Wressle Castle

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Only the south wing of Wressle Castle remained.

Wressle Castle is a ruined castle in the English administrative division of East Riding of Yorkshire . Thomas Percy had the castle built as a fortress in the 1390s. Today the ruin is privately owned and not open to the public. Wressle Castle originally consisted of four wings around a central courtyard and had four corner towers. Access was through a gatehouse in the east wing, opposite the village.

After Thomas Percy was executed for his rebellion against King Henry IV , Wressle Castle fell to the crown. With only a few interruptions in which the castle was given to other people as fiefs, it was largely under royal control until 1471. Then it was returned to the Percy family . Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland , had the palace and gardens renovated so that the standard of the property was raised on the royal estates.

The castle was embedded in an ornamental landscape and surrounded by three gardens. Two of them were laid out when the castle was built, the third later. Wressle Castle was intended to serve as a residence for high-ranking personalities rather than a fortress; it was never besieged. However, during the English Civil War it was held by parliamentary forces and destroyed in 1646–1650. Almost 150 years later, a fire also damaged the ruins, leaving only the destroyed south wing and the foundations of the other wings.

history

In the late Middle Ages , the Percy family was one of four landowning dynasties in Yorkshire . In the 14th century they acquired properties as far as Northumberland , although Yorkshire remained an important location for them. The Percys ruled Wressle from the beginning of the 14th century; Thomas Percy received it in 1364. Wressle Castle is first mentioned in 1402, but was probably built in the 1390s. By 1390 Thomas Percy had spent nearly ten years abroad, either as a soldier or on a diplomatic mission. From then on he worked in the vicinity of the royal court and was friends with both Richard II and Henry IV . According to archaeologist and architectural historian Anthony Emery , Wressle Castle was built as a residence to reflect the earl's family tree and his special position in the state.

The ruins of Wressle Castle

Although Henry IV gave influence in South Wales, the relationship between the two deteriorated because of late payments. Thomas Percy's nephew, Henry Percy , instigated a rebellion against the king in July 1403 and Thomas Percy joined him. This rebellion culminated in the Battle of Shrewsbury , in which Thomas Percy was captured. Two days later, on July 23, he was beheaded and all his possessions - including Wressle Castle - were confiscated by the Crown. Between 1403 and 1471 the castle was owned by the crown and by feudal people chosen by the king, the latter only for a short time. In 1471 Wressle Castle was returned to the Percy family ; Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland , received it. His son Henry Algernon Percy, the 5th Earl , had Wressle Castle extensively refurbished, especially the interiors and gardens. He was one of the richest people in England then. The Northumberland Household Book , compiled around this time, details the daily work at Wressle Castle and Leconfield Castle, and is used by historians to study late medieval households.

Henry Algernon Percy died at Wressle Castle in 1527 and was succeeded by his son, Henry Algernon Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland . The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt against Henry VIII in 1536, partly because of the dissolution of the English monasteries . The rebels in Yorkshire were led by Robert Aske , and in October he sought the support of the Percy family . Aske went to Wressle Castle and tried to convince Henry Algernon Percy, who was sick at the time, to join the rebellion. At first Percy fought against Aske, but then let him control Wressle Castle. Henry Algernon Percy had fallen out with his younger brothers and when he died in 1537 his only surviving brother did not inherit his possessions because he was jailed for his involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace. In 1537 the crown regained control of Wressle Castle and King Henry VIII stayed there for three nights in 1541.

History scholar John Leland visited Wressle Castle in 1540. He wrote in his Itinerary that the castle “was one of the most beautiful beyond the Trent and looked like new (…) The castle is made entirely of very beautiful and large stone blocks, both inside as well as outside ". He also gave the first description of the palace gardens, which still exists today, and noted that they were "exceptionally beautiful" and with fruit trees on the other side of the moat.

Algernon Percy was ordered to complete the demolition of Wressle Castle in 1650.

The castle was garrisoned by the parliamentarians during the English Civil War and badly damaged during this time. At the time, it was estimated that repairing the damage to the castle and surrounding facilities would cost £ 1000. Wressle Castle was several times 1646-1650 looped . In 1648, the destruction work was concentrated on the battlements of the castle. A contemporary letter mentions that "the commissioners [of Parliament] did not care about obtaining any building materials, but threw stones from the battlements onto the ground". The destruction worsened two years later when Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland , was ordered to have everything that was left destroyed except for the south wing. The earl had been allowed to use this only surviving wing as a mansion . The destruction was not limited to the palace buildings, but probably also affected the ornamental gardens.

