Lulworth Castle, in
East Lulworth
East Lulworth is a village and civil parish nine miles east of Dorchester, near Lulworth Cove, in the county of Dorset, South West England. It consists of 17th-century thatched cottages. The village is now dominated by the barracks of the Royal ...
,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England, situated south of the village of
Wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
, is an early 17th-century hunting lodge erected in the style of a
revival fortified castle, one of only five extant
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
or
Jacobean buildings of this type. It is listed with
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...
as a
Scheduled 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 ...
. It is also
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The 18th-century
Adam style
The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (173 ...
interior of the stone building was devastated by fire in 1929, but has now been restored and serves as a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
. The castle stands in Lulworth Park on the
Lulworth Estate
The Lulworth Estate is a country estate located in central south Dorset, England. Its most notable landscape feature is a five-mile stretch of coastline on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, including Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove.
...
. The park and gardens surrounding the castle are
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
with Historic England.
History
The foundations for Lulworth Castle were laid in 1588, and it was completed in 1609, supposedly designed by
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
As the most notable archit ...
. It was built as a
hunting lodge by
Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon
Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon (died 1611) was an English peer and politician. He was a Knight of the Garter, Lord Lieutenant of Dorset 25 April 1601 – 1 March 1611, Custos Rotulorum of Dorset before 1605–1611, and Vice-Admira ...
, a grandson of the
3rd Duke of Norfolk. In 1607 Viscount Bindon wrote to
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury s ...
, crediting him with the origins of the design:
"If this little pile in Lulworth Park shall prove pretty or worth the labour bestowed in the erecting of it, I will acknowledge, as the truth is, that your powerful speech to me at Bindon laid the first foundation of the pile in my mind, which ever since has laboured for a speedy finishing for the contentment of those for whose further liking of that place the care is taken".
According to the
NHLE
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...
listing, the building was subsequently remodelled 1609-11 for
Thomas, Lord Suffolk; remodelled again in 1641 for Humphrey Weld; in the early 18th century by the
Bastard brothers
John (ca 1688–1770) and William Bastard (ca 1689–1766) were British surveyor-architects, and civic dignitaries of the town of Blandford Forum in Dorset. John and William generally worked together and are known as the "Bastard brothers". Th ...
of
Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this ...
for the then owner,
Edward Weld
Edward Weld (1740–1775) was a British recusant landowner.
Biography
Edward Weld was the eldest of the four sons and one daughter of Edward Weld (1705–1761) and his second wife, Dame Maria née Vaughan.''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic ...
; and in the 1780s by Catholic architect John Tasker for Thomas Weld. Tasker also built the Roman Catholic chapel in the grounds.
Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist
* Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo
* David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...
's assessment of the castle building two hundred years later views it as a Jacobean case of
one-upmanship among wealthy landowners whose residential needs are already satisfied elsewhere, hence a series of " '
mock castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
s', such as the Elizabethan castellated house ''par excellence'' that is
Longford Castle
Longford Castle stands on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor, and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house.
History
In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the t ...
" which probably inspired Bindon.
![6808 29 Lulworth Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/6808_29_Lulworth_Castle.jpg)
In 1641,
Humphrey Weld
Sir Humphrey Weld (died 29 November 1610) was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1608.
Career
Weld's family roots were in Eaton and Congleton, Cheshire. He was the fourth son of John Weld of Eaton and his wife Joanna FitzHugh. ...
, a grandson of Sir
Humphrey Weld
Sir Humphrey Weld (died 29 November 1610) was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1608.
Career
Weld's family roots were in Eaton and Congleton, Cheshire. He was the fourth son of John Weld of Eaton and his wife Joanna FitzHugh. ...
(died 1610), purchased it from Howard's heir,
Lord Howard de Walden
Baron Howard de Walden is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ of summons in 1597 by Queen Elizabeth I for Admiral Lord Thomas Howard, a younger son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, by his second wife, the Honourab ...
. The castle was seized by the
Roundhead
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
s during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, who used it as a garrison. Weld regained the property after the war finished and held on to it despite growing debts. Having married off his only daughter to an earl, Humphrey chose his catholic nephew, William Weld as his successor. William struggled with near insolvency, but partially rescued the estate finances by ensuring his son, Humphrey III (died 1722), married well into the Simeons family. Margaret Simeons and her parents helped out with a dowry and managed the estate after she was widowed. Humphrey was succeeded by their son,
Edward Weld (Senior)
Edward Weld (1705 8 December 1761) was an English gentleman of the landed gentry and a member of an old recusant family. Weld is notable for two trials, one when he was accused of impotency, the other for treason at the time of the Jacobite ri ...
who had the means to decorate the interiors of the castle, build extensions and lay out the grounds, despite personal legal difficulties he managed to overcome.
Thomas Weld Thomas Weld may refer to:
* Thomas Welde (1594/5–1661), first minister of the First Church of Roxbury, Massachusetts
* Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) (1750–1810), of Lulworth castle, Catholic philanthropist
* Thomas Weld (cardinal)
Thomas W ...
, Edward's youngest son, eventually inherited the property after his eldest brother, also
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, died as a result of a riding accident in 1775. Twenty-five-year-old Thomas set about refurbishing the interiors in
Adam style
The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (173 ...
