Bridgnorth Castle

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Bridgnorth Castle
Shropshire, England
Bridgnorth castle ruins.jpg
Bridgnorth Castle
Bridgnorth Castle is located in Shropshire
Bridgnorth Castle
Bridgnorth Castle
Coordinates52°31′53″N 2°25′12″W / 52.5314°N 2.4201°W / 52.5314; -2.4201Coordinates: 52°31′53″N 2°25′12″W / 52.5314°N 2.4201°W / 52.5314; -2.4201
Grid referencegrid reference SO716927
TypeCastle
Site information
Open to
the public
Yes
ConditionRuined
Site history
EventsEnglish Civil War

Bridgnorth Castle is a castle in the town of Bridgnorth, Shropshire. It is a scheduled monument, first listed in 1928.[1]

History[]

12th century[]

The castle was founded in 1101 by Robert de Belleme,[2] the son of the French Earl, Roger de Montgomery, who succeeded his father to become the Earl of Shrewsbury, possibly on the site of a Saxon burh built by Æthelflæd in 912. One year later in 1102, King Henry I took control of the castle from Robert of Belleme and Henry built another temporary castle on . Much of the outer building, which consists of shattered walls, dates to a period of construction that is believed to have occurred between 1105-1113. Around 1120, Henry I re-plastered the walls of the castle and replaced them with better quality stone. Its principal feature, a square great tower, was built during the reign of Henry II in 1160 and the castle was extended between 1166-1174.[3] In the early 1200s construction to extend the castle continued.

13th-16th centuries[]

A turret or mural tower, present in 1160, was extended in 1226 and the barbican, with a drawbridge, was built in 1212 and was first mentioned in 1221.[4] In 1242, the outer bailey, which does not survive today, was legally made part of the town[5] and in 1261, the sheriff of Bridgnorth was ordered to roof and repair the houses within the bailey of the castle. By 1267, the castle had begun to lose its significance and it was in disrepair by 1281.

In 1321, the barons who rebelled against King Edward II of England during the Despenser War took control of the castle but by the mid 14th century, the castle had lost most of its strategic importance again due to the Black Death and it was largely forgotten about by the 15th century.

It was noted as being in disrepair during the start of Henry VIII's reign (1509-1547) and it was partially repaired around 1530. John Leyland visited Bridgnorth Castle sometime between c.1536 and 1542[6] and he described Bridgnorth Castle as:

The Walles of it be of great height. There were 2 or 3 stronge wardes in the castle, that now goe totally to ruine. I count the castle to be more in compasse than a third part of the town. There is one mighty gate by north in it, now stopped up, and a little posterne made of force thereby through the wall to enter into the castle. The castle ground and especially the base court, hath now many dwellinge houses of tymbre in it newly erected.

— John Leyland[6]

17th-21st centuries[]

In 1642, King Charles I described Bridgnorth and its castle as "the finest in my domain". During the Civil War, Bridgnorth was one of the Midlands' main Royalist strongholds and in 1642 many Royalist troops were garrisoned there. The castle was partly slighted in 1645 and in 1646, Cromwell’s Roundheads arrived with orders to take Bridgnorth for the Parliamentarians from the garrison led by Sir Robert Howard.[7] Following a three-week siege starting on March 31, 1646, Cromwell was successful and he ordered that the castle be demolished. By 1647 little of the structure remained.[2] The Parliamentarians left it much as it is today, the stone from the castle being taken and used to repair the town's damaged buildings starting from 1647. The royal palace, known as the "King's House" was maintained as a royal residence until later in the 17th century, after the Civil war ended.[8]

Ruins of the postern gate incorporated into the now demolished public house The Hole in The Wall[9]

In 1821, The Hole in The Wall, a public house built against ruins of the castle, was demolished and the postern (northern) bailey gate belonging to the castle was discovered. It was planned to be kept standing but later that year, the bailey gate was demolished by being blown up with gunpowder as it heavily obstructed traffic.[9]

Bridgnorth Castle and surrounding garden

Parts of the great tower still remain, but because of the damage caused during the Civil War, it now leans at an angle of 15 degrees, four times the lean of the leaning tower of Pisa.[9] By 1900, the castle was overgrown by moss and it was beginning to go into another state of disrepair, but in 1956, the castle was donated to the town council and the overgrowing shrubbery and moss were cleaned off the ruins. In 1945, the ruined barbican was discovered and in 2001, the castle grounds were excavated over three days by archaeological television programme Time Team, clarifying the layout of the castle and the history of its construction.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Bridgnorth Castle, Bridgnorth - 1004783". Historic England. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bridgnorth Castle Archived 30 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, ShropshireTourism.co.uk, accessed May 2010
  3. ^ Somerset Fry, Plantagenet (1980). The David & Charles book of castles. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 194. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3. OCLC 7547072.
  4. ^ Brown, R. Allen, (1959), 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' The English Historical Review Vol. 74 p. 249-280 (Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 90-121) view online copy (subscription required)
  5. ^ Cook, M., 2007, Watching brief at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
  6. ^ a b Chandler, John, (1993), John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 392, 393, 396
  7. ^ "Howard, Robert (1585-1653)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  8. ^ Watkins-Pitchford, D.W., (1948), 'A visit to Bridgnorth' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 52 p. 153-178
  9. ^ a b c d The Leaning Tower of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, Time Team, episode aired 18 March 2001, accessed May 2010
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