Sheffield Castle

Sheffield Castle floor plan in relation to current buildings

Sheffield Castle was a castle in Sheffield in the English administrative division of South Yorkshire . It was built at the confluence of the Sheaf and Don rivers , possibly on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon longhouse , and dominated the early settlement. A wooden moth was built on this site sometime in the century after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. This was destroyed in the second barons' war. Construction of the second castle, this time made of stone, began four years later, in 1270.

Maria Stuart was imprisoned in this castle and its property for 14 years, from 1570 to 1584. At the beginning of the English Civil War , the castle was held by the royalists , but this surrendered to the parliamentarists in 1644, after a brief siege . Its demolition was ordered soon afterwards and Sheffield Castle was razed . There are no known drawings or plans of the castle that have survived to this day, but excavations in the 1920s revealed stone foundations of the second castle, begun in 1270, as well as earlier structures.

background

Sheffield Castle was on the west bank of the River Sheaf and on the south bank of the River Don. The rivers protected the castle in the north and east and there was a moat on the south and west sides . Today this area is mostly covered by the castle market.

The castle grounds are where the earliest Sheffield settlement was founded sometime in the second half of the first millennium BC. The Domesday Book of 1086 states that before the Norman conquest of England Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria , owned an "auditorium" (hall) in the manor of Hallam . The same entry states that the Sheffield manor - which was part of Hallam - was under the rule of Sweyn at the time of the Norman conquest . There has been speculation as to whether Waltheof II's “Aula” or Sweyn fortress were at this location, and excavations between 1927 and 1930 should have found evidence of Anglo-Saxon structure. But one can show on the basis of three different extracts from the Domesday Book that the manors of Hallam, Athercliffe and Sheffield were three separate bodies at the time of the uprising and also later, and that the village of Hallam and the “auditorium” of Waltheof II could have been in the manor of Hallam rather than Sheffield.

The studies that AL Armstrong carried out during the archaeological investigations in the late 1920s prove that the Anglo-Saxon remains were not those of the “Aula” Waltheof II. Armstrong's description assumes that the wooden structures were cut to the ground and burned down and the site was cleared immediately in order for the construction of the Lovetot Castle (around 1100), about two decades after the destruction of the "Aula" Waltheof II., close.

William de Lovetot's castle

The construction of the first castle in Sheffield after the Norman conquest of England is usually attributed to William de Lovetot , an Anglo- Norman baron from Huntingdonshire . De Lovetot received the manorial estate of Hallamshire (including Sheffield) in the early 12th century during the reign of Henry I. The first recorded reference to a castle in Sheffield is a reply from Ralph Murdoc , the Sheriff of Derbyshire , on the guardianship of Maud de Lovetot , the great-granddaughter of William de Lovetot, from around 1188.

It is thought that this castle was a wooden moth. Maud de Lovetot married Gerard de Furnival in 1204 , and Sheffield Castle and settlement fell to the Furnival family . Gerard de Furnival's grandson, Thomas , fought on the side of the royalists in the Second War of the Barons 1264-1267. In 1266 a group of anti-monarchist barons led by John de Deyville marched from north Lincolnshire to Derbyshire and passed through Sheffield. They destroyed the city and burned down the church and castle.

Thomas de Furnivals Castle

In 1270 Thomas de Furnival received a charter from King Henry III. in which he was allowed to have a castle built in Sheffield. Thomas de Furnival died soon after the castle was completed and was buried in the new castle. In 1707 a report was published which stated that when the castle was destroyed in 1648 a large, flat stone was found that read, “I, Lord Furnival, I built this castle. And under this wall, in my grave, was my burial place. "

De Furnival's castle was built of stone and stretched from the River Sheaf to the Waingate and from the River Don to Dixon Land , an area of about 1.7 hectares. A 9.96 km² park was created next to the castle; it stretched from the castle to Gleadless in the south and Handsworth in the east. In 1516, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury , moved his alternative family home, Sheffield Manor, to this park.

Destruction of the castle

On October 11, 1642, when England slipped into Civil War, Sheffield City and Castle were taken by Sir John Gell for the Parliamentarians. In April 1643 royalist troops, led by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , invaded Yorkshire and took Leeds , Wakefield and Rotherham before approaching Sheffield. The parliamentary defenders of Sheffield Castle fled to Derbyshire so that the royalists could take the castle without a fight. Lord Newcastle left a garrison on the castle under the leadership of Sir William Saville , as Margaret Cavendish , the wife of Lord Newcastle, describes it:

“(...) he marched with his army to Sheffield, another market town of great size, where there was an old castle. The enemy troops who held the city heard of this, were frightened by the call of my lord's victorious army, fled from there to Derbyshire and left the town and castle (without a single shot) at the mercy of my lord. And, although the people of the city were mostly rebellious in spirit, my master arranged his affairs so carefully that in a very short time he moved most of them out of love for loyalty and the rest by fear, and he raised his army daily. He installed a garrison of soldiers in the castle and fortified it in every way. He appointed a good lord [Sir William Savile, knight and baronet] to govern the castle, the city, and the country. He found a few iron foundries near the village, which he immediately ordered to cast iron cannons for his garrison and to manufacture other instruments and war machines. "

Sir William Savile left Sheffield and the castle under the control of his deputy, Major Thomas Beaumont , who held Sheffield until August 1644. Then Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester , sent Major General Crawford , Colonel Pickering and a force of 1,200 soldiers to retake Sheffield for the Parliamentarians. At first the castle garrison resisted, and when the major general found out that his artillery, the largest piece of which was a small field snake, was insufficient to break the castle walls, he sent a letter to Lord Fairfax requesting his transfer a small cannon (“Queen's pocket pistol”) and a large field snake. These additional guns were able to break the walls of the castle and then the transfer of the castle was negotiated.

