Scarborough Castle
Encyclopedia
Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory
overlooking the North Sea
and Scarborough, North Yorkshire
, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Anglo-Scandinavian settlement and chapel, the 12th century enclosure castle and 18th century battery, is a scheduled monument of national importance.
Fortifications for a wooden castle were built in the 1130s, but the present stone castle
dates from the 1150s. Over the centuries, several other structures were added, with medieval monarch
s investing heavily in what was then an important fortress that guarded the Yorkshire
coastline, Scarborough's port trade, and the north of England from Scottish
or continental invasion. It was fortified and defended during various civil war
s, siege
s and conflicts, as kings fought with rival barons, faced rebellion and clashed with republican
forces, though peace with Scotland and the conclusion of civil and continental wars in the 17th century led to its decline in importance.
Once occupied by garrisons and governors who often menaced the town, the castle has been a ruin since the sieges of the English Civil War
, but attracts many visitors to climb the battlement
s, take in the views and enjoy the accompanying interactive exhibition and special events run by English Heritage
.
was built on the headland where the castle now stands. Finds were dated to between 900–500 BC, part of the late Bronze Age
/early Iron Age
. Among finds dating back about 3,000 years, a Bronze Age
sword, thought to have been a ritual offering, is on display in the castle exhibition.
A 4th-century Roman
signal station, one of several on the Yorkshire coast, was built on the headland at the cliff top. The station was to warn of approaching hostile vessels, and took advantage of a natural source of fresh water which became known as the "Well of Our Lady". The remains of the signal tower were excavated in the 1920s revealing it to be square in plan around a small courtyard. It measured about 33 metres across and was built of wood on stone foundations with a gatehouse and an outer ditch.
The Anglo-Saxons
built a chapel
on the station site around the year 1000, the remains of which are still visible. This is reputed to have been destroyed during the invasion of Harald Hardrada in 1066. A much later Iceland
ic poem claims that a Viking settlement around the harbour was burnt down in 1066 by Hardrada's forces, who built a large bonfire on the headland to supply burning brands to hurl at the villagers below. However, there is no archaeological evidence of such an event, nor any of the Viking presence. The first evidence of the harbour settlement coincides with the establishment of the stone castle around 1157–1164. This grew from a small settlement around a wooden fortress which the stone castle replaced.
, a powerful Anglo-Norman baron and grand-nephew of William the Conqueror
, built a wooden fortification after his receipt of the Earldom of York
, from King Stephen
in 1138, granted as reward for his victory at the Battle of the Standard
. Aumale may have re-founded the town of "Scardeburg", though there is little evidence of this. As with other castles, there would have been at least a small settlement nearby. Some information on the establishment of the castle has survived in the chronicle of William of Newburgh
, a monk
who in the 1190s wrote about the its foundation. The castle had a gate tower
, curtain wall
, dry moat
and chapel. This motte and bailey castle subsequently disappeared, with only the small, raised mound of the motte visible in the inner bailey today.
The fate of the original fortifications is unclear. Henry II
ordered that all royal castles be returned to the Crown. He had a policy of destroying adulterine castles, built without royal permission, during Stephen's chaotic
reign. Initially, Aumale resisted the call to hand over Scarborough, which he had built on a royal manor, until Henry's forces arrived at York. The wooden castle vanished – William of Newburgh, writing near the time, claimed that the structure had decayed through age and the elements, battered beyond repair on the windswept headland. Later interpretations view this as implausible and argue that Henry wanted to stamp his mark on Scarborough, by demolishing William's fort and creating a much stronger stone complex.
From about 1157, Henry II rebuilt the castle using stone. Much of the building work occurred between 1159 and 1169, when the three-storey keep
was built and a stone wall replaced the wooden palisade protecting the inner bailey. By the end of Henry's reign in 1189, a total of £682, 15 shilling
s and threepence had been spent on the castle, of which £532 was spent between 1157 and 1164. Henry's average annual income during his reign was about £10,000. The castle became a strategic northern stronghold for The Crown
. Henry II granted the town that had grown up beneath the fortress, the title of Royal Borough.
