Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle is a medieval castle in Skipton in the English administrative unit North Yorkshire . It was created in 1090 at the behest of Robert de Romille , a Norman baron, and has survived for over 900 years to this day.
history
The castle was originally built as a moth . Its builder, Robert de Romille, was the master of various properties in Bolton Abbey . Shortly after 1102 King Henry I enfeoffed Romille with further lands in Upper Wharferdale and Upper Airdale . The earth and wood castle was replaced by one made of stone that could withstand the attacks of the Scots . The cliffs behind the castle, which slope down towards the Eller Beck , made the castle easy to defend. The Romille line became extinct and in 1310 King Edward II gave the castle to Robert Clifford , who was made Lord of Skipton and Guardian of Craven . Robert Clifford had the fortifications of the castle expanded in many ways, but died in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 , hardly that the extensions were finished.
During the English Civil War , the castle was the only royalist position in northern England until December 1645 . After three years of siege, the royalists negotiated a surrender with Oliver Cromwell in 1645 . Cromwell ordered the roofs of the castle to be demolished. Legend has it that sheepskins were hung over the castle walls during the siege to dampen the impact of cannonballs. These sheepskins also appear in the city of Skipton's coat of arms.
Lady Anne Clifford (1590–1676) was the last Clifford to own the castle. After the siege she ordered repairs and had a yew tree planted in the central courtyard to commemorate the repairs after the war.
Today Skipton Castle is still well preserved and serves as a tourist attraction and private residence.
construction
The castle has six defense towers . The residential quarters are located between two towers on the north side and are protected by the abyss over the Eller Beck. Upstairs are the original kitchen, the knight's hall, the salons and the lord's bedroom. New kitchens, storage rooms and work cellar are located on the ground floor. The other towers are of a military nature and served military purposes. In the 16th and 17th centuries, a new entrance staircase (to replace the old drawbridge ), another residential wing and larger windows were added to the original structure. The roofs are completely intact. In 1626 Isaac de Caus installed a grotto , but it was badly damaged in the English Civil War. In the middle of the castle is a Tudor-style courtyard , the Conduit Court , in the middle of which a yew tree - allegedly by Lady Anne Clifford in 1659 - is planted.
The outer curtain wall encloses the inner courtyards and outbuildings, including the ruins of the 12th century chapel. Most of the castle wall has been preserved, but the twin-towered Norman gatehouse pierced through it. The east tower of the gatehouse houses a shell grotto from the 17th century, one of two shell grottos from this period that are still preserved today. (The other is in Woburn Abbey .)
Gallery images
Conduit Court
Residential quarters of the castle
Skipton Castle from behind
Ruins of the chapel from the 12th century
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Dalton: Conquest, Anarchy and Lordship: Yorkshire 1066-1154 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1994, ISBN 0-521-52464-4 .
- ^ Skipton Castle website . Retrieved July 7, 2015.
swell
- Skipton Castle (castle guide). Jarrod Publishing, 1999.
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 57 ′ 49 " N , 2 ° 0 ′ 56.2" W.