Orford Castle
Encyclopedia
Orford Castle is a castle
in the village of Orford, Suffolk
, England
, located 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Ipswich
, with views over the Orford Ness
. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England
to consolidate royal power in the region. The well-preserved keep
, described by historian R. Allen Brown as "one of the most remarkable keeps in England", is of a unique design and probably based on Byzantine architecture
. The keep still stands among the earth-covered remains of the outer fortifications.
and owned key castles at Framlingham
, Bungay
, Walton
and Thetford
. Hugh Bigod
had been one of a group of dissenting barons during the Anarchy
in the reign of King Stephen, and Henry II
wished to re-establish royal influence across the region. Henry confiscated the four castles from Hugh, but returned Framlingham and Bungay to Hugh in 1165. Henry then decided to build his own royal castle at Orford
, near Framlingham, and construction work began in 1165, concluding in 1173. The Orford site was around two miles (3.2 km) from the sea, lying on flat ground with swampy terrain slowly stretching away down to the river Ore
, about half a mile (0.8 km) away.
The design of the keep was unique, and has been termed "one of the most remarkable keeps in England" by historian R. Allen Brown. The 90-foot (27 metre) high central tower was circular in cross-section with three rectangular, clasping towers built out from the 49-foot (15 metre) wide structure. The tower was based on a precise set of proportions, its various dimensions following the one to the root of two ratio found in many English churches of the period. Much of the interior is built with high-quality ashlar
stonework, with broad, 5 foot 6 inch (1.7 metre) wide staircases. The best chambers were designed to catch the early morning sun, whilst the various parts of the keep were draught-proofed with doors and carefully designed windows. Originally the roof of the keep, above the upper hall, would have formed a domed effect, with a tall steeple above that.
The keep was surrounded by a curtain wall with probably four flanking towers and a fortified gatehouse protecting a relatively small bailey; these outer defences, rather than the keep, probably represented the main defences of the castle. The marsh
es nearby were drained turning the village of Orford into a sheltered port. The castle, including the surrounding ditch, palisade and stone bridge, cost £1,413 to build, with the work possibly being conducted by the master mason Alnoth. Some of the timbers were brought from as far away as Scarborough, and the detailed stonework being carved from limestone
from Caen
in Normandy
, the remainder of the stone being variously from local mudstone
and coralline
, as well as limestone from Northamptonshire.
The design of the keep has attracted much historical interest. Traditional explanations for its unusual plan argued that the castle was a transitional military design, combining both the circular features of later castles with the square angled buttresses of earlier Norman fortifications. More recent scholarship has critiqued this explanation. The design of the Orford keep is hard to justify in military terms, as the buttresses created additional blind spots for the defenders, whilst the chambers and staircase in the corners weakened the walls against attack. Square Norman keeps continued to be built after Orford, whilst Henry II was aware of fully circular castle designs before building the keep, and historians have therefore questioned to what extent the design can be seen as legitimately transitional. Instead, historians now believe that the design of Orford Castle was instead probably driven by political symbolism. Heslop argues that the plain, simple elegance of the architecture would, for mid-12th century nobility, have summoned up images of King Arthur, who was then widely believed to have had Roman or Greek links. The banded, angular features of the keep resembled the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople
, then the idealised image of imperial power, and the keep as a whole, including the roof, may have been based on a hall that had been recently built in Constantinople by John II Komnenos
.
by the beginning of the century.
The castle was captured by Prince Louis of France
who invaded England in 1216 at the invitation of the English barons who were disillusioned with King John. John Fitz-Robert became the governor of the royal castle under the young Henry III
, followed by Hubert de Burgh
. Under Edward I
governorship of the castle was given to the de Valoines family, and it passed by marriage to Robert de Ufford
, the 1st Earl of Suffolk
, who was granted it in perpetuity by Edward III
in 1336. No longer a royal castle, Orford was passed on through the Willoughby, Stanhope and Devereux families, whilst the surrounding economy of Orford went into decline. The estuary of the River Ore
silted up and the Orford Ness
spit increased, making the harbour access more difficult, resulting in a decline in trade, reducing the importance of the castle as the centre of local government.