While Richard I
(reigned 1189–1199) had spent nothing on the castle, his brother King John
(reigned 1199–1216) ensured that it was a comfortable residence for himself and his retinue. John's rule was strongly opposed by the northern barons, so the castle at Scarborough was fortified as a strategic stronghold. John visited the castle four times during his reign, and spent a considerable sum on the castle. He built the curtain wall on the west and south sides during 1202–1212, and a new hall called the "King's Chambers", later Mosdale Hall. In total, John spent £2,291, three shillings and fourpence on the castle. This included £780 that was earmarked for repairing the roof of the keep in 1211–1212; John spent more on the castle than any other monarch.
Improvements continued under Henry III
(reigned 1216–1272). By this time, Scarborough was a thriving port, and though he never visited the castle, Henry spent a considerable sum on its upkeep. Around 1240–1250, he installed a new barbican consisting of two towers flanking the gateway, with another two towers protecting the approach. These were completed in 1343, although have been much-modified since. At this time, the castle was a powerful base which an unscrupulous governor could abuse: Geoffrey de Neville, who was governor for 20 years in the 13th century, used the garrison to seize port goods. Since governors were not required to reside in the castle, they often pocketed funds rather than used them for repairs. By the mid-to-late 13th century, the defences were decaying, floorboards rotted, roof tiles were missing and armouries bare of weaponry. Corruption continued among the castle's custodians, who acted with impunity as the castle was outside the jurisdiction of the borough. In the 1270s, governor William de Percy blocked the main road into Scarborough and imposed illegal tolls.
Despite its decline, in 1265 the castle was committed to Prince Edward, later Edward I
(reigned 1272–1307), who held court there in 1275 and 1280. In 1295, hostages from his campaigns to subjugate Wales were held at the castle.
, who occupied the castle from 1308, had a bakehouse, brewhouse and kitchens built in the inner bailey. and the castle was once again made into a major fortification. Edward II
(reigned 1307–1327) imprisoned some of his Scottish
enemies there in 1311. In 1312 he gave Isabella de Vesci
the castles of Bamburgh
and Scarborough. The castle was considered to be the 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
. The Ordinances were imposed to curb the King's power, and the barons saw Gaveston as a threat to their interests. Sir Robert Felton was governor of Scarborough Castle in 1311 and was slain at Stirling in 1314. In April 1312, Edward made Gaveston the governor of Scarborough Castle, but his tenure would be brief. In May, the Earls of Pembroke
and Warenne, 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 killed. Scarborough fared little better; Edward punished the town for not supporting Gaveston by revoking its royal privileges and placing it under the direct rule of appointed governors.
(reigned 1422–1461; 1470–1471) ordered major repairs between 1424 and 1429. Richard III
(reigned 1483–1485) was the last monarch to enter its grounds. He resided at the castle in 1484 while forming a fleet to fight the Tudors, a struggle he lost along with his life the following year.
After assaults by forces from France
and Scotland in the early 16th century, 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 (reigned 1509–1547) break with the Roman Catholic Church
. Repairs were made in 1537, and in 1538 some of the lead
of the towers was used by the keeper, Sir Ralph Eure (Evers)
, to make a brewing vessel; Eure reported that some of the walls had fallen down. In 1557, forces loyal to Thomas Wyatt the younger
, who opposed Mary I
(reigned 1553–1558) and Catholicism
, took the castle by entering disguised as peasants. Their leader, Thomas Stafford
, held the castle for three days, and was subsequently executed for high treason
on Tower Hill.
(1642–1651), Sir Hugh Cholmley
occupied the castle as a Parliamentarian loyal to Oliver Cromwell
but swapped sides in March 1643. The castle was refortified on Cholmley's orders, including the establishment of the South Steel Battery for artillery. After Cholmeley's defection, the castle, with its garrison of 700 Royalist
soldiers, the town and its strategic supply port were on the side of Charles I
. (reigned 1625–1649) The Parliamentarians saw Scarborough as a valuable Royalist target because it was the only port not under their dominion.
On 18 February 1645, Sir John Meldrum
took the town from the Royalists, cutting off any escape routes by land or sea and delivering the port for Parliament. The same day, Cholmley retreated into the castle and refused to give in, so the Parliamentarians prepared for what would be a five-month siege – one of the most bloody of the Civil War, with almost continuous fighting. The Parliamentary forces set up what was then the largest cannon in the country, the Cannon Royal, in the 12th-century St. Mary's Church below the castle, and proceeded to fire 56 – cannonballs
that pounded the castle's defences. In turn, the church was extensively damaged over the three days of fighting. The bombardment partially destroyed the castle keep, but the outer walls were not breached. The Parliamentary forces were unable to take the castle and there followed a period of particularly bloody hand-to-hand fighting around the barbican gateway in which Sir John Meldrum was killed.
