen range. It was demonstrated that the Castle Hill mound had been constructed in the mid-17th century during the Civil War, and was not an early motte. It is also suggested that a medieval building beneath Castle Hill, previously interpreted as a church with an apsidal end, may have been part of a gatehouse at the eastern end of an elongated and otherwise lost barbican protecting the north gate. These previously unpublished excavations are the main focus of this report, although the earlier records are used to provide the broader picture of the whole castle. In Part 1, a broad overview of the context of the 1960s excavations is followed by an account of the pre-castle archaeology seen through the antiquarian records and the 1960s excavations. A concise history of the castle is followed by an account of the various works from the 19th century onward that have recorded elements of the castle archaeology enabling an overall, although incomplete, plan of the castle to be produced. Part 1 ends with a consideration of the topography of the castle and its relationship to the medieval town. Part 2 will deal with the detailed archaeological record for the castle defences, the buildings of the Inner Bailey, and the Castle Hill mound. Excavations within the Outer Bailey of the castle in 2013 in advance of building the present station are published separately in the same volume.
The catalysts and constraints of castle-building in Suffolk c.1066-1200
Twenty-seven Suffolk castles were built between 1066 and 1200. This thesis summarises the modern multi-disciplinary surveys of six of them, with the objective of identifying their location, morphology, form and function. The majority of Suffolk castles were built between the late 11th and mid- 12th-century and reached their largest number during the civil wars c.1135-54. However, a few remained operational after c.1200 and those that did are characterised as either royal or baronial caput castles. Moreover, almost all Suffolk castles were originally earth and timber, whereas the surviving examples were rebuilt in stone before c.1300. Therefore, those castles that survived beyond or were established after c.1200 are unrepresentative. Instead this thesis focusses on the period 1066 to 1200, when the more common sub-baronial, earth and timber Suffolk castles were evidenced. Chapter one identifies the key issues. Chapter two critiques each of the current paradigms in castle studies and rejects them in favour of a modified Annales model. Chapter three identifies the constraints of the longue durée, identified as the environmental factors, defined as the climate, topography, geology, hydrology and timber supply in the vicinity of the castle. Chapter four identifies societal constraints, which are sub-divided into structural, social and cultural, and focusses on the Abbey of St Edmund’s, its cult, viceroyship, ecclesiastical autonomy and barony, its relationship with the new elite and how it influenced castle building. Chapter five focusses on three of the six surveyed castle earthworks to establish the evènement level of the model, which identifies the castle building agents and the specific historical and political context in which these castles were built. Chapter six brings the different sources and levels of data together to offer a new model, a more nuanced definition of a castle and a comprehensive assessment of the conflicting demands of the catalysts and constraints operating upon the construction of castles in Suffolk. In this it is supported by over two hundred figures and plans, numerous tables, a comprehensive set of appendices and an extensive bibliography.