Farnham Castle is a 12th-century castle in Farnham, Surrey, England. It was formerly the residence of the

Bishops of Winchester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

History

Built in 1138 by

Henri de Blois Henry of Blois ( c. 1096 8 August 1171), often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He was a younger son of Stephen Henry, Count of Blois by Adela of Normandy, d ...

, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, Farnham castle became the home of the Bishops of Winchester for over 800 years. The original building was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

by Henry II in 1155 after ' the Anarchy' and then rebuilt in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. In the early 15th century, it was the residence of Cardinal Henry Beaufort who presided at the trial of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

in 1431. It is for this reason that St Joan of Arc's Church in Farnham is dedicated to her. The castle's architecture reflects changing styles through the ages, making it one of the most important historical buildings in the south of England. It is an impressive stone motte and bailey fortress, and has been in almost continuous occupation since the 12th century. The large motte was formed around the massive foundations of a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

tower and then totally enclosed by a shell keep, with

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

turrets and a shallow

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

. Attached to the motte is a triangular inner bailey, with a fine range of domestic buildings and a fifteenth-century brick entrance tower. The formidable outer bailey curtain wall has square flanking towers, a 13th-century gatehouse and a large ditch. The stables burnt down during a visit by King James,

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, and

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in July 1609. The castle was

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

again after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in 1648. Since then more buildings have been constructed in the castle's grounds, the most impressive being those built by Bishop

George Morley George Morley, 27 February 1598 to 29 October 1684, was a senior member of the Church of England from London, who served as Bishop of Worcester from 1660 to 1662, and of Winchester from 1662 to 1684. Early life Morley was born in London, Eng ...

in the 17th century. The castle is set in of gardens overlooking the town of Farnham. A letter in 1594 mentions that white clay was dug in Farnham Park to make drinking vessels used by lawyers at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in London.

Camouflage Development & Training Centre

During the Second World War, the castle was the home of the Camouflage Development and Training Centre (CDTC) of the Camouflage Branch of the Royal Engineers. Here, artists such as

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World ...

and

Julian Trevelyan Julian Otto Trevelyan (20 February 1910 – 12 July 1988) was an English artist and poet. Early life Trevelyan was the only child to survive to adulthood of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven. His grandfather wa ...

as well as the magician

Jasper Maskelyne Jasper Maskelyne (29 September 1902 – 15 March 1973) was a British stage magician in the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of an established family of stage magicians, the son of Nevil Maskelyne and a grandson of John Nevil Maskelyne. He is most r ...

were trained in the arts of

military camouflage Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by an armed force to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. In practice, this means applying colour and materials to military equipment of all kinds, including vehicles, ...

. Since 1962, the castle has been used as an intercultural training and conference centre.

Public tours

With the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the keep and Bishop's Palace have undergone a complete renovation, and are now managed by Farnham Castle. The keep re-opened in July 2010 displaying the extended research that has been undertaken into the history surrounding the castle; there is also an exhibition on site open to the public covering the 900 Years of Living History of Farnham Castle.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

has guardianship of the keep but Farnham Castle now manages the visitors to the keep. Entry is free. Local guides provide tours of the Bishop's Palace (certain days only, charge applies).''Three Palaces of the Bishops of Winchester, 2000, English Heritage

Notes

External links

Farnham Castle official charity websiteFarnham Castle official commercial websiteHistory of Farnham CastleCastleExplorer.co.ukFarnham Castle Keep
{{Waverley Castles in Surrey Episcopal palaces of the bishops of Winchester History of Surrey Grade I listed castles Grade I listed buildings in Surrey Historic house museums in Surrey Farnham Scheduled monuments in Surrey English Heritage sites in Surrey Buildings and structures in Farnham

History

Camouflage Development & Training Centre

Public tours

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links