By July the tide was turning in the Parliamentarians' favour: bombardment, scurvy
, lack of water, perhaps a shortage of gunpowder
and the threat of starvation and only 25 men fit to fight meant that the castle surrendered on 25 July 1645. Only about half of the original 500 defenders emerged alive. Subsequently the castle was repaired and rearmed for Parliament with a company of 160. Matthew Boynton, the castle's new governor, declared for the king on 27 July 1648 when the soldiers went unpaid. This led to a second siege which brought the castle back under Parliamentary control on 19 December, when the garrison was defeated as much by the oncoming winter as by the Parliamentary forces. The castle changed hands seven times between 1642 and 1648. The castle was later used as a prison for those who were deemed to be enemies of the Commonwealth of England
, the country's brief period of republicanism
; the shell of the keep survives, minus the west wall, which was destroyed in the bombardment. The castle was returned to the Crown following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
The castle was used as a prison from the 1650s, and the garrison increased in 1658, and in 1662 it returned to the Crown. George Fox
(1624–1691), founder of the Religious Society of Friends
was imprisoned there from April 1665 to September 1666 for religious
activities viewed as troublesome for Charles II
(reigned 1660–1685). The castle declined again: James II
(reigned 1686–1688) did not garrison it, he gambled that its defences would be sufficient to resist any Dutch invasion, but the town was seized for William of Orange
during the Glorious Revolution
that ousted James.
The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, a series of uprising aimed at restoring the Catholic House of Stuart
to the throne, saw the castle refortified with gun batteries and barracks for 120 officers and men by 1746. The keep was used as a powder magazine, storing gunpowder, and the South Steel Battery was rebuilt. A barracks, containing twelve apartments accommodated 120 soldiers. Three batteries were built to protect the town and harbour. Two faced south and the other was on the north side of the castle yard. In 1748, the Master Gunner's house was constructed and served as accommodation until the early 20th century and today hosts the exhibition on the castle. The castle saw no action during this time. Later still, the threat of French
invasion during the Napoleonic Wars
led to the permanent establishment of a garrison, which remained until the mid-19th century; French prisoners were held at the castle during 1796.
During the First World War, Scarborough was used for British propaganda purposes after the bombardment of the town
by two warships of the German Empire
, SMS Derfflinger
and SMS Von der Tann
, on 16 December 1914. The raid killed 19 people and damaged the castle's keep, barracks and curtain walls. The castle was severely damaged by the hail of 500 shells directed at it and the town. The barracks were demolished due to the extensive damage wrought by the bombardment. In the Second World War, the castle served as a secret listening post.
, where a ditch or moat was cut, and a wall or palisade with a gatehouse built on the southwest landward side. The stone curtain wall
dates from the late 12th and early 13th centuries when it was strengthened by the addition of twelve round towers at intervals on its 230 yards (210.3 m) length. The wall does not surround the inner buildings of the castle. The entrance consists of a barbican
, or fortifications to protect the gateway, completed in the 14th century and flanked by two half-circular towers on high ground. Modifications to the barbican have removed evidence of a portcullis
and its grooves. The barbican stands in the place of a 12th-century fortification built close to the remains of an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon
chapel
.
Beyond the main gateway, a stone bridge, built between 1337–1338, to replace two drawbridge
s, leads to the baileys
or courtyard
s. It leads to the inner bailey, which was used for workshops, offices, a kitchen, and a storage area. Usually a castle's inner bailey is accessed through the outer bailey, however the opposite is the case at Scarborough.
The 86 feet (26.2 m) 12th-century keep
and the castle's 150 feet (45.7 m) well
lie within the inner bailey. The keep, with its entrance on the first floor, survives as a shell, with the west wall, interior floors and roof missing, as a result of bombardment in the 17th-century. With its sloping plinth
to aid defence, flat roof and four turret
s, this square four-storey building was over 100 feet (30.5 m). The walls range from 11 to 15 ft (3.4 to 4.6 m) in thickness, the west wall being strongest, and there are several windows, some blocked up along its length. The corners have decorative rounded mouldings. There are the remains of a hearth
in the west wall on the first floor, which comprised a single Great Hall, where the occupants ate and often slept. The second and third floors were each divided into two rooms for important visitors or the governor, and the basement was a storage area. Late 20th century resistivity
surveys of the inner bailey have traced the outlines of more 12th century buildings.