The castle ruins remained in the hands of the Percy family until the mid-18th century, when it fell to the Earls of Egremont . The land and castle ruins then inherited Elizabeth Seymour , who took the name "Percy" and later became Countess of Northumberland. Wressle Castle was leased by a farmer who started a fire on February 19, 1796 that struck the remaining wing of the castle. The farmer had tried to remove a chimney. A report in The Gentleman's Magazine three months later noted that "this loss was of real national importance". The farm was still leased; the farmhouse still preserved today was built around 1810. Around 1880 the castle ruins were partly overgrown with ivy . In 1957 the castle ruins and farm were sold to the Falkingham family , who still own them today.

Wressle Castle is now a historic building of the first degree and is a Scheduled Monument . The remains include earthworks that show the location of the former moat , as well as some parts of the castle: the remains of two towers of the south wing and a fragment of a building that is said to have been a bakery. According to Historic England , the castle grounds were first examined archaeologically in 1993 when the Humberside Archaeological Unit carried out a “Watching Brief”. The condition of the castle grounds continued to deteriorate and Wressle Castle was added to the Heritage-at-Risk register in 1999 . Historic England, Natural England and the Country House Foundation spent £ 500,000 repairs to the castle and in 2015 Wressle Castle was no longer seen in imminent danger and was therefore removed from the Heritage at Risk register. It also included architecture and landscaping reports prepared by Ed Dennison Archaeological Services with grants from the Castle Studies Trust (for the landscaping report).

architecture

Wressle Castle was designed as a fort with four wings in a square around an inner courtyard. There was a tower at every corner and a five-story gatehouse in the middle of the east wing. Clockwise from the northeast, the towers were called "Constable Tower" (where the constable lived every day), "Chapel Tower", "Lord's Tower" and "Kitchen Tower". Opposite the gatehouse, in the west wing of the palace, was the knight's hall and the Lord's Tower in the south-west contained the lord's apartment and private rooms.

Because of the architectural similarities with Sheriff Hutton Castle , Bolton Castle and Lumley Castle, historian Eric John Fisher thinks that Wressle Castle was built in the last quarter of the 14th century. This coincides with the career of John Lewyn , who designed the great tower of Warkworth Castle and also worked on Lumley Castle, both of the Percys' estates. Archaeologist Malcolm Hislop says that Lewyn also designed Wressle Castle and that it is difficult to believe that [Lumley Castle and Wressle Castle] were designed completely independently.

Landscape park

Wressle Castle from the southeast (1961). Between the camera position and the castle ruins lie earthworks, probably remnants of part of the former village. The outer garden used to be further back.

The village of Wressle was in front of the castle; it is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The castle was built on the western edge of the settlement on one of two main roads through Wressle. It is not known whether there was a manorial center in the settlement before the castle was built or whether it was a completely new site. The castle received various gardens, which presumably led to parts of the village being demolished and gardens being laid out in their place. The river Derwent flows from north to south about 180 meters west of the castle ruins.

The gardens at Wressle Castle were believed to have been created around the time the castle was being built. It is documented that Wressle Castle had two gardens at the end of the 15th century, both on the south side of the castle. One was probably between the southern moat and the castle ( Moat Garden ) and the other south of the moat ( Old Garden ). A third garden ( New Garden ) was created between 1472 and 1517 north of the castle. The old and the new garden together cover an area of ​​4000 m³; the former had a brick enclosure , while the latter had a moat. The Old Garden contained an orchard and avenues for bowling and walking, which was popular with the nobility from the 16th century. There was also a two-story building from the 15th century called the "schoolhouse". It was there that Henry Percy, the 5th Earl of Northumberland, learned to read.