The castle and surrounding lands were bought by the Seymour-Conway family in 1754. By the late-18th century only the north wall of the bailey survived and the roof and upper floors of the keep had badly decayed, and Francis Seymour-Conway, the 2nd Marquess of Hertford, proposed destroying the building in 1805. He was prevented from doing so by the government, on the grounds that the keep formed a valuable landmark for ships approaching from Holland, wishing to avoid the nearby sandbanks. Francis' son, also called Francis
, undertook conservation efforts in 1831, installing a new, relatively flat, lead
roof and a replacement upper floor installed. Francis furnished the top of the keep for use as an apartment by guests. By the 1840s, however, all of the surrounding bailey wall and mural towers had almost vanished, having been quarried for stone, and the foundations could only just be seen.
Sir Arthur Churchman bought Orford Castle in 1928, and in 1930 gave the property to the Orford Town Trust; an appeal for money to maintain and restore it began shortly afterwards. During the Second World War the castle was refortified with barbed wire to form what was originally intended to be an anti-aircraft emplacement
, with Nissen hut
s erected around the keep. The castle was instead used as a radar
emplacement, and a concrete floor was installed in the south-east tower to support the equipment. These buildings were removed at the end of the conflict.
Orford Castle was given to the Ministry of Works in 1962, and is now maintained by English Heritage
. The keep of the castle is the only part of the structure remaining intact, although the earthwork remains of the bailey wall are still visible; some of the ditches visible amongst the earthworks, however, are not medieval, but instead the result of the earlier quarrying of the bailey walls. The Orford Museum Trust has created exhibits in the upper hall featuring displays of archaeological artefacts found locally. Archaeological work to understand the surrounding environment has continued, most recently during 2002 to 2003. The castle is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.
, a naked wild man, covered in hair, was caught in the nets of local fishermen around 1167. The man was brought back to the castle where he was held for six months, being questioned or tortured; he said nothing, and behaved in a feral fashion throughout. The wild man finally escaped from the castle. Later accounts described the captive as a merman
, and the incident appears to have encouraged the growth in "wild men" carvings on local baptismal font
s - around twenty such fonts from the later medieval period exist in coastal areas of Suffolk and Norfolk, near Orford.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the village of Orford, Suffolk
Orford, Suffolk
Orford is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It still has a fine mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore.The main geographical feature of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, with views over the Orford Ness
Orford Ness
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Wier Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore...
. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
to consolidate royal power in the region. The well-preserved keep
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 residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, described by historian R. Allen Brown as "one of the most remarkable keeps in England", is of a unique design and probably based on Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
. The keep still stands among the earth-covered remains of the outer fortifications.
12th century
Prior to the building of Orford Castle, Suffolk was dominated by the Bigod family, who held the title of the Earl of NorfolkEarl of Norfolk
Earl of Norfolk is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Created in 1070, the first major dynasty to hold the title was the 12th and 13th century Bigod family, and it then was later held by the Mowbrays, who were also made Dukes of Norfolk...
and owned key castles at Framlingham
Framlingham Castle
Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk in England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed by Henry II of England in the aftermath of the revolt of 1173-4...
, Bungay
Bungay Castle
Bungay Castle is in the town of Bungay, Suffolk by the River Waveney.-Details:Originally this was a Norman castle built by Roger Bigod, around 1100, which took advantage of the protection given by the curve of the River Waveney...
, Walton
Walton Castle
Walton Castle is a 17th Century, Grade II listed castle set upon a hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, on the site of an earlier Iron Age hill fort.-History:...
and Thetford
Thetford Castle
Thetford Castle, also known as Castle Hill and Castle Mound, usually refers to a medieval motte and bailey castle in the market town of Thetford in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England, although it can also refer to Red Castle, built in the same town...