The baileys are separated by a stone wall, ditch and bank, with two defended gateways.
The larger outer bailey would have seen entertaining events staged, vegetables grown, and animals kept; there was a graveyard and St. Mary's Chapel, which has completely disappeared, though the remains of the old Anglo-Saxon chapel on the site of an old Roman
signal station can still be seen. A 12th-century medieval building, 100 feet (30.5 m) in length, stood in the outer bailey to accommodate royal visitors. It consisted of a long hall and private chamber with a fireplace used by the monarch, and rooms for preparing and storing food. The building was demolished sometime before a survey of 1538, which makes no mention of it: only the foundations, excavated in 1888, remain.
In the outer bailey, a building named the "King's Chambers" or Mosdale Hall, after a 14th-century governor responsible for upgrading it, is an example of how the castle has been altered over the years. Originally built in the 13th century and upgraded by Mosdale after 1397, the two-storey building adjoining the curtain wall was converted to red-brick barracks in the 18th century . After being badly damaged by German shelling in 1914, the building was demolished. The red brickwork is clearly visible next to the much earlier outer stone wall, as viewed from Scarborough's South Bay. The 13th-century Queen's Tower, in the wall nearby, also had different uses: initially luxurious accommodation with private latrine
s, a porch and large windows with bay views were added in 1320. Two of these windows were later blocked up and one was changed to a cupboard with a rubbish chute. The Master Gunner's House, built in 1748, served as accommodation until the early 20th century.
The castle site, a scheduled ancient monument
managed by English Heritage
since 1984, is host to various events, usually in summertime, such as pirate and Robin Hood
-themed activities. The castle grounds are reputed to be haunted – by three ghosts, among them a Roman soldier. The 18th-century Master Gunner's House, now a museum has an exhibition whose centrepiece is a Bronze Age sword discovered in 1980. English Heritage invested £250,000 in making the site a tourist attraction. A visitor centre provides admission to all extant remains, and has an exhibition of artefacts from the site and viewing platforms.
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
overlooking the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and Scarborough, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Anglo-Scandinavian settlement and chapel, the 12th century enclosure castle and 18th century battery, is a scheduled monument of national importance.
Fortifications for a wooden castle were built in the 1130s, but the present stone castle
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...
dates from the 1150s. Over the centuries, several other structures were added, with medieval monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s investing heavily in what was then an important fortress that guarded the Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
coastline, Scarborough's port trade, and the north of England from Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
or continental invasion. It was fortified and defended during various civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
s, siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
s and conflicts, as kings fought with rival barons, faced rebellion and clashed with republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
forces, though peace with Scotland and the conclusion of civil and continental wars in the 17th century led to its decline in importance.
Once occupied by garrisons and governors who often menaced the town, the castle has been a ruin since the sieges of the English Civil War
Great Siege of Scarborough Castle
The Great Siege of Scarborough Castle was a major conflict for control of one of England's most important stone fortresses during the English Civil War , fought between Oliver Cromwell's parliamentary Roundheads and the Royalists loyal to King Charles I...
, but attracts many visitors to climb the battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s, take in the views and enjoy the accompanying interactive exhibition and special events run 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...
.
Early history of the site
Archaeological excavations in the 1920s produced evidence which suggests a hill fortHill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
was built on the headland where the castle now stands. Finds were dated to between 900–500 BC, part of the late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
/early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
. Among finds dating back about 3,000 years, a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
sword, thought to have been a ritual offering, is on display in the castle exhibition.
A 4th-century Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
signal station, one of several on the Yorkshire coast, was built on the headland at the cliff top. The station was to warn of approaching hostile vessels, and took advantage of a natural source of fresh water which became known as the "Well of Our Lady". The remains of the signal tower were excavated in the 1920s revealing it to be square in plan around a small courtyard. It measured about 33 metres across and was built of wood on stone foundations with a gatehouse and an outer ditch.
The Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
built a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
on the station site around the year 1000, the remains of which are still visible. This is reputed to have been destroyed during the invasion of Harald Hardrada in 1066. A much later Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic poem claims that a Viking settlement around the harbour was burnt down in 1066 by Hardrada's forces, who built a large bonfire on the headland to supply burning brands to hurl at the villagers below. However, there is no archaeological evidence of such an event, nor any of the Viking presence. The first evidence of the harbour settlement coincides with the establishment of the stone castle around 1157–1164. This grew from a small settlement around a wooden fortress which the stone castle replaced.
