Huntingdon Castle was situated in the town of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

().

In 1068 a Norman

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 t ...

castle was built for

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 Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. During

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legi ...

the castle was held by David, King of Scotland through his marriage to

Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon Maud, Countess of Huntingdon ( 1074 – 1130/1131), or Matilda, was Queen of Scotland as the wife of King David I. She was the great-niece of William the Conqueror and the granddaughter of Earl Siward. Biography Maud was the daughter of Wa ...

. He supported

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

in a battle of succession and the castle was much damaged at this time. However, when the succession was settled, David's son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

paid homage to King Stephen who in turn gave him the borough of Huntingdon in addition to the castle. By 1173 the castle was still held by the kings of Scotland, at that time by

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

. He had sided with

, the rebel son of Henry II, during the Revolt of 1173–1174, and the castle was besieged by

Richard de Luci Richard de Luci (or Lucy; 1089 – 14 July 1179) was first noted as High Sheriff of Essex, after which he was made Chief Justiciar of England. Biography His mother was Aveline, the niece and heiress of William Goth. In the charter for Sées Ca ...

. The siege was taken over by Simon de St. Lis but it did not end until Henry II (who had just performed

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part ...

at the tomb of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...

) arrived at Huntingdon. The siege ended the following day and Henry then ordered that the castle be dismantled (

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 ...

). The Pipe Rolls recorded that 7''s'' 8''d'' was spent on dismantling the palisade. According to historian Sidney Painter, it was one of at least 21 castles demolished on Henry II's instructions. Parts of the castle did remain, including the chapel, and its ownership passed through a number of hands. The castle was refortified during 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 polici ...

. For a time it served as the county gaol, and later a windmill stood on the castle mound. Nothing now remains of the castle itself apart from its earthworks, although the site is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

References

Huntingdon Castle 1Huntingdon Castle 2History of Huntingdon Castle Prison from theprison.org.uk
*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980. Castles in Cambridgeshire Scheduled monuments in Cambridgeshire Huntingdon Buildings and structures in Huntingdonshire {{England-castle-stub

See also

References