Wakefield Castle

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Grass-covered earthworks and tree-covered mound of Wakefield Castle

Wakefield Castle , also Lowe Hill or Lawe Hill , is a ruined castle on a hill near Wakefield in the English administrative unit of West Yorkshire . The moth was erected on the north bank of the River Calder in the 12th century . The name is from the Anglo-Saxon hlaew (dt .: mound or hill grave derived). The mound, about 400 meters from the river, was separated from the city by flat, swampy land and was considered a good place for a fortress.

William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey , presumably started the construction of the castle. A trench 1.8 meters deep and 13 meters wide was dug and a mound about 12 meters high and 15 meters in diameter with a flat top was made. The castle had two courtyards that were fortified with wooden palisades . There were stables, workshops and accommodations for the soldiers.

Wakefield Castle and the neighboring Sandal Castle were given to Thomas Plantagenet, 2nd Earl of Lancaster , in 1318 and in 1324 King Edward II entrusted Richard Moseley with their care. It is not known when the castle was destroyed, but a "great storm" that caused great damage to Wakefield in 1330 may have caused it. Excavations carried out in 1953 suggested that Wakefield Castle was probably built without the king's approval and was thus abandoned unfinished.

In July 1558, a beacon was lit on Lowe Hill to warn the population that the Spanish Armada had been sighted in Cornwall in front of The Lizard .

Only a few remains of the castle remain, which are considered a Scheduled Monument . They are now in Thornes Park and consist of the tree-covered mound and some earthworks . The site is open to the public.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b J. W. Walker: Wakefield - Its History and People . Volume 1 & 2. 3rd edition. SR Publishers, 1966. p. 47.
  2. ^ AD Mills: Dictionary of English Place Names . Oxford 1998. ISBN 0-19-280074-4 . P. 404.
  3. ^ A b J. W. Walker: Wakefield - Its History and People . Volume 1 & 2. 3rd edition. SR Publishers, 1966. p. 48.
  4. ↑ a b c Lowe Hill . Pastscape. Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  5. ↑ 1066-1600 . Wakefield Council. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. 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 March 25, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wakefield.gov.uk
  6. ^ JW Walker: Wakefield - Its History and People . Volume 1 & 2. 3rd edition. SR Publishers, 1966. p. 414.
  7. ↑ Lowe Hill, Wakefield . CastleUK.net. Retrieved November 15, 2016.

Coordinates: 53 ° 40 ′ 21.4 "  N , 1 ° 30 ′ 26.3"  W.