Castles | Sussex Castles | Richard Bird

Ypres Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:20:56 -0400

Ypres Castle is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Rye. It was built in 1250 by Roger of Savoy. The castle was later sold to John d' Ypres around 1430, from whom, it takes its present name.

One of Ypres Castle early uses was as a prison. The courtyard, now planted as a medieval garden, was the women prisoners exercise yard. Originally prisoners were kept 5 to a cell, male and female prisoners together. Later it was found that separating male and female prisoners was worked better. The castle currently houses part of the Rye town museum.

Ypres Castle slideshow

Visiting Ypres Castle

Pevensey Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:18:50 -0400

286 - Roman times
A fort was built at Pevensey between 280 and 300 by Carausius, a roman admiral and self-styled emperor of Britain and northern Gaul. The fort was part of the roman defenses against Saxon raiders. Anderitum, as the fort was known in roman times, was built to plug the gap in coastal defenses between Porchester and Lympne. Anderitum was originally built on a peninsular surrounded by marsh and sea. However, the sea has now retreated and the castle is about two miles from the sea.

450 - Saxon times
The Saxon invasion of England began around 450. In 491 Ælle and Cissa landed at Pevensey and sacked the roman fort of Anderitum. All the defenders were slaughtered by Ælle. The fort remained in Saxon hands until the norman invasion, although from the later 900’s on there were frequent Viking raids all along the Sussex coast.

In 1049 Earl Swein landed at Pevensey with his brothers to discuss Swein’s land rights with his father Earl Godwine and with Earl Beorn. The discussion ultimately resulted in Earl Beorn’s murder and Earl Swein’s banishment.

Lewes Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:17:58 -0400

Castle construction was begun in 1067 on William I’s behalf by his half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and later under William I direct supervision. William de Warenne, one of William’s foremost supporters continued work in 1080. William de Warenne and his wife Gundrada also founded Lewes Priory . Bishop Odo later fell out of royal favor when was involved in a rebellion against William II.

Lewes castle is one of two in England with two mottes. Both mottes still exist, but the second motte known as Brack Mount does have any surviving fortifications. The castle was built to control the rape of Lewes. William had divided Sussex into five rapes each controlled by a castle. This was to ensure William’s access to the coast and to Normandy.

The Battle of Lewes was fought on 14 May 1264, between King Henry III and Simon de Montfort. de Montfort won the battle making him the de facto ruler of England.

John de Warenne , the grandson of the, John de Warenne who fought for the king in the battle of Lewes was responsible building the the impressive barbican early in the 14th century. John de Warenne died without an heir and in 1347 the castle became the property of the earls of Arundel.

Knepp Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:17:27 -0400

Knepp Castle is located in Shipley, West Sussex. There is evidence at the site of human occupation from Saxon times. The castle itself, was built after the Norman conquest by William de Broase, one of William the Conqueror's chief lieutenants. William de Broase primary castle was at Bramber, but he used Knepp as hunting lodge. In Norman times the land around the castle was forested and well stocked with deer and boar.

In 1209 King John seized all the de Broase property and subsequently allowed his friends and supporters rights to hunt at the castle. When it looked as if John might loose the castle in his war with the barons, he ordered Knepp destroyed, but it is unlikely this order was carried out, as King John died shortly after the order was issued.

Shortly before his death, John restored the de Broase property was returned to the de Broase family. The de Broase name died out in the late fourteenth century and the castle passed to the Mowbray and later, the Howard line. It is not know when the castle fell into ruin, but it has been in a ruined state at least since the early eighteenth century.

Herstmonceux Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:17:07 -0400

Sir Roger Feinnes was granted 600 arces around the village of Herstmonceux in recognition of his service at the battle of Agincourt by King Henry V. Sir Roger used the land to build Herstmonceux castle in 1441.

Herstmonceux castle is one of the earliest surviving brick built structures in England, after the art of brick making had been lost during the Saxon era.With its turrets, crenelation and moat, the castle looks defensively impressive, but it was built as a manor house and the castle never saw siege or battle.

In the mid-18th century the interior was demolished to provide materials for nearby building projects. Restoration work began in the early 20th century and finally completed in 1936. Between 1946 and 1990, the castle housed the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Today it is situated in a beautifully landscaped park and well kept walled gardens.

Herstmonceux Castle slideshow

Visiting Herstmonceux Castle

Hastings Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:16:51 -0400

Duke William of Normandy built a wooden fort on the cliffs overlooking Hastings shortly after after his victory of the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. William soon returned to Normandy leaving the fort under the command of Humphrey de Tilleul. Later, William granted the rape of Hastings and the castle to his cousin Robert, Count of Eu. Around 1070, William ordered a new stone castle to be built on the same site.