Development and decline
William le Gros, Count of AumaleWilliam le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle
William le Gros was the Count of Aumale , Earl of York, and Lord of Holderness. He was the eldest son of Stephen, Count of Aumale, and his spouse, Hawise, daughter of Ralph de Mortimer of Wigmore....
, a powerful Anglo-Norman baron and grand-nephew of William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
, built a wooden fortification after his receipt of the Earldom of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, from King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
in 1138, granted as reward for his victory at the Battle of the Standard
Battle of the Standard
The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, in which English forces repelled a Scottish army, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire. The Scottish forces were led by King David I of Scotland...
. Aumale may have re-founded the town of "Scardeburg", though there is little evidence of this. As with other castles, there would have been at least a small settlement nearby. Some information on the establishment of the castle has survived in the chronicle of William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh or Newbury , also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon from Bridlington, Yorkshire.-Biography:...
, a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
who in the 1190s wrote about the its foundation. The castle had a gate tower
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
, curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
, dry moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
and chapel. This motte and bailey castle subsequently disappeared, with only the small, raised mound of the motte visible in the inner bailey today.
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...
ordered that all royal castles be returned to the Crown. He had a policy of destroying adulterine castles, built without royal permission, during Stephen's chaotic
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...
reign. Initially, Aumale resisted the call to hand over Scarborough, which he had built on a royal manor, until Henry's forces arrived at York. The wooden castle vanished – William of Newburgh, writing near the time, claimed that the structure had decayed through age and the elements, battered beyond repair on the windswept headland. Later interpretations view this as implausible and argue that Henry wanted to stamp his mark on Scarborough, by demolishing William's fort and creating a much stronger stone complex.
From about 1157, Henry II rebuilt the castle using stone. Much of the building work occurred between 1159 and 1169, when the three-storey 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...
was built and a stone wall replaced the wooden palisade protecting the inner bailey. By the end of Henry's reign in 1189, a total of £682, 15 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s and threepence had been spent on the castle, of which £532 was spent between 1157 and 1164. Henry's average annual income during his reign was about £10,000. The castle became a strategic northern stronghold for The Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. Henry II granted the town that had grown up beneath the fortress, the title of Royal Borough.
While Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
(reigned 1189–1199) had spent nothing on the castle, his brother King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
(reigned 1199–1216) ensured that it was a comfortable residence for himself and his retinue. John's rule was strongly opposed by the northern barons, so the castle at Scarborough was fortified as a strategic stronghold. John visited the castle four times during his reign, and spent a considerable sum on the castle. He built the curtain wall on the west and south sides during 1202–1212, and a new hall called the "King's Chambers", later Mosdale Hall. In total, John spent £2,291, three shillings and fourpence on the castle. This included £780 that was earmarked for repairing the roof of the keep in 1211–1212; John spent more on the castle than any other monarch.
Improvements continued under 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...
(reigned 1216–1272). By this time, Scarborough was a thriving port, and though he never visited the castle, Henry spent a considerable sum on its upkeep. Around 1240–1250, he installed a new barbican consisting of two towers flanking the gateway, with another two towers protecting the approach. These were completed in 1343, although have been much-modified since. At this time, the castle was a powerful base which an unscrupulous governor could abuse: Geoffrey de Neville, who was governor for 20 years in the 13th century, used the garrison to seize port goods. Since governors were not required to reside in the castle, they often pocketed funds rather than used them for repairs. By the mid-to-late 13th century, the defences were decaying, floorboards rotted, roof tiles were missing and armouries bare of weaponry. Corruption continued among the castle's custodians, who acted with impunity as the castle was outside the jurisdiction of the borough. In the 1270s, governor William de Percy blocked the main road into Scarborough and imposed illegal tolls.
Despite its decline, in 1265 the castle was committed to Prince Edward, later 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...
(reigned 1272–1307), who held court there in 1275 and 1280. In 1295, hostages from his campaigns to subjugate Wales were held at the castle.
Piers Gaveston besieged, 1312
Henry de PercyHenry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy
Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick was the son of Henry de Percy and Eleanor de Warenne, daughter of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Alice de Lusignan, Countess of Surrey, half sister of Henry III....
