Rayleigh Castle
Rayleigh Castle , also called Rayleigh Mount , is an abandoned castle near Rayleigh in the English county of Essex . The Motte was built from wood and masonry in the 11th century soon after the Norman conquest of England . Today only the mound and earthworks are visible.
Details
Rayleigh Castle is one of the 48 castles mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and the only one in Essex. The writing mentions that a certain Swein (also Sweyn , Sweyne or Suen ) had the castle built during his manorial rule. He was the son of Robert FitzWimarc , a Norman nobleman and favorite of King Edward the Confessor (reign 1042-1066). Swein was one of the wealthiest landowners in Essex after the Norman conquest and the book states that his lands were worth £ 255. Since Swein was the son of a favorite of King Edward, it is likely that he did not come to England with William the Conqueror in 1066, but was born there. Most of the landowners with significant holdings in the time of the Domesday Book had disconnected, fragmented estates, but Swein was one of the exceptions; most of his lands lay in the Harden of Rochford and Barstaple ; Rayleigh Castle was their administrative center.
Adrian Pettifer notes that Rayleigh Castle has a layout similar to that of two other castles in Essex: Pleshey Castle and Ongar Castle .
After Swein's death, the castle fell to his son Robert (approx. 1085 – before 1159) and then to his grandson Henry of Essex . By 1140 the mound was covered with rubble stones.
Henry was charged with cowardice before the enemy in 1163 and embroiled in a court battle which he lost. The castle and its lands were confiscated and became the property of King Henry II . Extensive alterations were made in 1172 and then again in the years 1183–1184. The property was lent around 1200 by King John Ohneland to Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent , who presumably used the castle as a source of building material, namely for Hadleigh Castle , which he had built about 3 miles away from 1230.
After the death of Hubert de Burgh's son in the second half of the 13th century, ownership of the castle reverted to the crown. In documents from 1279 and 1303 it is noted that the moth was used as a pasture for cattle, which presumably means that it no longer served as a fortress. In 1394, King Richard II granted the residents of Rayleigh permission to use the castle foundations as a source of building blocks. Since the foundations are specifically mentioned in the permit document, it is unlikely that other masonry parts of the castle existed at this time.
The castle grounds served as a sheep pasture after the castle was no longer used. Photos from the 1920s show the mound free of large trees and scrub as grazing prevented it from growing, but large trees have grown on the site since pasture use was discontinued. The National Trust , which manages the site, has no plans to have the trees removed so that any remains of the castle below are not damaged.
The convoy rescue ship SS Empire rest , which in World War II was used, was originally as a Castle class - Corvette built, the HMS Rayleigh Castle should have said.
Individual evidence
- ↑ CG Harfield: A hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book in English Historical Review . No. 106 (1991). Pp. 376, 384.
- ^ Henry Loyn: Rayleigh in Essex: Its Implications for the Norman Settlement in Christopher Harper-Bill, Christopher J. Holdsworth, Janet L. Nelson: Studies in Medieval History present to R. Allen Brown . Boydell Press, 1989. p. 238.
- ^ Henry Loyn: Rayleigh in Essex: Its Implications for the Norman Settlement in Christopher Harper-Bill, Christopher J. Holdsworth, Janet L. Nelson: Studies in Medieval History present to R. Allen Brown . Boydell Press, 1989. p. 239.
- ^ Adrian Pettifer: English Castles: A Guide by Counties . Boydell Press, 1995. ISBN 0-85115-782-3 . P. 76.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 35 ′ 16.8 ″ N , 0 ° 36 ′ 16.2 ″ E