At its height, the castle had a large stone keep and a church college. Tournaments were held at the nearby Ladies Parlour fields. Some tournaments were believed to have been attended by Adela, King Williams's daughter. Several later Kings visited the castle including, William II, Stephen, John and Edward I.

Hasting was one of the five original “Cinque Ports”, that provided the king with ships in exchange for special rights and the ability to raise revenue. Other towns, such as Winchelsea and Rye were added as cinque ports later, but Hastings was always considered the head cinque port of Sussex.

Camber Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:14:19 -0400

The central tower was built in 1512 by Sir Edward Guildeford. The outer walls and bastions were added in 1544. The castle was intended to defend the coast between rye and Winchelsea from the French. However by the end of 16th century, the silting up of local rivers had reduced its military value and the garrison was disbanded in 1637.

This view from the outside shows the D shaped bastions and part of the octagonal curtain wall. The castle was built largely from local sandstone and limestone.

Camber Castle slideshow

Visiting Camber Castle

Bramber Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:13:36 -0400

Sir William de Braose built Bramber castle around 1070 and added a chapel later in 1075. The chapel features a stone carving of a fox preaching to geese - possibly a Saxon stone masons commentary on the political realities of the era. At one time the church housed a small Benedictine college.

In 1208 all the de Braose property was confiscated by King John. William de Braose escaped to France, but by 1209 John had captured Matilda de Braose and imprisoned her in Windsor castle where he starved her to death in 1211. After John’s death, the castle was returned to the de Braose family. The castle remained in the de Braose family until 1324, when the family line ended.

The castle was besieged by Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil war in 1642. The church was quite badly damaged when the Parliamentarian guns were set up in the transepts to fire on the castle. Cromwell ordered the castle slighted so that it could not be used again by the royalist forces.

Bramber Castle slideshow

Visiting Bramber Castle

Bodiam Castle

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:12:36 -0400

Bodiam castle was built between 1385 and 1388, toward the end of the castle building age by Sir Edward Dallingridge. His family name is a contraction of Dalling and Ridge, the area of Sussex where his family were land owners. Sir Edward made his fortune in the hundred years war against the French and through marrying well. He received a license to crenelate from King Richard II and built Bodiam castle.

There is some debate as to whether the castle was built for military use or to reinforce Sir Edward’s position with the nobility of England. The walls were relatively thin and contained a number of large mullioned windows, making the castle impractical to defend against canon fire. However, my personal opinion is that while Bodiam was originally intended as a personal residence, Sir Edward added the fortifications due to the persistent threat of invasion from France. Sir Edward was commissioner of array for Sussex and could have potentially used the castle as a rallying point for his Sussex militia.

Arundel Castle

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 07:58:55 -0400

Work was started on Arundel castle in 1068 with the raising of the motte and the digging of the dry moat by Earl Roger de Montgomery, followed by the gatehouse in 1070. The stone keep on the motte was built later by William de Albini

Earl Roger, as he is referred to in the Domesday book, was a trusted counselor of William I. He did not fight at the Battle of Hastings, but stayed in Normandy to protect William’s holdings there. William granted Earl Roger substantial land in England, including the district or rape of Arundel, as it was known.

Earl Rogers and his sons Hugh, Roger and Robert de Bellême joined the Rebellion of 1088 against William II. William suppresses the rebellion on confiscated much of the rebels land. On Earl Rogers death in 1094 Arundel reverted to the crown. In 1097 William II stopped at Arundel on way to hold court in Windsor. In 1100, William II died while hunting in the new forrest and was succeeded by Henry I.

In 1102 Count Robert de Bellême rebelled against King Henry I and was subsequently banished. Count Robert fled to Arundel, where he was besieged by the king. Henry realized that the siege might be of some duration and built emplacements around the castle. and leaving some of his army to maintain the siege, Henry moved on to besiege Bridgnorth, another of Count Robert’s holdings. When Henry returned to Arundel, Robert de Bellême had fled to Normandy.

Amberley Castle

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 07:55:34 -0400

Amberley Castle was originally built as a manor house by the Bishop Luffa early in the 12th century. The curtain wall was built after Bishop Rede received a license to crenelate from King Richard II in 1377. In 1377 the French had been raiding the south of England and fear of an invasion was great. To help meet this threat King Richard II issued a number of licenses to Crenellate including Amberley and Bodiam.

Amberley castle was a royalist stronghold during the english civil war, when it was besieged and sacked by the parliamentarians and later being slighted by Cromwell.

Amberley Castle slideshow

Visiting Amberley Castle