Gloucester Castle was a Norman-era royal

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

situated in the city of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England. It was demolished in 1787 and replaced by Gloucester Prison.

Early Norman motte and bailey castle

It was probably constructed by the Anglo-Norman Roger de Pitres, the first post-

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

Sheriff of Gloucestershire, as a simple

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

castle during the reign of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

(1066–1087), when sixteen houses were demolished to make way for it. It was enlarged by King William II (1087–1100) who demolished eight more houses. Walter of Gloucester, Sheriff of Gloucestershire, succeeded his father Roger de Pitres as Constable of the castle. Before 1113 Walter built a new castle west of Barbican hill on a former garden of Gloucester Abbey, overlooking the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

. Walter's son, and the next Constable of Gloucester Castle, was Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (d. 1143) (''alias'' Miles of Gloucester), Sheriff of Gloucestershire, a great magnate based in the west of England who became hereditary Constable of England. He was succeeded as Constable of Gloucester Castle by his eldest son Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford (d. 1155). Later it was retained by the Crown.

King's residence

More improvements and some repairs were carried out by Henry III, these improvements included a bridge across the River Severn leading to a

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

in the outer wall. Henry III often used it as a residence, and it played an important role in the barons' war when it was besieged twice in 1264–1265. Part of the castle had been being used as a gaol by 1185 and it was probably then the official county gaol, as it certainly was by 1228, and Eleanor of Brittany, niece of King John and cousin of Henry III with a better claim to the throne according to primogeniture and thus becoming a state prisoner, had been briefly imprisoned there during the reign of John, from 1222 to 1223, and from 1237 to 1238, while in 1222 to accommodate her the castle temporarily moved all its prisoners elsewhere.

Decline

The defences were kept in full repair until the mid-15th century. It is likely that in the reign of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

, the castle ceased to be maintained as a fortress, continuing in use only as the county gaol. Much of the stonework of the castle was taken to construct roads and other buildings and by the mid-17th century all the buildings around the curtain wall had apparently gone, leaving only the

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 residen ...

, used as the gaol, and the main

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 most ...

standing. In time the keep was considered to be unsuitable for use as a gaol and its demolition began in 1787. The new gaol was finished in 1791 leaving no visible remains of the castle.

Conservation

In December 2015, the castle's foundations were uncovered by archaeologists who were investigating the Gloucester Prison site ahead of a new development. Since being rediscovered there have been calls to make the site open to the public. The owners of the site are currently considering how they will include parts of the castle in their plans for the site's future.

Early Norman motte and bailey castle

King's residence

Decline

Conservation

See also

References

Further reading