Cambridge Castle, locally also known as Castle Mound, is located in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

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 the ...

, England. Originally built after the

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 Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

to control the strategically important route to the north of England, it played a role in the conflicts of the Anarchy, the First and

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fu ...

s. Hugely expanded by Edward I, the castle then fell rapidly into disuse in the late medieval era, its stonework recycled for building purposes in the surrounding colleges. Cambridge Castle was refortified 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 ...

but once again fell into disuse, used primarily as the county

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

. The castle gaol was finally demolished in 1842, with a new prison built in the castle bailey. This prison was demolished in 1932, replaced with the modern Shire Hall, and only the castle

motte 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 to ...

and limited earthworks still stand. The site is open to the public daily and offers views over the historic buildings of the city.

History

11th century

Cambridge Castle was one of three castles built across the east of England in late 1068 by

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 ...

in the aftermath of his northern campaign to capture

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. Cambridge, or Grantabridge as it was then known, was on the old Roman route from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to York and was both strategically significant and at risk of rebellion. The initial building work was conducted by

Picot picot is a loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace or ribbon, or croché, knitted or tatted fabric. The loops vary in size according to their function and artistic intention. 'Picot', pronounced '' ...

, the high sheriff, who later founded a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

beside the castle. The castle was built in a motte and bailey design, within the existing town, and 27 houses had to be destroyed to make space for it.

12th-13th centuries

The castle was held by the Norman kings until the civil war of the Anarchy broke out in 1139.Bradbury, p.144. Castles played a key role in the conflict between the Empress Matilda and King Stephen, and in 1143 Geoffrey de Mandeville, a supporter of the Empress, attacked Cambridge; the town was raided and the castle temporarily captured. Stephen responded with a counter-attack, forcing Geoffrey to retreat into

the Fens The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

and retaking the castle. Cambridge Castle remained exposed, however, and Stephen decided to build a supporting fortification at Burwell to provide additional protection.Bradbury, p.146. Geoffrey died attacking Burwell Castle the following year, leaving Cambridge Castle secure. Under Henry II the castle was adequately maintained, but little additional work was undertaken to improve it. A

castle-guard Castle-guard was an arrangement under the feudal system, by which the duty of finding knights to guard royal castles was imposed on certain manors, knight's fees or baronies. The greater barons provided for the guard of their castles by exacting ...

system was established, under which lands around Cambridge were granted to local lords on the condition that they provide guard forces for the castle, and the castle was primarily used to hold the sheriff's court and records. King

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

expanded the castle in the years before the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...

of 1215 to 1217, but this work was concentrated on constructing a new hall and chamber, at the cost of £200. During the war, the rebel barons, supported by Prince Louis of France, captured much of eastern England; Cambridge Castle fell in 1216. The castle was returned to royal control after the war, but Henry III only conducted basic maintenance of the fortification.Brown, p.71. Cambridge was attacked again during the

in 1266.Mackenzie, p.310. This time the town and castle held long enough to be relieved by Henry's forces, but the king reinforced the city defences with a large ditch, later known as King's Ditch. Cambridge Castle remained only a basic fortification until 1284 when Edward I decided to undertake major expansion works. Over the next 14 years the king spent at least £2,630 on rebuilding the castle in stone. Edward's castle was four-sided, with circular towers at each corner, guarded by a

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 ...

and a barbican.Brown, p.73. A circular stone keep was built on the motte. The result was a "major fortress in the latest fashion", albeit never quite completed. Edward stayed at the castle for two nights in 1294.

14th-17th centuries

During the 14th century the castle was allowed to fall into disrepair. From Edward III onwards, little money was spent on maintaining the property and by the 15th century the castle was in ruins. The castle hall and chamber were roofless by the 15th century, and Henry VI ordered these buildings to be destroyed and the stone reused for constructing King's College in 1441, with other parts of the castle being used to help build Trinity College's chapel. More stonework was given away by

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

in the 16th century for building a mansion at nearby Sawston in the Fens, and other grants of stone given to Emmanuel and Magdalene colleges. By 1604 only the gatehouse, used as a gaol, and the keep remained intact, with the surrounding walls described by contemporaries as "rased and utterly ruinated".

