Spofforth Castle in the village of Spofforth,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England was a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, ruined 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 ...

and now run by

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 ...

as a tourist attraction.

History

Spofforth Castle was built by Henry de Percy in the early 14th century when he was given a

licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within th ...

a manor house on the site, with later alterations made in the 14th and 15th centuries. The hall-tower of the castle is all that remains of the ruins. The eastern wall of the hall was built largely upon rock foundations. The extant 13th-century structure consist of a ground-floor

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

, which has a rock face forming its eastern wall due to its elevation. Two staircases remain on the eastern wall, cut into the rock which lead to the lobby area of the hall. There is a two-storey chamber section on the north side of the tower which has a polygonal stair

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

to its northwest corner. The upper storey is of 15th-century construction, and is probably a restoration. The Percy estates, including Spofforth, were confiscated after the rebellion against King Henry IV in 1408 and given to Sir Thomas Rokeby. They were later restored and then lost again in 1461 when the Percys supported the losing side in the

War of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. Spofforth was eventually returned to the family and remained inhabited by their steward until 1604. The castle was reduced to ruins during the

of 1642–1646. The castle was given to the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

in 1924 by the 3rd Baron Leconfield. The ruins, primarily the west side of the original castle, are now listed as a grade II*

listed building 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 ...

and under the guardianship of English Heritage as a tourist attraction. They are managed by Spofforth-with-Stockeld Parish Council.

References

Bibliography

External links

Visitor information at English Heritage
* {{Castles in North Yorkshire Castles in North Yorkshire English Heritage sites in North Yorkshire Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire Grade II* listed castles Ruined castles in England Ruins in North Yorkshire Spofforth, North Yorkshire

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links