Castle of the Week 35 - Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle stands on the borders of Kent and
Sussex in south-east England. It was originally built as an
extremely fortified manor house and is a symmetrical square stone
castle surrounded by an artificial lake fed by underground
springs.
There was a Saxon hall on the site, but the castle of today was built by Sir Edward Dalyngrygge. He was a veteran of Edward III's wars with France and one of the most powerful men in Sussex who, in 1385, was given permission to fortify his house against a possible French invasion. He chose to build the castle rather than make alterations to his house.
There is a four-storey round tower on each
corner and a rectangular tower midway along each wall. The
southern tower, used as a postern gate, originally had a
drawbridge. Opposite to that, the tower in the northern wall is
the Gatehouse with twin rectangular towers. This is still the
access into the castle today through the Octagon & Barbican
before reaching the Gatehouse. The Gatehouse had 3 portcullises
and double doors and in the gap between the doors were
machicolations. The Barbican was originally a two-storey
gatehouse, but only a small part remains. There was no keep so
the gatehouse was used for defence of the bailey and all the
castle's rooms were built into the walls. Originally the approach
to the castle was by a maze of bridges and paths which came out
at an angle to the gatehouse leaving attackers exposed. Despite
all the defences, however, the only two times that it was
attacked, it surrendered rapidly as the walls were too thin to
withstand an artillery bombardment.
It was built at a time when the aristocracy were
looking for a castle that could be comfortable and homely as well
as a protection for them and also as a sign of their wealth and
standing. There would have been at least 100 people living there,
as there were three storeys of rooms in the walls and a fourth
storey in the towers.
It remained in the family until 1483 when it went to the Lewknors by marriage. They were Lancastrians and the castle was briefly besieged. The family gave up without a struggle so no damage was done ready for their return at the end of the Wars of the Roses.
By the time of the Civil War, the castle was
owned by the Earl of Thanet, a staunch Royalist. However in 1644
(in the middle of the war) he sold it to Sir Nathaniel Powel, a
Parliamentarian. The interior was gutted after the War and, after
surrendering, the castle was left to deteriorate for nearly 300
years except for a brief period in the 18th century when a small
cottage was built inside. Stone was pilfered and it turned into
an ivy covered ruin.
In 1815, a local squire and MP, John Fuller, bought the castle for £3,000 to save it from being dismantled. In 1864 his grandson sold it for £5,000 to Lord Ashcombe who made many vital repairs.
Lord Curzon fell in love with the castle in 1905
and was eventually able to buy it in 1916. He undertook a grand
programme of research and restoration and restored the outer
walls back to their medieval appearance. Inside, however, there
are only remnants of fireplaces and doorways. The grounds have
been landscaped as they think it would have been when first
built. On his death in 1925 he left the castle to The National
Trust who now own the castle and open it to the public.
Write-up provided by
GillB*
. Pictures courtesy of
Jayhawk*
and Castles of
the World
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