Taunton Castle
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Taunton Castle is a
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
built to defend the town of
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, England. It has origins in the
Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...
period and was later the site of a
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
. The
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the
Bishops of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...
. The current heavily reconstructed buildings are the inner ward, which now houses the Museum of Somerset and the Somerset Military Museum. The building was designated 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 ...
in 1952.


Anglo Saxon origins

The earliest fortification of Taunton started for King
Ine of Wessex Ine or Ini (died in or after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of what is now southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla of Wessex ...
and Æthelburg, in or about the year 710. However, according to the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'' this was destroyed twelve years later, however it is unlikely this was on the site of the current castle. An ecclesiastical minster is traditionally said to have been founded at Taunton, only a few years later, by Queen Frithugyth, wife of King
Æthelheard of Wessex Æthelheard (meaning roughly "Noble Stern"), also spelled Ethelheard, Edelard or Æþelheard, was King of Wessex from 726 to 740. There is an unreliable record of Æthelheard having been the brother-in-law of his predecessor, Ine, but his ance ...
, and the Bishops of Wessex appear to have built a manor house, adjoining it.


Medieval and Tudor eras

At the time of the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
in 1086, Taunton belonged to the
Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...
, who had a minster or Augustinian
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
on the site. Between 1107 and 1129 William Giffard, the Chancellor of King Henry I, converted the bishop's hall into a castle. In 1216, Bishop
Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) (List of Latinised names, Latinised as ''Petrus de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III of England, Henry III. He was not an ...
, a supporter of King John, defended the castle during a barons' revolt. By the late 12th century the
keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
measured by with a first floor great hall over a stone vaulted undercroft. During the
Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in Kingdom of England, England between the forces of barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of Henry III of England, King Hen ...
it was used as a prison for the son of Simon de Montfort who was held here until 1282. In 1451, when the
Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...
besieged the castle which was held by Lord Bonville, it was arranged around two baileys. The gate-house of the inner ward was probably of
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 â€“ 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
's date (1239–1307), but it was changed by Bishop Walter Langton in 1496. He inserted a large two-lighted Tudor window and placed a tablet bearing his own arms, supported by angels, above it and the Royal Coat of King Henry VII below. The Great Hall, which stands just opposite the gateway, is by , with walls apparently, in part, Norman, but much changed by later generations. Bishop Langton inserted Tudor windows but all of them, save two in the north front, have been replaced by seventeenth- or eighteenth-century substitutes. The last building erected within the walls was a schoolhouse, paid for by Bishop Richard Foxe in the 1520s.


Stuart era and Civil War

Taunton Castle had fallen into ruin by 1600 but it was repaired during the Civil War. Taunton had been captured by the Parliamentarian army under the
Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
in June 1644 making it the only Parliamentary
enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...
in the South West of the country. After Essex's army was forced to surrender at
Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...
in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
in September, the Royalists maintained a Siege of Taunton. From July 1644 to July 1645 Parliamentary forces commanded by Colonel Robert Blake were besieged by Royalist forces under Lord Goring, although the town was briefly relieved by Sir William Waller in late November. A relief column under Colonel Ralph Weldon made it to Taunton on 11 May, but the combined forces were still besieged. The two generals held out until help arrived on 14 June after the troops could be spared from the
Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Roundhead, Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Sir Th ...
. It was in the Great Hall, in 1685, that Judge Jeffreys held the Bloody Assizes following the
Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...
. Of more than 500 supporters of James Monmouth brought before the court on 18 and 19 September, 144 were hanged and their remains displayed around the county to ensure people understood the fate of those who rebelled against the king.


Architecture

Taunton was a typical Norman keep of the first half of the twelfth century, long by wide, in three stories, with walls some thick. This was let into the walls of an inner ward with a stone enceinte and, there was an
outer bailey An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...
represented by the modern "Castle Green". Until the late 17th century the castle was still used as a prison. By 1780, many parts of the castle had fallen into a bad condition and were repaired in a
Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...
by Sir Benjamin Hammet, a banker of
Lombard Street, London Lombard Street () is a street notable for its connections with the City of London's merchant, banking and insurance industries, stretching back to medieval times. From Bank junction, where nine streets converge by the Bank of England, Lombard ...
, and the Member of Parliament for Taunton. In 1786 he purchased the grant as bailiff and keeper of Taunton Castle in the names of his sons and his nephew. He put on a new roof, inserted many windows and recast many other details all round the castle. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Great Hall was used for public meetings. The outer ward is now occupied by two hotels, which have been
crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
, in order to be in keeping with the genuine battlements of the inner ward. But the great gate, opening into the enclosure, where they stand, is in part a genuine antique, having the arches of an "Early Decorated " gate-house of about the time of
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 â€“ 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
, though the superstructure is a restoration of 1816. In 1873 it was bought by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society and between 1899 and 1900 the Great Hall was repaired and refitted as their chief museum space. In 1908–9 the Adam Library was created to house the society's growing collection of books.


Modern era

The great hall and inner ward of the original castle make up the Museum of Somerset which opened in September 2011 after a £7 million refurbishment, partially funded by the
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
. The 17th-century Castle House has been designated as an
Ancient Monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...
. Due to its condition it was placed on the
Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
and underwent necessary repairs, but as of 2013 is still unoccupied.


See also

* Castles in Great Britain and Ireland * List of castles in England


References


External links

{{authority control Castles in Somerset Buildings and structures in Taunton Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane Tourist attractions in Somerset Grade I listed castles Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset History of Taunton Episcopal palaces of the bishops of Winchester