Tattershall Castle is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in
Tattershall
Tattershall is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, east from the point where that road crosses the River Witham. At its eastern end, Tatte ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, England, about 12 miles (19 km) north east of
Sleaford
Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the no ...
. Since 1925 it has been in the care of the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
.
History
Tattershall Castle has its origins in either a stone
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
or a fortified
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...
, built by Robert de Tattershall in 1231.
This was largely rebuilt in brick, and greatly expanded, by
Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell
Ralph de Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell ( – 4 January 1456) was an English politician and diplomat. A Privy Councillor from 1422, he served as Treasurer of England (1433–1443) and twice as Chamberlain of the Household (1425–1432 and 1450� ...
,
Treasurer of England
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...
, between 1430 and 1450.
[
Brick castles are less common in England than stone or earth and timber constructions; when brick was chosen as a building material it was often for its aesthetic appeal or because it was fashionable. The trend for using bricks was introduced by Flemish weavers. There was plenty of stone available nearby, but Cromwell chose to use brick.] About 700,000 bricks were used to build the castle, which has been described as "the finest piece of medieval brick-work in England".
Of Lord Cromwell's castle, the high Great Tower and moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
still remain. It is thought that the castle's three state rooms were once splendidly fitted out and the chambers were heated by immense Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
fireplaces with decorated chimney pieces and tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
. It has been said that the castle was an early domestic country mansion masquerading as a fortress. Cromwell died in 1456, and the castle was initially inherited by his niece, Joan Bouchier, but it was confiscated by the Crown after her husband's demise and remained in royal ownership from king Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...
to king Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.[ Tattershall Castle was recovered in 1560 by ]Sir Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...
, who sold it to Lord Clinton, later Earl of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The title was borne by the Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne from 1768 to 1988, until the dukedom became extinct.
Earls of Lincoln, first ...
, and it remained with the Earls of Lincoln until 1693.[ It passed to the Fortesques,][ but then fell into neglect.
It was put up for sale in 1910. Its greatest treasures, the huge medieval fireplaces, were still intact. When an American bought them they were ripped out and packaged up for shipping. Lord Curzon of Kedleston stepped in at the eleventh hour to buy the castle and was determined to get the fireplaces back. After a nationwide hunt they were found in London and returned. He undertook restorations of the castle between 1911 and 1914.] It was gifted to the National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, on his death, in 1925[ and remains today one of the three most important surviving brick castles of the mid-15th-century in the United Kingdom.][
The experience of Tattershall led Lord Curzon to push for heritage protection law in Britain; this was enacted as the ]Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913
The Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.
Details
The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 had b ...
.
Design
The plan of the castle is roughly rectangular; it is bounded by an inner moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
surrounded by an outer moat.[ The inner enclosure, or Ward, was that of the original 13th-century castle, and the original entrance was on the north side towards the west end.][
The Outer Ward, between the outer moat and inner moat, housed the stables.][ The Middle Ward, originally accessed by a bridge from the Outer Ward, housed a ]gatehouse
A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...
and guardhouse
A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have historically been dormit ...
. Today, access to the castle is via this Middle Ward.[ The Inner Moat encompasses the Inner Ward, where the Great Tower and the kitchens (now demolished) were situated.][
]
The Great Tower
The tower is about across. There are separate entrances to the basement, to the ground floor (Parlour), and to the spiral staircase leading to the upper floors of the tower. This suggests that the basement and ground floor were intended to provide communal accommodation, while the three great upper rooms were an independent private suite or Solar (room)
The solar was a room in many English and French medieval manor houses, great houses and castles, mostly on an upper storey, designed as the family's private living and sleeping quarters. Within castles they are often called the "Lords' and Ladies' ...
. The design was extremely simple, with four floors, slightly increasing in size at each level by reductions in wall thickness.[
The fireplaces indicate that the rooms were not intended to be subdivided, but were kept as one great room at each level. One of the four corner turrets contains the staircase, but the other three provided extra accommodation rooms at each level.][
The basement was used to store spices and other kitchen items. It is believed that during the ]Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
it was used as a prison.[
The ground floor was the Parlour and it was here that local tenants would come to pay their rent.][ Today, the Parlour is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies for up to 90 guests.][
The first floor of the private suite was the Hall, which would have been used to entertain and wine and dine guests.][
The second floor was the Audience Chamber, and only the finest of guests would have been admitted here. A brick vaulted corridor led to a small waiting room, before the great hall of the Audience Chamber, which today houses ]Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
bought by Lord Curzon.[
The third floor would have been the Private Chamber, where the Lord would have retired for the night.][
Above these are the roof gallery and ]battlements
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
, which provide good views across the Lincolnshire landscape, as far as Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to the south, and Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
to the north.[ It is not possible today to access the turrets.][
The brick foundations to the south of the great tower, projecting into the moat, mark the site of the 15th-century kitchens.][
Today, the old guardhouse (about north-east of the tower) is the gift shop, and the grounds are home to a number of ]peacocks
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...
.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Tattershall Castle information at the National Trust
*
{{Coord, 53, 6, 4.8, N, 0, 11, 33.4, W, type:landmark, display=title
Castles in Lincolnshire
Grade I listed castles
Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire
National Trust properties in Lincolnshire
Historic house museums in Lincolnshire