Castle of the Week 39 - Bolton Castle
Bolton Castle is in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire,
part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park which is one of the
most beautiful parts of England (although maybe I'm just slightly
biased as my family comes from nearby and I spent my honeymoon
there). Today's rolling hills covered with heather and low scrub
were, when the castle was built, hidden by an ancient forest. The
castle has never been sold and remains the property of Lord
Bolton, a direct descendant of the Scrope family who initially
built it in the 14th century. Although partly in ruins now, the
castle's original grandeur is still plain. Another castle much in
demand for filming purposes, it has been seen in Ivanhoe,
Elizabeth (the film), Heartbeat and All Creatures Great and Small
amongst others.
The building work started in 1379 for Sir
Richard le Scrope who, as Chancellor of England, was granted a
licence by Richard II to crenellate his manor house. He felt he
needed a home more fitting to his rank and status so he left the
house and chose a site half a mile away to build himself a
castle. The mason was Johan Lewyn who is also thought to have
built Ayton and Warkworth amongst other northern castles.
Like Bodiam, Bolton was built
at a time when the castle was a home as well as protection. The
courtyard was rectangular surrounded by three storey residential
walls, 9 feet thick, with residential towers at each corner. The
Great Hall was on the first floor of the north side. Because it
was a home, Bolton didn't have elaborate fortifications but what
it had were excellent for defence. The gatehouse, on the east
side, had a portcullis at each end; past that there were
arrowslits in the ground floor rooms which covered every part of
the courtyard. The four entrance doors into the castle are in
each of the corners of the courtyard in the towers. Each of these
had a portcullis and machicolations in the towers overhead. If
these doors were breached, access to the upper levels was by
narrow staircases.
In 1568 Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Bolton
Castle for 6 months, plotting with many of the northern catholic
nobles against Elizabeth I. However the Scropes were not involved
in her plots, being loyal to the Queen so they persuaded her to
move elsewhere.
During the Civil War, John Scrope held the castle
for the Royalists. It was besieged and bombarded with mortars in
1645 though, when taken, the garrison was allowed to leave with
honour. Two years later Parliament ordered it to be rendered
uninhabitable and a new manor house was built 5 miles away.
After this, the castle was plundered for its
stone by local people and in 1761 the north-east tower,weakened
by artillery fire during the Civil War, collapsed. An extensive
conservation project has been undertaken with the assistance of
English Heritage. The remaining buildings have been repaired and
made safe and the grounds have been improved with a walled herb
garden, a vineyard and a maze in the style of medieval times. The
castle is open to the public with furnishings and tableaux in
some of the rooms.
Write-up provided by GillB* . Pictures courtesy of Jayhawk* .
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