. Hugh Bigod
Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk was born in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England.He was the second son of Roger Bigod , Sheriff of Norfolk, who founded the Bigod name in England...
had been one of a group of dissenting barons during the Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
in the reign of King Stephen, and Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
wished to re-establish royal influence across the region. Henry confiscated the four castles from Hugh, but returned Framlingham and Bungay to Hugh in 1165. Henry then decided to build his own royal castle at Orford
Orford, Suffolk
Orford is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It still has a fine mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore.The main geographical feature of the...
, near Framlingham, and construction work began in 1165, concluding in 1173. The Orford site was around two miles (3.2 km) from the sea, lying on flat ground with swampy terrain slowly stretching away down to the river Ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
, about half a mile (0.8 km) away.
The design of the keep was unique, and has been termed "one of the most remarkable keeps in England" by historian R. Allen Brown. The 90-foot (27 metre) high central tower was circular in cross-section with three rectangular, clasping towers built out from the 49-foot (15 metre) wide structure. The tower was based on a precise set of proportions, its various dimensions following the one to the root of two ratio found in many English churches of the period. Much of the interior is built with high-quality ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
stonework, with broad, 5 foot 6 inch (1.7 metre) wide staircases. The best chambers were designed to catch the early morning sun, whilst the various parts of the keep were draught-proofed with doors and carefully designed windows. Originally the roof of the keep, above the upper hall, would have formed a domed effect, with a tall steeple above that.
The keep was surrounded by a curtain wall with probably four flanking towers and a fortified gatehouse protecting a relatively small bailey; these outer defences, rather than the keep, probably represented the main defences of the castle. The marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es nearby were drained turning the village of Orford into a sheltered port. The castle, including the surrounding ditch, palisade and stone bridge, cost £1,413 to build, with the work possibly being conducted by the master mason Alnoth. Some of the timbers were brought from as far away as Scarborough, and the detailed stonework being carved from limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from Caen
Caen stone
Caen stone or Pierre de Caen, is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in northwestern France near the city of Caen.The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ago...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, the remainder of the stone being variously from local mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
and coralline
Coralline rock
Coralline Rock is a type of rock formed by the death of layers of Coralline algae. It is visually quite bright like the algae, and is often desired as aquarium decoration. Since it is formed from the dead algae, it contains some nutrients and calcium carbonate, which has allowed it to be used in...
, as well as limestone from Northamptonshire.
The design of the keep has attracted much historical interest. Traditional explanations for its unusual plan argued that the castle was a transitional military design, combining both the circular features of later castles with the square angled buttresses of earlier Norman fortifications. More recent scholarship has critiqued this explanation. The design of the Orford keep is hard to justify in military terms, as the buttresses created additional blind spots for the defenders, whilst the chambers and staircase in the corners weakened the walls against attack. Square Norman keeps continued to be built after Orford, whilst Henry II was aware of fully circular castle designs before building the keep, and historians have therefore questioned to what extent the design can be seen as legitimately transitional. Instead, historians now believe that the design of Orford Castle was instead probably driven by political symbolism. Heslop argues that the plain, simple elegance of the architecture would, for mid-12th century nobility, have summoned up images of King Arthur, who was then widely believed to have had Roman or Greek links. The banded, angular features of the keep resembled the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, then the idealised image of imperial power, and the keep as a whole, including the roof, may have been based on a hall that had been recently built in Constantinople by John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...
.
13th to 15th centuries
By the start of the 13th century, royal authority over Suffolk had been firmly established, after Henry II crushed the Bigods in the revolt of 1173–1174, Orford being heavily garrisoned during the conflict, with 20 knights being based there. Upon the collapse of the rebellion, Henry ordered the permanent confiscation of Framlingham Castle. The political importance of Orford Castle diminished after Henry's death in 1189, although the port of Orford grew in importance, however, handling more trade than the more famous port of IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
by the beginning of the century.