, who occupied the castle from 1308, had a bakehouse, brewhouse and kitchens built in the inner bailey. and the castle was once again made into a major fortification. Edward II
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...
(reigned 1307–1327) imprisoned some of his Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
enemies there in 1311. In 1312 he gave Isabella de Vesci
Isabella de Vesci
Isabella de Vesci , also Isabella de Beaumont, was a prominent noblewoman allied to Isabella of France during the reign of Edward II of England.-Reign of Edward I and marriage:...
the castles of Bamburgh
Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle is an imposing castle located on the coast at Bamburgh in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:...
and Scarborough. The castle was considered to be the natural place for the king's favourite knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
, the Gascon
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...
, to seek sanctuary when pursued by the barons who had imposed the Ordinances of 1311
Ordinances of 1311
The Ordinances of 1311 were a series of regulations imposed upon King Edward II by the peerage and clergy of the Kingdom of England to restrict the power of the king. The twenty-one signatories of the Ordinances are referred to as the Lords Ordainers, or simply the Ordainers...
. The Ordinances were imposed to curb the King's power, and the barons saw Gaveston as a threat to their interests. Sir Robert Felton was governor of Scarborough Castle in 1311 and was slain at Stirling in 1314. In April 1312, Edward made Gaveston the governor of Scarborough Castle, but his tenure would be brief. In May, the Earls of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was a Franco-English nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, he was a central player in the conflicts between Edward II of England and...
and Warenne, 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
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick was an English magnate, and one of the principal opponents of King Edward II and his favourite Piers Gaveston. Guy de Beauchamp was the son of William de Beauchamp, the first Beauchamp earl of Warwick, and succeeded his father in 1298...
and killed. Scarborough fared little better; Edward punished the town for not supporting Gaveston by revoking its royal privileges and placing it under the direct rule of appointed governors.
Further assaults and decay, 1318–1635
At the time of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453), Scarborough was an important port for the wool trade, so was attacked several times by enemy forces. With rumours of a French invasion, a 1393 inquiry into the state of the castle led to repairs being carried out in 1396 and 1400. Henry VIHenry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
(reigned 1422–1461; 1470–1471) ordered major repairs between 1424 and 1429. Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
(reigned 1483–1485) was the last monarch to enter its grounds. He resided at the castle in 1484 while forming a fleet to fight the Tudors, a struggle he lost along with his life the following year.
After assaults by forces from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Scotland in the early 16th century, in 1536 Robert Aske
Robert Aske (political leader)
Robert Aske was an English lawyer who became the leader of rebellion in York. He led the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and was executed by Henry VIII for treason in 1537.-Biography:...
unsuccessfully tried to take the castle during the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
, a revolt against the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's (reigned 1509–1547) break with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Repairs were made in 1537, and in 1538 some of the 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...
of the towers was used by the keeper, Sir Ralph Eure (Evers)
William Eure, 1st Baron Eure
Sir William Eure of Witton was an English knight and soldier active on the Anglo-Scottish border. Henry VIII of England made him Baron Eure by patent in 1544. The surname is often written as 'Evers.' William was Governor of Berwick upon Tweed in 1539, Commander in the North in 1542, Warden of the...
, to make a brewing vessel; Eure reported that some of the walls had fallen down. In 1557, forces loyal to Thomas Wyatt the younger
Thomas Wyatt the younger
Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".-Birth and career:...
, who opposed Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(reigned 1553–1558) and Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, took the castle by entering disguised as peasants. Their leader, Thomas Stafford
Thomas Stafford (c1533-1557)
The Hon. Thomas Stafford was the ninth child of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Ursula Pole. He was involved in two rebellions against Queen Mary and was executed for treason in 1557.-Early life:...
, held the castle for three days, and was subsequently executed for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
on Tower Hill.
Civil War sieges, 1642–1648
In September 1642, at the outbreak of the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
(1642–1651), Sir Hugh Cholmley
Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 1st Baronet
Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 1st Baronet was a Member of Parliament and Royalist leader during the English Civil War. His name is sometimes spelled Cholmley....
occupied the castle as a Parliamentarian loyal to Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
but swapped sides in March 1643. The castle was refortified on Cholmley's orders, including the establishment of the South Steel Battery for artillery. After Cholmeley's defection, the castle, with its garrison of 700 Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
soldiers, the town and its strategic supply port were on the side of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. (reigned 1625–1649) The Parliamentarians saw Scarborough as a valuable Royalist target because it was the only port not under their dominion.