The conquerors assured the garrison that they would leave in free escort and take their personal belongings and weapons with them against the surrender of the castle. Lady Savile, Sir William Savile's widow, was pregnant at the time and went into labor the night after the castle was handed over.

After the siege, Colonel John Bright of Carbrook Hall was appointed governor of the castle. He was soon appointed governor of the city of York , leaving Sheffield to Captain Edward Gill . On April 30, 1646, the House of Commons passed a resolution that Sheffield Castle should be made unusable, and on July 13, 1647 it was decided that the castle should be demolished. Despite the already well advanced demolition work, Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel , bought Sheffield Castle back in 1649 and wanted to have it restored. But the damage was already too great and the restoration work never started. Soon the castle was completely razed; For a while the area served as an orchard, then as a bowling green and finally it was built on.

Archaeological research and remains

Looking down the Haymarket to the Castle Market building. Castle Market is on the site of the former Norman Sheffield Castle.

In 1927, before the Brightside and Carbrook Cooperative Society business was built, an excavation led by Leslie Armstrong discovered the foundation of one of the two gate towers and part of the gateway itself. These remains of the castle were preserved under the Castle Market building. English Heritage has listed them as Grade II Historic Buildings and they are open to the public.

The remains visible today are in two rooms below the Castle Market . One room is open to the public and you can book a tour, the other is separated by a wall and can only be reached via a manhole in the food area of the market. The ruins that have survived to this day, about 10.7 meters above the River Don, are those of a gate tower and represent about a quarter of the original, eastern tower.

Later, in 1999 and 2001, ARCUS , the University of Sheffield Archeology Research and Advisory Unit , discovered that the castle was much larger than they thought it was: it must have been one of the largest medieval castles in England. The drilling was carried out in the delivery yard of the upper food area and stone slabs were left at the sites to mark the boundaries of the former castle.

A group of volunteers formed the Friends of Sheffield Castle , who conduct research and promote the remains of the castle.

Restoration of the castle gate

In August 2014, Sheffield City Council announced plans to rebuild the castle entrance as part of a £ 5 million restoration of the area around the castle gate. The plan depends on the funding required; the city council has allocated £ 1 million to this end and additional funds have come from a range of donations.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b David Hey: A History of Sheffield . 3. Edition. Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster 2010. ISBN 978-1-85936-198-6 . P. 15.

^ J. Edward Vickers MBE: Old Sheffield Town, An Historical Miscellany . 2nd Edition. The Hallmashire Press, Sheffield 1999. ISBN 1-874718-44-X . Part 1.

^ Sheffield Castle Archaeological Investigations . In: Sheffield City Council website . Sheffield City Council. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 1, 2008. @1@ 2

^ Robert L. Hallam: The Village of Hallam and Waltheof's Aula . Robert L. Hallam, North Vancouver November 24, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

^ Robert L. Hallam: Saxon Remains at Castle Hill, Sheffield. A Review of Archaeological Findings . Robert L. Hallam, North Vancouver November 24, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

↑ ^a ^b Joseph Hunter: Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York . Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mayor & Jones, London 1819. p. 25. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

↑ Joseph Hunter: Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York . Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mayor & Jones, London 1819. p. 26. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

^ J. Edward Vickers MBE: Old Sheffield Town, An Historical Miscellany . 2nd Edition. The Hallmashire Press, Sheffield 1999. ISBN 1-874718-44-X .

↑ Joseph Hunter: Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York . Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mayor & Jones, London 1819. Chapter IV: Sheffield under the Barons Furnival . Retrieved August 26, 2016.

^ ^A ^b John Taylor (editor): The Illustrated Guide to Sheffield and the Surrounding District . Pawon and Brailsford, Sheffield 1879. Chapter: The Civil Wars . Pp. 30-32. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

↑ Joseph Hunter: Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York . Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mayor & Jones, London 1819. Chapter VII: The Removal of the Lords of the Manor — The Civil Wars . Retrieved August 26, 2016.

^ David Hey: A History of Sheffield . 3. Edition. Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster 2010. ISBN 978-1-85936-198-6 . P. 13.

^ Margaret Cavendish: The Life of William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle . John C. Nimmo. Pp. 41-42. 1886.

↑ ^a ^b ^c Joseph Hunter: Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York . Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mayor & Jones, London 1819. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

^ David Hey: A History of Sheffield . 3. Edition. Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster 2010. ISBN 978-1-85936-198-6 . P. 14.

^ Leslie Armstrong: Sheffield Castle: An Account of Discoveries made during excavations on the site from 1927 to 1929 in Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society . Book IV (1930). Pp. 7-27.

↑ ^a ^b Excavating the moat at Sheffield Castle . In: I Dig Sheffield . Retrieved August 29, 2016.

^ Remains of Sheffield Castle beneath Castle Market (1) . Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

^ Remains of Sheffield Castle beneath Castle Market (2) . Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

^ Remains of Sheffield Castle beneath Castle Market (3) . Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

^ Peter Hague, Castle Market.

^ David Keys: Digging up the Past: Sheffield . Pp. 6-7. May 2002.

^ Sheffield's Castlegate development plan revealed . In: BBC News, Sheffield and South Yorkshire . July 30, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

Web links

53.384722 -1.4633333Coordinates: 53 ° 23 ′ 5 " N , 1 ° 27 ′ 48" W.

[Hey15-1] A ^b David Hey: A History of Sheffield . 3. Edition. Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster 2010. ISBN 978-1-85936-198-6 . P. 15.

[VickersP1-2] J. Edward Vickers MBE: Old Sheffield Town, An Historical Miscellany . 2nd Edition. The Hallmashire Press, Sheffield 1999. ISBN 1-874718-44-X . Part 1.