Scarborough Castle

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File:Scarborough-castle.jpg
Scarborough Castle, England; view towards the town's North Bay.

Scarborough Castle stands on a clifftop overlooking the town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in England. The earliest castle fortifications on the site were built in the 1130s, and over the centuries several other structures were added. Today, the castle is a ruin, but still attracts many visitors to climb the battlements, take in the views and enjoy the accompanying interactive exhibition run by English Heritage.

History

The castle's ten centuries of history have seen it move from a major fortification in the Middle Ages to a well-loved ruin today. It played an understated role in several major English events, and survived a series of major sieges as its ownership passed between rival forces. The site itself was far from barren before the establishment of the castle, having hosted activities dating back thousands of years.

Early history of the site

There is some evidence of Iron Age and later settlements,[1] and a Bronze Age sword is on display in the castle exhibition; this is thought to have been a ritual offering.[2] The sword was discovered in 1980 at the castle and forms the centrepiece of English Heritage's £250,000 investment in making the site a strong tourist attraction.[3] Prior to the establishment of the castle in the twelfth century, a fourth century Roman signal station stood on the site to warn of approaching hostile vessels. The Anglo-Saxons built a chapel from its remains.[4]

The early castle, 1138-1244

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the creation of the castle: its founder was William le Gros, Count of Aumale (died 1179), a powerful Anglo-Norman baron who built the castle following his receipt of the Earldom of York from King Stephen in 1138. Some information has survived in the chronicle of William of Newburgh, a monk who wrote about the foundation of the castle in the 1190s. William le Gros built a wall on the landward side, and a gate tower at the entrance.[5]

It has been argued that these earliest fortifications were wood-built, so rapidly decayed; after twenty years, Henry II (reigned 1154-1189), who had ordered the barons' estates to be returned to the Crown,[6] extensively rebuilt the castle, including the keep which survives to this day, and an inner wall to protect the bailey. This rebuilding occurred between 1157 and 1169, creating a much stronger stone complex.[7] Alternatively, Henry may simply have destroyed the original tower, replacing it with the three-story keep.[8]

Both William and Henry would have recognised the economic significance of building a castle at Scarborough, as east coast ports were much in-use for trade; it is likely that Scarborough's 'Old Town' rapidly appeared around it,[9] especially once Henry granted Scarborough the status of a royal borough. The castle was an attractive assignment for would-be governors, highly sought-after by powerful nobles of the day loyal to the King.[10] Overall, Henry's interest in the castle seems to have been a strategy to weaken William's power over much of Yorkshire at that time,[11][12] and can be seen as one story in the long struggle for power between the monarchy and the barons which occurred in the two centuries after the Norman Conquest.

Strife continued during the reign of King John (reigned 1199-1215), during which time the castle developed its military role. John's rule was strongly opposed by the northern barons, so the castle at Scarborough needed to be fortified as a strategic stronghold. John visited the castle only four times during his reign, but spent a considerable sum on upgrading the defences, including the curtain wall on the west and south sides, and a new hall called the 'King's Chamber'.[13] John granted the townsfolk certain economic freedoms which ensured their loyalty to the Crown while the rest of Yorkshire turned against him; he also had a small fleet of ships stationed in the harbour below.[14][15]

Improvements continued under subsequent monarchs. In 1243-1244, Henry III installed a new barbican, or fortified gateway, plus a double drawbridge tower that has since been replaced by stone arches.[16] The barbican consisted of two towers flanking the gateway, with two more towers protecting the approach. These have been much-modified in the intervening centuries.[17]