On 18 February 1645, Sir John Meldrum
John Meldrum
Sir John Meldrum was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland and England, James VI and I and Charles I. In 1636, Meldrum was granted by letters-patent from the king licence to continue and renew the lighthouses erected by Charles I on the...
took the town from the Royalists, cutting off any escape routes by land or sea and delivering the port for Parliament. The same day, Cholmley retreated into the castle and refused to give in, so the Parliamentarians prepared for what would be a five-month siege – one of the most bloody of the Civil War, with almost continuous fighting. The Parliamentary forces set up what was then the largest cannon in the country, the Cannon Royal, in the 12th-century St. Mary's Church below the castle, and proceeded to fire 56 – cannonballs
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
that pounded the castle's defences. In turn, the church was extensively damaged over the three days of fighting. The bombardment partially destroyed the castle keep, but the outer walls were not breached. The Parliamentary forces were unable to take the castle and there followed a period of particularly bloody hand-to-hand fighting around the barbican gateway in which Sir John Meldrum was killed.
By July the tide was turning in the Parliamentarians' favour: bombardment, scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
, lack of water, perhaps a shortage of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
and the threat of starvation and only 25 men fit to fight meant that the castle surrendered on 25 July 1645. Only about half of the original 500 defenders emerged alive. Subsequently the castle was repaired and rearmed for Parliament with a company of 160. Matthew Boynton, the castle's new governor, declared for the king on 27 July 1648 when the soldiers went unpaid. This led to a second siege which brought the castle back under Parliamentary control on 19 December, when the garrison was defeated as much by the oncoming winter as by the Parliamentary forces. The castle changed hands seven times between 1642 and 1648. The castle was later used as a prison for those who were deemed to be enemies of the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, the country's brief period of republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
; the shell of the keep survives, minus the west wall, which was destroyed in the bombardment. The castle was returned to the Crown following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
From 1660
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
(1624–1691), founder of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
was imprisoned there from April 1665 to September 1666 for religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
activities viewed as troublesome for Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
(reigned 1660–1685). The castle declined again: James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
(reigned 1686–1688) did not garrison it, he gambled that its defences would be sufficient to resist any Dutch invasion, but the town was seized for William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
during the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
that ousted James.
The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, a series of uprising aimed at restoring the Catholic House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
to the throne, saw the castle refortified with gun batteries and barracks for 120 officers and men by 1746. The keep was used as a powder magazine, storing gunpowder, and the South Steel Battery was rebuilt. A barracks, containing twelve apartments accommodated 120 soldiers. Three batteries were built to protect the town and harbour. Two faced south and the other was on the north side of the castle yard. In 1748, the Master Gunner's house was constructed and served as accommodation until the early 20th century and today hosts the exhibition on the castle. The castle saw no action during this time. Later still, the threat of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
invasion during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
led to the permanent establishment of a garrison, which remained until the mid-19th century; French prisoners were held at the castle during 1796.
During the First World War, Scarborough was used for British propaganda purposes after the bombardment of the town
Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
The raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, which took place on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many of which were civilians...
by two warships of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, SMS Derfflinger
SMS Derfflinger
SMS Derfflinger"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I. She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships; her sister ships were and...
and SMS Von der Tann
SMS Von der Tann
SMS Von der Tann"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the first battlecruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine, as well as Germany's first major turbine-powered warship. At the time of her construction, Von der Tann was the fastest dreadnought-type...
, on 16 December 1914. The raid killed 19 people and damaged the castle's keep, barracks and curtain walls. The castle was severely damaged by the hail of 500 shells directed at it and the town. The barracks were demolished due to the extensive damage wrought by the bombardment. In the Second World War, the castle served as a secret listening post.
Features
The castle's location takes advantage of a naturally defensive site on a headland with steep cliffs, 300 feet (91.4 m) high, on three seaward sides. The promontory is joined to the mainland by an isthmusIsthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
, where a ditch or moat was cut, and a wall or palisade with a gatehouse built on the southwest landward side. The stone curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
dates from the late 12th and early 13th centuries when it was strengthened by the addition of twelve round towers at intervals on its 230 yards (210.3 m) length. The wall does not surround the inner buildings of the castle. The entrance consists of a barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
, or fortifications to protect the gateway, completed in the 14th century and flanked by two half-circular towers on high ground. Modifications to the barbican have removed evidence of a portcullis
Portcullis
A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...
and its grooves. The barbican stands in the place of a 12th-century fortification built close to the remains of an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
.