A pleasure pavilion was built on the southwest corner, within the trench. Although the castle was probably only built in the 16th century, it had fallen into disrepair by 1577. A forecourt was added in front of the gatehouse after the main complex was built, but it is not known when exactly. Wetlands to the south and east of the castle are probably used to create a sea , i.e. a flat, wide lake. There were also two fish ponds, but their investment period is also unknown. In Wressle Castle's prime, in the 16th century, the quality of the gardens and landscaping was on par with the interior of the renovated buildings, possibly even rivaling the gardens of the royal palaces.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales . Volume I: Northern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49723-X , p. 417.
  2. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales . Volume I: Northern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49723-X , pp. 270, 414.
  3. ^ A b c Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, pp. 7–8. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  4. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales . Volume I: Northern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49723-X , pp. 417-418.
  5. ↑ AL Brown: Percy, Thomas, Earl of Worcester (c.1343-1403). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008. (oxforddnb.com ( Memento of the original from April 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , Retrieved April 25, 2016). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oxforddnb.com
  6. ↑ Peter Brears: Wressle Castle: Functions, Fixtures and Furnishings for Henry Percy “The Magnificent” fifth Earl of Northumberland, 1498-1527. In: The Archaeological Journal. Issue 167, 2010, p. 55.
  7. ^ Matthew Johnson: Behind the Castle Gate: From Medieval to Renaissance . Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-25887-1 , p. 90.
  8. ^ RW Hoyle: Percy, Henry Algernon, fifth earl of Northumberland (1478-1527). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008. (oxforddnb.com , accessed April 25, 2016).
  9. ^ RW Hoyle: The Pilgrimage of Grace and the Politics of the 1530s . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-820874-X , pp. 7, 17, 306, 307.
  10. ↑ RW Hoyle: Percy, Henry Algernon, sixth earl of Northumberland (c.1502-1537). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008. (oxforddnb.com , accessed April 25, 2016).
  11. ^ David Neave: Wressle Castle. In: The Archaeological Journal. Issue 141, 1984, p. 60.
  12. ↑ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, p. 9. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  13. ^ A b Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, p. 12. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  14. ^ A b Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Wressle Castle, East Yorkshire: Gardens Survey Interim Summary. In: The Castle Studies Group Journal. Issue 28, 2014–2015, p. 192.
  15. ↑ Lila Rakoczy: Archeology of destruction: a reinterpretation of castle slightings in English Civil War . PhD thesis from the University of York, York 2007. (etheses.whiterose.ac.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  16. ↑ Lila Rakoczy: Archeology of destruction: a reinterpretation of castle slightings in English Civil War . PhD thesis from the University of York, York 2007, p. 101. (etheses.whiterose.ac.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  17. ↑ Peter Brears: Wressle Castle: Functions, Fixtures and Furnishings for Henry Percy “The Magnificent” fifth Earl of Northumberland, 1498-1527. In: The Archaeological Journal. Issue 167, 2010, pp. 61–63.
  18. ↑ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, pp. 14-15. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  19. ^ Ruins of Wressle Castle . Historic England. English Heritage. (historicengland.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  20. ↑ Wressle Castle . Historic England. English Heritage. (historicengland.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  21. ↑ a b Nikolaus Pevsner, David Neave: Yorkshire: York and the East Riding. In: The Buildings of England. Yale University Press, New Haven / London 2002, p. 768.
  22. ↑ a b Wressle Castle . Pastscape: Historic England. English Heritage. (pastscape.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  23. ↑ The bakehouse at Wressle Castle approximately 30 meters north of ruins of Wressle Castle . Historic England. English Heritage. (historicengland.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  24. ↑ Heritage at Risk: Yorkshire Register 2015. (PDF) Historic England, p. 6 , accessed April 25, 2016 .
  25. ↑ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, pp. 1–2. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  26. ^ David Neave: Wressle Castle. In: The Archaeological Journal. No. 141, 1984, pp. 58-59.
  27. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales . Volume I: Northern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49723-X , p. 415.
  28. ↑ Eric John Fisher: Some Yorkshire estates of the Percies, 1450-1650 . University of Leeds PhD, Leeds 1954, p. 4.etheses.whiterose.ac.uk , Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  29. ^ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Wressle Castle, East Yorkshire: Gardens Survey Interim Summary. In: The Castle Studies Group Journal. Issue 28, 2014–2015, p. 191.
  30. ↑ Malcolm JB Hislop: John Lewyn of Durham: A Medieval Mason in Practice . (= BAR British Series. 438). 2007, ISBN 978-1-4073-0066-5 , p. 46.
  31. ↑ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, pp. 41–43. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  32. ^ Anthony Emery: Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales . Volume I: Northern England . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-49723-X , p. 414.
  33. ↑ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, pp. 20-21, 28, 43-45, 52-56. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).
  34. ↑ Shaun Richardson, Ed Dennison: Garden and Other Earthworks, South of Wressle Castle, Wressle, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey . Ed Dennison Archaeological Services and the Castle Studies Trust, 2015, pp. 17, 46, 50–54. (castlestudiestrust.org.uk , accessed April 25, 2016).

Web links

Commons : Wressle Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 53 ° 46 ′ 31.8 "  N , 0 ° 55 ′ 43.3"  W.