Piers Gaveston besieged

Scarborough Castle's next appearance in major English history came in 1312, during the reign of Edward II. By this time, the castle was a major fortification,[18] and so was thought a natural place for the King's favourite knight, the Gascon Piers Gaveston, to seek sanctuary when pursued by the barons who had imposed the Ordinances of 1311 to curb the King's power, and who now saw Gaveston as a threat to their interests.[19] In April 1312, Edward made Gaveston the Governor of Scarborough Castle, but his tenure would be brief; in May, the Earls of Pembroke and Warren, together with Henry de Percy, besieged and took the castle. Despite its strong defences, it fell quickly due to lack of provisions. Gaveston was promised safe escort from the castle, but on the journey south was captured by the Earl of Warwick and subsequently killed. Scarborough fared little better; Edward would later punish the town for not supporting Gaveston by revoking its royal privileges and placing it under the direct rule of appointed governors.[20][21]

Further sieges

The castle was besieged several times in the following centuries, playing its part in rebellions and civil war. In 1536, Robert Aske unsuccessfully tried to take the castle during the Pilgrimage of Grace, a revolt against the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church. In 1553, forces loyal to Thomas Wyatt the younger, who opposed Mary I and Catholicism, took the castle by entering disguised as peasants. Their leader, Thomas Stafford, held the castle for only three days, and was subsequently executed for high treason.[22]

The English Civil War (1642-1651) saw the castle on the side of Charles I and the Royalists. The Parliamentarians loyal to Oliver Cromwell laid siege to the castle for five months, bombarding the site and partially destroying the keep with their artillery. Bombardment and the threat of starvation meant that surrender came on 25th July 1645. The castle returned to Royalist hands when its commander, the Member of Parliament for Scarborough Sir Matthew Boynton decalred for the King, leading to a second siege which brought the castle back under parliamentary control on 19th December 1648. Following this, the castle was used as a prison for those deemed enemies of the Commonwealth of England, the country's brief period of republicanism.[23][24]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Castle Explorer: 'Scarborough Castle'.
  2. ↑ English Heritage: 'Scarborough Castle - Background Information'.
  3. ↑ Yorkshire Evening Post: 'A gift to the gods... and a godsend for museum'. 11th May 2005.
  4. ↑ Walmsley (1998: 1).
  5. ↑ 'Involvement of Scarborough Castle with William le Gros'.
  6. ↑ Binns (2001: 18).
  7. ↑ 'Henry II's Involvement with Scarborough Castle'.
  8. ↑ The Heritage Trail: 'Scarborough Castle'.
  9. ↑ 'Involvement of Scarborough Castle with William le Gros'.
  10. ↑ Hinderwell (1811: 48).
  11. ↑ 'Henry II's Involvement with Scarborough Castle'.
  12. ↑ Dalton (2001: 1-4).
  13. ↑ Clark, (181).
  14. ↑ Binns (2001: 21-22).
  15. ↑ 'King John's Involvement with Scarborough Castle'.
  16. ↑ Castle Explorer: 'Scarborough Castle'.
  17. ↑ The Heritage Trail: 'Scarborough Castle'.
  18. ↑ Rowntree (1931: 142).
  19. ↑ Robert Lacey: 'Piers Gaveston and Edward II'.
  20. ↑ Binns (2001: 32-33).
  21. ↑ 'Edward II and Piers Gaveston's Involvement with Scarborough Castle'.
  22. ↑ 'Scarborough Castle'.
  23. ↑ 'Scarborough Castle'.
  24. ↑ Walmsley (1998: 1).

References

  • Binns J (2001) The History of Scarborough from Earliest Times to the Year 2000. Blackthorn. ISBN 0954630009.
  • Clark GT 'Scarborough Castle'. The Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Journal VIII.
  • Dalton P (2001) The Foundation and Development of Scarborough in the Twelfth Century. In Crouch D & Pearson T (eds) Medieval Scarborough Studies in Trade and Civic Life, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Occasional Paper 1. West Yorkshire: Yorkshire Archaeological Society & Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society.
  • Hinderwell T (1811) The History and Antiquities of Scarborough, and the Vicinity. York: Thomas Wilson & Sons.
  • Rowntree A (1931) (ed.) The History of Scarborough. Letchworth: Temple Press.
  • Walmsley D (1998) 'Scarborough Castle - Information for Teachers'. English Heritage: Palladian.

External links

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