Grimsthorpe Castle
Grimsthorpe Castle is an English noble seat in the county of Lincolnshire . It is located about six kilometers northwest of Bourne in a park of around 12 km 2 . The house has been owned by the Willoughby de Eresby family since 1516 . The current owner is Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby , the granddaughter of Nancy Astor .
etymology
The name Grim goes back to the Anglo-Saxons or Normans . He is a synonym for the Norse god Odin . See also Graemsay Island in Orkney , Grimsay Island in the Hebrides, Grimsby Place in Lincolnshire, Grimsbury Castle Hillfort in Oxfordshire , Grim's Ditch an earthwork , Grim's Dyke (name for the Antonine Wall), Grim's Grave stone chest (also kistvaen) in Dartmoor . Grimes Graves flint mines, Grimshader (Grims Seat) on Lewis and Harris, Grims Lake Mire (a stone chest in the Grims Lake Morass), Grimspound in Devon , Grimsetter (Grims Seat) on Orkney and Shetland, and several places called Grimston ( Grimston- Lyles Hill Ware ).
Early building history
The first previous construction of today's Grimsthorpe Castle was started in the 12th century under Gilbert de Gant, 1st Earl of Lincoln . The so-called König-Johann-Turm at the southeast corner of the building has been preserved from this time. The name refers to the reigning King Johann Ohneland at this time . It is unclear whether the castle was in the possession of Johann Ohneland after the death of the first Earl of Lincoln in 1156 and before the re-creation of the title for Ranulf de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester in 1217.
Building history during the Tudor period
In the possession of the Willoughby de Eresby family, who were ennobled in 1313, the property came in 1516. In that year William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby married María de Salinas , a Spanish lady of honor Catherine of Aragóns . On this occasion, Henry VIII handed over the castle to the bridegroom. The previous owner, Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell , was a follower of Richard III. and with it the political opponent of Heinrich Tudor , later Henry VII. His fate is lost after the Battle of Stoke .
The daughter of the 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, Katherine Willoughby , inherited the property and the associated lands in addition to the baron title. In 1533 she became the fourth wife of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk . On Brandon's initiative, Grimsthorpe Castle was expanded as a resting place for Henry VIII, his brother-in-law. The Duke of Suffolk was already in his second marriage to Mary Tudor , the widow of Louis XII. and sister of Henry VII., were married. For the extension of Grimsthorpe Castle, material from the disbanded Vaudey Abbey was used to convert the medieval castle into a four-sided country house around an open courtyard. Henry VIII visited the castle with Catherine Howard in 1541 . Catherine Howard is said to have committed adultery during this visit to the house, so Heinrich took the opportunity to have her executed in 1542.
Vanbrugh's remodeling
Further alterations to Grimsthorpe Castle took place in the late 17th century under Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey, 16th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. The northern front was redesigned in the classical style, for which William Winde was probably hired as an architect. Only an engraving made in 1707 in the work Britannia Illustrata is evidence of this facade .
The most extensive construction on Grimsthorpe Castle was initiated by Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. He commissioned John Vanbrugh with the conversion. Grimsthorpe Castle is the last major commission that the architect took on for castles such as Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace . When Vanbrugh died in 1726, his plans for Grimsthope were not yet fully implemented. His design can be seen in today's building, especially on the north front with corner towers and Doric columns. Vanbrugh's most important structural contribution, however, is the design of the two-story Great Halls or Vanbrugh Hall, which is reminiscent of Vanbrugh's similar design for Blenheim Palace. Seven grisaille pictures adorn this central room of the house and depict English kings who bestowed titles or possessions on the Willoughby family. They were painted by James Thornhill, with whom Vanbrugh already collaborated on the expansion of Blenheim Palace.
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It remains unclear what role Vanbrugh's assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor has in the construction. Hawksmoor's estate is said to have included drafts for the chapel after his death in 1736. In the 18th century, Henry Cheere created a rococo- style fireplace in the dining room, Thomas Warren presumably created the wrought-iron banister , Francesco Sleter ceiling paintings and William Perrit plasterwork . The interiors of the rooms contain various pieces of furniture used by English monarchs, such as a throne that George IV used at his coronation banquet. The Willoughby family came into possession of these and other items through their right to the hereditary position of chamberlain .
In 1828 Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby, 2nd Baron Gwydyr, inherited Grimsthorpe from his mother. He had a track for a steam plow built on the property. He also commissioned the architects Samuel Page and Henry Garling to redesign the eastern and western fronts. With battlements and a tower, the east side corresponded to the character of Grimsthorpe as a castle , while the west facade was renewed in Tudor style .
Grimsthorpe in the 20th century
The design of Grimsthorpe Castle in the 20th century was particularly shaped by two Anglo-American wives of Barons Willoughby. Eloise Breese, the wife of Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster, 26th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, had numerous rooms paneled in Edwardian style by the architect Detmar Blow . In contrast, her daughter-in-law "Wissy" Astor, the wife of Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, 27th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, tried to modernize Grimsthorpe. She was advised by her cousin Nancy Lancaster and interior decorator John Fowler.
During the First World War, Grimsthorpe Castle's park served as an emergency landing site for the Royal Flying Corps . During the Second World War, the house housed the Parachute Regiment .
Web links
- Official site (last accessed December 10, 2012)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Christopher Simon Sykes: Castles and noble seats in England. Könemann, Cologne 1998, p. 108.
- ^ Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Christopher Simon Sykes: Castles and noble seats in England. Könemann, Cologne 1998, p. 109.
Coordinates: 52 ° 47 '32.5 " N , 0 ° 27' 8.3" W.