Beyond the main gateway, a stone bridge, built between 1337–1338, to replace two drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
s, leads to the baileys
Ward (fortification)
In fortifications, a bailey or ward refers to a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall. In particular, an early type of European castle was known as a Motte-and-bailey. Castles can have more than one ward. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology...
or courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s. It leads to the inner bailey, which was used for workshops, offices, a kitchen, and a storage area. Usually a castle's inner bailey is accessed through the outer bailey, however the opposite is the case at Scarborough.
The 86 feet (26.2 m) 12th-century 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...
and the castle's 150 feet (45.7 m) well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
lie within the inner bailey. The keep, with its entrance on the first floor, survives as a shell, with the west wall, interior floors and roof missing, as a result of bombardment in the 17th-century. With its sloping plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
to aid defence, flat roof and four turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, this square four-storey building was over 100 feet (30.5 m). The walls range from 11 to 15 ft (3.4 to 4.6 m) in thickness, the west wall being strongest, and there are several windows, some blocked up along its length. The corners have decorative rounded mouldings. There are the remains of a hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
in the west wall on the first floor, which comprised a single Great Hall, where the occupants ate and often slept. The second and third floors were each divided into two rooms for important visitors or the governor, and the basement was a storage area. Late 20th century resistivity
Electrical resistivity tomography
Electrical resistivity tomography or electrical resistivity imaging is a geophysical technique for imaging sub-surface structures from electrical measurements made at the surface, or by electrodes in one or more boreholes. It is closely related to the medical imaging technique electrical...
surveys of the inner bailey have traced the outlines of more 12th century buildings.
The baileys are separated by a stone wall, ditch and bank, with two defended gateways.
The larger outer bailey would have seen entertaining events staged, vegetables grown, and animals kept; there was a graveyard and St. Mary's Chapel, which has completely disappeared, though the remains of the old Anglo-Saxon chapel on the site of an old Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
signal station can still be seen. A 12th-century medieval building, 100 feet (30.5 m) in length, stood in the outer bailey to accommodate royal visitors. It consisted of a long hall and private chamber with a fireplace used by the monarch, and rooms for preparing and storing food. The building was demolished sometime before a survey of 1538, which makes no mention of it: only the foundations, excavated in 1888, remain.
In the outer bailey, a building named the "King's Chambers" or Mosdale Hall, after a 14th-century governor responsible for upgrading it, is an example of how the castle has been altered over the years. Originally built in the 13th century and upgraded by Mosdale after 1397, the two-storey building adjoining the curtain wall was converted to red-brick barracks in the 18th century . After being badly damaged by German shelling in 1914, the building was demolished. The red brickwork is clearly visible next to the much earlier outer stone wall, as viewed from Scarborough's South Bay. The 13th-century Queen's Tower, in the wall nearby, also had different uses: initially luxurious accommodation with private latrine
Latrine
A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...
s, a porch and large windows with bay views were added in 1320. Two of these windows were later blocked up and one was changed to a cupboard with a rubbish chute. The Master Gunner's House, built in 1748, served as accommodation until the early 20th century.
Development as a tourist attraction
During the second half of the 19th century the castle became a tourist attraction. The foundations of a medieval hall were excavated in 1888, and an 1890 photograph shows visitors using the grounds to practice archery. By 1920, the site was taken into public ownership by the Ministry of Works. The demolition of the 18th-century barracks exposed the medieval foundations of Mosdale Hall, which can still be seen.The castle site, a scheduled ancient monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
managed 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...
since 1984, is host to various events, usually in summertime, such as pirate and Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
-themed activities. The castle grounds are reputed to be haunted – by three ghosts, among them a Roman soldier. The 18th-century Master Gunner's House, now a museum has an exhibition whose centrepiece is a Bronze Age sword discovered in 1980. English Heritage invested £250,000 in making the site a tourist attraction. A visitor centre provides admission to all extant remains, and has an exhibition of artefacts from the site and viewing platforms.
External links
- Official webpage from English HeritageEnglish HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
- Scarborough Castle – unofficial web page
- Scarborough Castle – a medieval history project website, by Claudia J. Richardson. Contains photographs, maps and a detailed history of the Castle.