. He enriched the collection of books in the magnificent library, a few of which are extant. He also entertained
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
at Lulworth. Thomas and his wife Mary produced fifteen children, most of whom survived, and together with their descendants were able to retain Lulworth as the family seat into the 21st century.
Following the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, surviving members of the
French royal family
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...
were invited to use Lulworth as one of their residences-in-exile. Later
Charles X of France
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...
and family also stayed there briefly, following the
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of 1830 on their way to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
St Mary's Chapel, Lulworth
![East Lulworth, church built to look like a house - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/East_Lulworth%2C_church_built_to_look_like_a_house_-_geograph.org.uk_-_474257.jpg)
Thomas Weld built a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church dedicated to St. Mary to serve as the family chapel in the grounds of the castle in 1786. Pevsner relates that he needed permission from
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
on condition that it did not look like a church from outside. It was to be the first
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
to be built in England since the time of the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. It was designed by John Tasker in the form of a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
at a cost of £2,380.
The building has been
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
On 15 August 1790
John Carroll John Carroll may refer to:
People Academia and science
*Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer
*John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor
*John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...
, an American Jesuit friend of Thomas, was consecrated bishop by Bishop
Charles Walmesley
Charles Walmesley, OSB (best known by the pseudonyms Signor Pastorino or Pastorini; 13 January 1722 – 25 November 1797) was the Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Rama and Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England. He was known, especi ...
, in the chapel of Lulworth Castle. Carroll had been named the first Catholic bishop in the United States (as
Bishop of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Mar ...
) in 1789, and he came to Walmseley for Episcopal Consecration.
[The American Catholic quarterly review, Volume 14](_blank)
Lulworth Chapel, Bishop Carroll and Bishop Walmesley The next episcopal consecration took place there on 19 December of the same year when
John Douglass was consecrated bishop of The London District (which included the home counties, the West Indies with the exception of Trinidad, and the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey) by
William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
,
titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of
Acanthus, and
Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District.
[Ward, Bernard. ''Catholic London a Century Ago'', Catholic Truth Society, 1905, p. 62](_blank)
/ref> After his sudden death in Stonyhurst
Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish ...
in 1810, Thomas Weld was buried in the Lulworth chapel crypt.
Restoration
The castle was gutted by fire on 29 August 1929 and was left as a roofless ruin, the family building a new residence for themselves nearby.
In the 1970s, restoration work began with the help of 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 ...
. The restoration, finished in 1998, included a new roof and restored surviving walls in the interior, but no new internal walls or replacements for the destroyed upper floors were constructed.
In 1986 the Baltimore-born organ builder William Drake restored the 1780 Seede organ at the Roman Catholic Chapel at Lulworth Castle, a project that attracted attention internationally.
The castle is still owned by the Weld family and is a tourist attraction, holding medieval-themed events. Part of the Lulworth Estate is in use as an MoD
Mod, MOD or mods may refer to:
Places
* Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band
* M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
firing range as well as a wildlife conservation area.
Since 2017, the site has been used as the location for the Bestival
Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...
music festival, with the castle's foreground being the location for the main "Castle" stage.
References
Bibliography
* C. M. Antony. "Lulworth Castle: Its History and Memories." ''The Catholic Historical Review'', Vol. 1, No. 3 (Oct., 1915), pp. 243-257
* Berkeley, J. ''Lulworth and the Welds.'' Gillingham: Blackmore, 1971.
* Manco, Jean, Greenhalf, David and Girouard, Mark. "Lulworth Castle in the Seventeenth Century". ''Architectural History'', Vol. 33, (1990), pp. 29–59.
* Manco, Jean and Kelly, Francis. "Lulworth Castle from 1700." ''Architectural History'', Vol. 34, (1991), pp. 145-170
* ''The Weld family & Lulworth''. Wareham: Lulworth Castle. 2004.
* Newth, John. "One of Dorset’s grandest and most interesting country houses - The history of Lulworth Castle is bound up with the stories of the Weld family and of one of the most important estates in South Dorset. John Newth has been to visit.". Dorset Life, April 2015. Wiew on line
Gallery
Image:Lulworth Castle LCCN2017659723.jpg, Lulworth Castle in the park
Image:Lulworth Castle, Triangular Lodges - geograph.org.uk - 505210.jpg, Lulworth Castle, Triangular Lodges
Image:Lulworth Castle stables (1932).jpg, Lulworth Castle stables (1932)
Image:Lulworth Castle Interior 032.jpg, Roof from interior
Image:Lulworth Castle Interior 01.jpg, Castle Interior
Image:Lulworth Castle Interior 04.jpg, Castle kitchen
Image:Lulworth Castle Interior 03.jpg, Castle vaulted cellar
External links
The Lulworth Estate website
{{coord, 50, 38, 15, N, 2, 12, 38, W, region:GB-DOR_type:landmark, display=title
Castles in Dorset
Lulworth Castle
Scheduled monuments in Dorset
Houses completed in 1609
Jacobean architecture in the United Kingdom
Historic house museums in Dorset
Hunting lodges
Tower houses
Isle of Purbeck
Grade I listed buildings in Dorset
Grade I listed castles
Grade II listed parks and gardens in Dorset