Guildford Castle
| Guildford Castle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The ruin in 2007 |
|
| Creation time : | 11th century |
| Conservation status: | ruin |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 14 ′ 3 ″ N , 0 ° 34 ′ 21 ″ W |
Guildford Castle is a ruined castle in Guildford ( Surrey ), presumably to the Norman conquest of England back 1066th
Initially erected as a moth with a wooden palisade and a surrounding moat, it was given a stone wall at the beginning of the 12th century and a rectangular keep around 1130 , which replaced the previous wooden watchtower. This keep served on its first floor as royal lodgings , but in the 12th century it became the official residence of the sheriff of Surrey and Sussex and thus also a prison.
In addition, the castle served as a place to spend the night on the southern point of the royal hunting grounds. On various occasions she was by the kings Johann Ohneland and Heinrich III. utilized. However, the ruler had already moved to another building on the castle grounds by this time. On Henry III. go back a number of conversions, including extensions after a fire in 1254, which were intended for his son Eduard , and which gave the castle the name of a palace (English: Guildford Palace). From a description from 1332, it is known that the royal residence at Guildford was separated from the castle by a dike and a stockade.
Castles like the one at Guildford were no longer needed from the 14th century, so they were left to decay. The tower prison was moved to Southwark in the 16th century , while the palace was arguably still in use at the time. Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk , brother-in-law of King Henry VIII, died there in 1545 .
The tower lost its roof in the 17th century, but the masonry was largely preserved. The palace, however, has disappeared.
literature
- Julia Skinner: British Castles . Bounty Books, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-7537-1443-0 , p. 30.
Web links
- History of the facility ( Memento from May 6, 2006 in the Internet Archive )