The castle was captured by Prince Louis of France
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
who invaded England in 1216 at the invitation of the English barons who were disillusioned with King John. John Fitz-Robert became the governor of the royal castle under the young Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, followed by Hubert de Burgh
Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent was Earl of Kent, Justiciar of England and Ireland, and one of the most influential men in England during the reigns of John and Henry III.-Birth and family:...
. Under Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
governorship of the castle was given to the de Valoines family, and it passed by marriage to Robert de Ufford
Robert d'Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Robert d'Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG was born in Thurston, Suffolk, England to Robert d'Ufford and Cecily de Valoines. On 13 November 1334 he married Margaret de Norwich, daughter of Sir Walter Norwich and Catherine de Hedersete. They had four children. He was made Earl of Suffolk in...
, the 1st Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfeited by his heir, Ralph de Guader, in 1074...
, who was granted it in perpetuity by Edward III
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
in 1336. No longer a royal castle, Orford was passed on through the Willoughby, Stanhope and Devereux families, whilst the surrounding economy of Orford went into decline. The estuary of the River Ore
River Ore
The River Ore is the name of the final section of the River Alde in Suffolk, England from just above Orford to the sea. It has one tributary, the River Butley, and Havergate Island is found at their confluence....
silted up and the Orford Ness
Orford Ness
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Wier Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore...
spit increased, making the harbour access more difficult, resulting in a decline in trade, reducing the importance of the castle as the centre of local government.
The castle and surrounding lands were bought by the Seymour-Conway family in 1754. By the late-18th century only the north wall of the bailey survived and the roof and upper floors of the keep had badly decayed, and Francis Seymour-Conway, the 2nd Marquess of Hertford, proposed destroying the building in 1805. He was prevented from doing so by the government, on the grounds that the keep formed a valuable landmark for ships approaching from Holland, wishing to avoid the nearby sandbanks. Francis' son, also called Francis
Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford
Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford KG, GCH PC , styled Viscount Beauchamp between 1793 and 1794 and Earl of Yarmouth between 1794 and 1822, was a British Tory politician and art collector....
, undertook conservation efforts in 1831, installing a new, relatively flat, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
roof and a replacement upper floor installed. Francis furnished the top of the keep for use as an apartment by guests. By the 1840s, however, all of the surrounding bailey wall and mural towers had almost vanished, having been quarried for stone, and the foundations could only just be seen.
Modern period
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
, with Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s erected around the keep. The castle was instead used as a radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
emplacement, and a concrete floor was installed in the south-east tower to support the equipment. These buildings were removed at the end of the conflict.
Orford Castle was given to the Ministry of Works in 1962, and is now maintained by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The keep of the castle is the only part of the structure remaining intact, although the earthwork remains of the bailey wall are still visible; some of the ditches visible amongst the earthworks, however, are not medieval, but instead the result of the earlier quarrying of the bailey walls. The Orford Museum Trust has created exhibits in the upper hall featuring displays of archaeological artefacts found locally. Archaeological work to understand the surrounding environment has continued, most recently during 2002 to 2003. The castle is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.
Wild Man of Orford
Orford Castle is associated with the legend of the Wild Man of Orford. According to the chronicler Ralph of CoggeshallRalph of Coggeshall
Ralph of Coggeshall , English chronicler, was at first a monk and afterwards sixth abbot of Coggeshall, an Essex foundation of the Cistercian order....
, a naked wild man, covered in hair, was caught in the nets of local fishermen around 1167. The man was brought back to the castle where he was held for six months, being questioned or tortured; he said nothing, and behaved in a feral fashion throughout. The wild man finally escaped from the castle. Later accounts described the captive as a merman
Merman
Mermen are mythical male equivalents of mermaids – legendary creatures who have the form of a human from the waist up and are fish-like from the waist down.-Mythology:...
, and the incident appears to have encouraged the growth in "wild men" carvings on local baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
s - around twenty such fonts from the later medieval period exist in coastal areas of Suffolk and Norfolk, near Orford.