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 ...

broke out in England in 1642 between the rival factions of the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

and

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Cambridge Castle was occupied by Parliamentary forces in the first year of the war.

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

ordered emergency work to be conducted to repair the defences, resulting in two new earthwork bastions being added to the castle and a brick barracks constructed in the old bailey.Mackenzie, p.311; Brown, p.73. The governor of Cambridge described in 1643 that "our town and castle are now very strongly fortified... with breastworks and bulwarks". The castle saw no further fighting during the war, and in 1647 parliament ordered the remaining fortifications to be

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 ...

, damaged beyond further use.

18th-19th centuries

The castle rapidly deteriorated after the slighting and the remaining walls and bastions were taken down in 1785, leaving only the gatehouse and the earth motte. The gatehouse remained in use as the county gaol into the 19th century, being run, like other similar prisons, as a private business – the keeper of the castle gaol was paid £200 a year by the county in 1807 (equivalent to £ in ). Cambridge Castle gateway 1841

This came to an end when a new county prison was built in the grounds of the castle's former bailey. The new prison was built by G. Byfield between 1807 and 1811 with an innovative octagonal structure, influenced by the designs of the prison reformer

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

; the castle gatehouse was destroyed to make way for a new county court building. By the end of the 19th century, the gaol was deemed to be surplus to requirements as

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

was sufficient to hold prisoners from both Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire. By 1920 the building had become a branch repository of the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...

and remained so until 1928 when it was acquired by

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a me ...

. The gaol was demolished in 1932 and the bricks used to build Shire Hall on the same site.

Preservation

The castle 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 ...

. Its only remains are the high motte (which stands on the highest point in the city) and some fragments of earthworks. It is open to the public daily with no admission fee, and offers views over the historic buildings of the city. The site of the castle bailey and the 19th-century prison is now occupied by Shire Hall, which was built in 1932 as the headquarters of

. cmglee_Cambridge_castle_mound_top.jpg, Top of the Cambridge castle mound in 2020 Cmglee Cambridge Shire Hall Castle Mound.jpg, Shire Hall viewed from the mound, with the steps leading up the mound Cambridge skyline Castle Mound.jpg, Cambridge skyline viewed from the mound. The church in the foreground at right is St Giles' Church, the spire on the left is part of All Saints' Church, the tower in the centre is part of St John's College chapel, and the long roofline on the skyline at right is

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Anon. (1837)
The Cambridge Guide: including historical and architectural notices of the public buildings, and a concise account of the customs and ceremonies of the university.
' Cambridge: Deighton. OCLC 558127530. *Bradbury, Jim. (2009)
Stephen and Matilda: the Civil War of 1139–53.
' Stroud, UK: The History Press. . *Brown, Reginald Allen. (1989)
Castles From The Air.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . *Finn, Margot C. (2003)
The Character of Credit: Personal Debt in English Culture, 1740–1914.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . *Mackenzie, James D. (1896)
The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure, Vol II.
' New York: Macmillan. *Pounds, Norman John Greville. (1990)
The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: a social and political history.
' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . *Thompson, M. W. (1994)
The Decline of the Castle
'' Leicester, UK: Harveys Books. . *Wedgwood, C. V. (1970)
The King's War: 1641–1647.
' London: Fontana. OCLC 58038493.

External links

History of Cambridge Castle Prison from theprison.org.uk

Cambridge County Gaol and House of Correction
at prisonhistoy.org {{bots, deny=InternetArchiveBot Buildings and structures completed in 1068 Castle Castle Castle Castles in Cambridgeshire Former castles in England Scheduled monuments in Cambridgeshire