Rufus Castle

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Rufus Castle and the ruins of St Andrew's Church

Rufus Castle , also called Bow and Arrow Castle , is the ruin of a log cabin above Church Ope Cove on the Isle of Portland in the English county of Dorset . The hilltop castle dates from the late 15th century and may stand on the site of an older building (from 1142), making it the oldest castle on the Isle of Portland. Since the castle ruins stand on a rock spike, much of the original structure has been lost over the years due to erosion and decay.

The castle ruins that have been preserved to this day seem to have been the donjon of a fortress, the foundations of which lay well above the steeple of St Andrew's Church , which lies in the valley below. The pentagonal tower of the castle has late medieval gun ports and stands on an earlier foundation in the north and a stepped pillar plate in the west, which may have been an earlier donjon from the 12th century. The ruins consist of parts of the donjon, sections of a wall with loopholes and a 19th century arched bridge over Church Ope Road .

English Heritage listed the castle ruins and the bridge as historical buildings of the first degree since January 1951. It is one of only three buildings on the Isle of Portland that are classified as Grade I Historic Buildings. In addition, they have been a Scheduled Monument since 1979 .

history

In ancient times, to defend the island against attack, taxes were levied so that the first castle on the Isle of Portland could be built. Rufus Castle was supposedly built at the behest of King Wilhelm II , but the remains of the building visible today do not date from that time. In 1142 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester , had conquered the castle from King Stephen for Empress Matilda . In 1238 further fortifications were added on behalf of Richard de Clare , the owner at the time. Around 1256 Aylmer de Lusignan received royal permission to fortify the "Insulam de Portand" (English: License to Crenellate) and Robert, Earl of Gloucester, received a similar permit 14 months later. It is generally believed that all work on Rufus Castle based on these permits has been completed. Remains from this period can only be found in the foundations or fell victim to erosion by the sea.

In the 15th century, between 1432 and 1460, Richard, Duke of York , had the castle rebuilt; the ruins visible today date from this time. The politician and writer John Penn had his neo-Gothic country house built over Church Ope Cove between 1797 and 1800. Penn's new estate included both the ruins of Rufus Castle and the former parish church of St Andrew's . At that time Rufus had the castle ruins changed to turn it into a picturesque folly : he had a bridge built over the road to Church Ope and two new, large openings made in the castle walls, a round arch in the west facade and a pointed arch in the Tudor style in the south facade , which replaced the area around the original entrance door. In 1989 the seaward arch of the castle ruins collapsed and further damage became apparent. At the end of the 20th century, English Heritage suggested restoration work to save the castle ruins.

Rufus Castle from the public footpath

In the years 2010–2012, extensive restoration and maintenance work was carried out on Rufus Castle for English Heritage. The castle ruins were included in the Heritage-at-Risk register in 2010. Around mid-2008 it was described that the castle was in ruins and that maintenance work urgently needed to be carried out.

Work began in 2010 under the direction of historic building and church architect Russ Palmer of Honiton , Devon . With the help of a grant from English Heritage, the condition of the castle ruins was first examined and the first phase of the necessary repairs initiated. Extensive repairs were needed, initially on the walls in the north. Palmer put the work out to tender and as a result of that tender Carrek Ltd carried it out between May and October 2010 at a cost of £ 150,000. The work included securing the wall heads and protecting the unprotected wall core in the lower area, filling in gaps between the wall core and cladding and repairing the mortar strips. The work was completed in November 2010.

description

Upper part of the bridge over the moat and entrance

The castle had a pentagonal floor plan, 2.1 meter thick walls and gun ports on the facades on the land side , which are often incorrectly referred to as loopholes . This is where the castle's second name, Bow and Arrow Castle , comes from . It was built from Portland stone; the walls are made of coarse stone made on site . Rufus Castle has walls made of roughly hewn stone and no roof. Three sides of the pentagon are significantly longer than the other two.

There are five round gun ports in the north and west walls on the upper floor. At this height there are also stone consoles in groups of three, which probably belonged to a protruding stone parapet. Outside the southern entrance are the remains of the stone foundations. There are no traces of the "Steppes of Stone" mentioned in Gorses Antiquities and Cokers Dorset . The steps connected the castle and the old church of St Andrew.

Owner

Rufus Castle is currently owned by Mark Watson of Bournemouth . According to Watson, the previous owners found the castle ruins such a burden that they sold them to him for £ 1 in 1997. Watson wanted to convert it into a tourist attraction. In 1997, he said that people might think this was a stupid idea, but he was sure it would work. He wanted to set up a foundation and keep the ruin as a local part of the national heritage and tourist attraction. However, these plans were never put into practice.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rufus Castle . Gatehouse Gazetteer. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  2. ^ Bow and Arrow Castle . Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Rufus Castle with Bridge . Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  4. ^ Rufus Castle . Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  5. ^ Rufus Castle . Pastscape. Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  6. ^ Pennsylvania Castle and Church Ope, Portland . Geoffkirby.co.uk. April 3, 2003. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  7. ^ A b Rufus Castle, Portland, Dorset, Travel Information . Britainexpress.com. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  8. ↑ Stuart Morris: Portland: An Illustrated History . Dovecote Press, 1985. ISBN 978-0-946159-34-5 . P. 47.
  9. ^ Stuart Morris: Portland Camera . Dovecote Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0-946159-79-6 . Photo 15.
  10. ↑ a b Heritage-at-Risk Register 2011, South West . Chapter: Dorset - Weymouth and Portland . P. 157. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  11. ^ Historic treasures at risk from neglect (from the Dorset Echo) . Dorsetecho.co.uk. July 8, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  12. ↑ Portland - Weymouth, Dorset, England - Portland & Portland Bill . Weymouth-dorset.co.uk. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  13. ↑ a b Portland Urban District Council: Isle of Portland Official Guide . Ed. J. Burrow & Co, Cheltenham and London, ca.1957. p. 21.
  14. ↑ Hello darling ... I'm king of the pounds 1 castle. - Free Online Library . Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved August 22, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Rufus Castle  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 32 ′ 18.6 "  N , 2 ° 25 ′ 45.8"  W.