It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly the Normans established control of England after the conquest in 1066, building castles right across the country. For example, construction of Barnard Castle (which we visited a couple of weeks ago) in County Durham began in 1083. And although the Normans did their fair share of castle building perhaps the golden age came under the Plantagenets, between the 12th and 14th centuries.
Through our membership of English Heritage, Steph and I have now visited 50 castles and fortifications. These range from pre-historic hill forts, several constructed by the Romans, as well as those in the centuries following the arrival of the Normans. I have written about those castles, and included a map, in this post. Castles come in all shapes and sizes.
I guess if you were to ask a child to draw a castle, the stylised image would include a curtain wall with crenellations, towers, a central keep, and an enclosing ditch or moat, just like we have seen at Warkworth in Northumberland, Caernarfon in North Wales, Goodrich in Herefordshire, Bodiam in East Sussex, and Dover in Kent, to name just five.
Last September, during a week long holiday in East Anglia, we took in the late 12th castle at Framlingham, about half distance between our holiday cottage and the Suffolk coast.
As it says on the English Heritage website, Framlingham is a magnificent late 12th-century castle, its striking outline reflected in the nearby mere. Surrounded by parkland and estates, it was once at the centre of a vast network of power and influence. Its owners for over 400 years were the Earls and Dukes of Norfolk, the supreme magnates in East Anglia – rich, ambitious and influential both at home and abroad.
And it was not quite what we expected, even though first impressions from outside did not suggest anything unusual. There it was, standing on a bluff over looking the River Ore, with a high curtain wall and thirteen towers. Hugh Bigod (d. 1177), 1st Earl of Norfolk began construction of the castle, but it was his successor Roger Bigod II (d. 1221) who built the curtain walls seen today.
English Heritage has published a comprehensive history on its website, and also tells Framlingham’s complex story in this animation.
What is unusual about Framlingham is that there is no central keep. And apparently there never was one. Instead, inside the Inner Court there were numerous free-standing buildings, or leaning against the curtain wall, with the remains of Tudor chimneys still in situ today. One special feature of a visit to Framlingham is the Wall Walk, which permits a 360º view of the Inner Court.
Two nieces of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, were the second and fifth wives of Henry VIII, both losing their heads after being accused of adultery. The duke was disgraced, and in 1552, Framlingham became the property of Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s elder daughter by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. In 1553, after Lady Jane Grey launched her unsuccessful nine-day claim to the throne of England, Mary assembled troops at Framlingham, and was proclaimed queen in mid-July.
The castle became a prison, and by about 1589, it had fallen into disrepair. But history hadn’t done with Framlingham quite yet.
In 1635, the castle was sold to Sir Robert Hitcham, Member of Parliament and Attorney General to King James I. He died a year later but left instructions in his will for the castle buildings to be demolished and the stone used to build a workhouse (poorhouse), which still stands today. The workhouse comprises the original 17th century ‘Red Wing’, an 18th century middle wing, and on the right, the remains of the Great Hall.
Click this link to open a complete album of photos, including images of the information boards across the castle site.
A balanced diet . . . 