Bickleigh Castle
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Bickleigh Castle is 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
that stands on the banks of the
River Exe The River Exe ( ) is a river in England that source (river), rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lie ...
at Bickleigh in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, England. Once considerably larger, Bickleigh now comprises a group of buildings from various periods which together formed a
water castle A water castle, sometimes water-castle, is a castle which incorporates a natural or artificial body of water into its defences.Forde-Johnston (1979), p. 163. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbo ...
. It has also historically been known as Bickleigh Court. The main building was destroyed during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, however other buildings survived, mostly arranged around a central courtyard. In the present day, the castle serves principally as a wedding venue, though at times is open to the public by appointment.


History

A
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
castle of the late 11th or early 12th century was dismantled in the mid 12th century. During this time a small stone
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
was built in the bailey. In the 15th century the Courtenay family built a mansion on the site and incorporated some of the earlier buildings. The Courtenay and Carew families then lived there until the English Civil War, and the Carews owned the Estate until 1924. During the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
's queen,
Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...
stayed in the castle as a guest of Sir Henry & Lady Dorothy Carew in 1644, on her way to
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
. Shortly after her visit she gave birth to
Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...
Henrietta Anne Stuart Henrietta of England (Henrietta Anne Stuart; 16 June 1644 O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="6 June 1644 New Style">N.S.– 30 June 1670) was the youngest child of King Charles I of England and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France. She was Duchess ...
, who later married Le Duc d'Orléans, the bisexual brother of
King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...
of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
; there is a plaque commemorating the birth of the Princess in Exeter, which is now displayed in the Princesshay Shopping Centre. The Queen then exiled herself in July 1644 from Falmouth, and did not return until the 1660s. Subsequently, at the end of 1645, Fairfax's Parliamentarian troops attacked the castle, after "slighting" neighbouring Tiverton Castle; they had laid siege from
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...
. The bulk of the castellated structure was then demolished by Parliamentarian troops. The "
slighting Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...
" of Bickleigh was a response to the Royalist sympathies of the Carew family and its use as a stronghold during the conflict with the main manor house and inner keep being destroyed. Following the
Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...
, a typical Devon farmhouse of cob and
thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...
was added. The buildings subsequently fell into disrepair, and became a farm store and cottage until they were restored early in the 20th century. The Norman chapel and a 12th-century
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 most ...
still exist, as does the 15th-century Courthouse and parts of the original Norman curtain wall. On a small hill behind the castle, encased amongst rhododendrons, are the remains of the Anglo-Saxon 'motte' (watchtower).
The Fisherman's Cot The Fisherman's Cot is an inn on the A3072 road to the northwest of Bickleigh, Mid Devon, Bickleigh near Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton, in northeastern Devon. It is operated by Marston's Inns and lies on the River Exe. Accommodation Situated on the ...
was constructed in 1933.


Buildings

The west range no longer survives. A building now known as the "Old Court" is south of the courtyard. Along with the North range and gatehouse most of the buildings were arranged around a central courtyard. The chapel is east of the rest of the buildings close to the
River Exe The River Exe ( ) is a river in England that source (river), rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lie ...
. Moat Cottage is north of the other buildings.


Gatehouse

The gatehouse dates from the early 12th century and is a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. It is a three-storey single-depth plan stone structure with an asbestos slate roof surmounted by turrets. A central carriage archway leads into a courtyard. The building was substantially altered in the 15th century by the Courtenay family, and restored in the 1920s and 1930s during the ownerships of Francis Harper and Lt Col Jasper Henson. One turret collapsed on 30 December 2023.


Chapel

The Sanctuary of the chapel pre-dates the Norman additions and alterations. The first documentary evidence of this building is circa AD600 probably before the Anglo-Saxons arrived circa AD 660, with further documentary reference to it being a chapel circa AD800s. The Sanctuary is the oldest part no doubt altered during that time. There is archaeological evidence of a wall at the west end of the Sanctuary with an arch, dividing it from the then nave. This was demolished when the nave was enlarged and replaced with a wooden
Rood Screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
. The current "wagon roof" dating from the 15th century. It is often cited as the oldest complete building in Devon. It was substantially renovated in the early 20th century. The rood screen was lost during the 19th century when the Chapel was used to house cattle. The Chapel currently (2017) contains a recently restored Estey organ dating from 1884.


Old Court

The Old Court is south of the range around the courtyard. It was built in the mid-15th century as a magistrates' court for Thomas, the 6th Earl of Devon, who was executed after the Battle of Towton in 1461; however, it has been revised and added to many times and part of the structure may have been demolished. It may have formed a
hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...
covered by a five arch braced jointed
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...
cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...
roof. After the English Civil War, when the Castle was severely damaged, it became a residence, and may well have had some of the alterations made at that time. It is believed an underground passage connects the Old Court to the Keep Gatehouse at a point in the Keep Gatehouse where a room has been bricked up.


North Range

The North Range was built in the latter half of the 17th century and served as a farmhouse, housing staff for the owner, Sir Henry Carew, Kt. It is a two-storey building with a thatched roof. In the left end room is a 16th-century overmantel (c.1550) carved with scenes relating to the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
and specifically the trial and execution of Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter & Earl of Devon, Sir Nicholas Carew, and Henry Pole at the Tower of London in January 1539 following the alleged '
Exeter Conspiracy The Exeter Conspiracy in 1538 was a supposed attempt to overthrow Henry VIII, who had taken control of the Church of England away from the Pope, and replace him with Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, who was a first cousin of the King. Co ...
'; in the carving is a stylised depiction of the City of Exeter and the Inner Keep of Bickleigh Castle. King Henry VIII is also depicted. A part of the carving may also relate to the role of the Carew family in putting down the
Prayer Book Rebellion The Prayer Book Rebellion or Western Rising was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon in 1549. In that year, the Book of Common Prayer (1549), first ''Book of Common Prayer'', presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduce ...
of 1549. The building was restored in the 1930s. The carving was originally in the part of the Castle demolished by the Parliamentarian Forces in the Civil War; for safe-keeping, it was stored in the vaults of
Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...
until the 1930s, when it was returned to the owner, Lt Col Jasper Henson, after a chance conversation with William Cecil, Bishop of Exeter, and eventually installed in its current position.


Moat Cottage

Moat Cottage which stands to the north of the other buildings was constructed in the late 16th century. It is a stone building with a thatched roof.


Stable block

The thatched former stable block was rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of an earlier building. It is surmounted by a
turret clock A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as Church (building), churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enab ...
, and has now been converted into accommodation and reception rooms.


Grounds

It is set in of grounds of which are landscaped. The outer wall, gardens and fish ponds in front of the Keep Gatehouse were landscaped during the ownership of Sir Thomas Carew, Bt, in the 18th century. The ponds were created from the remnants of the Norman moat. The garden walls, gate piers and gates are also designated as listed buildings.


Current use

The Castle was open to the public from 1970 to 1990 and was visited by 20,000 people each year. The Castle is currently open to public visitors by prior appointment; guided tours last approximately one hour. The Castle and surrounding buildings are now used principally to host weddings, and also house parties, events and bed & breakfast.


References


Further reading

* *Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.


External links


Bickleigh Castle
{{Authority control Country houses in Devon Castles in Devon Grade I listed buildings in Devon