Thirsk Castle was a defensive

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle in the town of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The castle was one of three held by the de Mowbray family in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

History

Thirsk Castle belonged to the de Mowbray family, who possessed two other castles in Yorkshire, at Burton-in-Lonsdale and

Kirkby Malzeard Kirkby Malzeard () is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. There has been a creamery in the village making Wensleydale cheese for almost 100 years, first owned by Mrs Mason, then Kit Calvert, of Hawes, subsequen ...

. Additionally, the de Mowbray family had a fourth castle at Epworth on the

Isle of Axholme The Isle of Axholme is an area of Lincolnshire, England, adjoining South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is located between Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, and Doncast ...

(now

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

). Thirsk Castle is believed to have been built in the 1090s, with the castle becoming a holding place for the gathering fighters for the

Battle of the Standard The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King Davi ...

at nearby

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...

. The massed fighters set out for the battlefield from Thirsk Castle. The date of the castle's construction has been the subject of some debate, with writers in the 19th century believing it to predate the Conquest, however there is no evidence of this. In the late 1130s/early 1140s, monks who had lost their lands in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

to Scots raids, were offered sanctuary at the castle before being given lands by the de Mowbray family at Byland for their own house. Roger de Mowbray lost favour with the king (

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

of England), and rebelled against him in the Great Revolt. Henry later besieged Thirsk Castle, and de Mowbray was forced to give up his castles, including Thirsk in 1175. Henry II ordered that the castles at Kirkby Malzeard and Thirsk be destroyed in early 1176. Roger de Mowbray left to

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

in the Holy Land, dying after being taken prisoner after the

Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of ...

. The castle was said to have covered , being quite prominent on the skyline in Thirsk, and commanding the road north from

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. After its destruction, material from the castle was said to have been used in the construction of the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in Thirsk, (which can be seen in the background of the image). The de Mowbray family still owned the land, and a manor house that was built upon the site was supposedly destroyed in a Scots raid in 1322. Excavations on the site have determined that the Bailey rampart was about in length, which had a ditch on the outer side some wide, and deep. The site is now scheduled monument.

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External links

{{Castles in North Yorkshire
Historic Gateway description
Castles in North Yorkshire Scheduled monuments in North Yorkshire Thirsk