Harewood Castle is a 14th-century stone

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples w ...

and courtyard fortress, located on the Harewood Estate, Harewood, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England (Grid Reference SE 322457). Harewood Castle is a grade I

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 I ...

History

The castle was founded by the De Lisle family in the 12th century, and then passed to Sir William de Aldeburgh, following his marriage to Elizabeth de Lisle, heiress of Harewood, who was granted 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 ...

in 1366. The rectangular tower house on a steep slope is visible for miles around. The main block of two storeys is flanked by four angle towers, one being a plain entrance tower; the chapel is situated over the

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down ...

chamber. The lower kitchen wing is of four storeys, with a barrel-vaulted basement containing the well. When the second Baron Aldeburgh died in 1391 without issue, the castle transferred to the Ryther and the Redmayne (Redman) families, into which his two daughters had married. In 1574, James Ryther and partner William Plompton bought out the Redman family, although Ryther's financial situation must have worsened because he died in

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 ...

's Fleet Prison in 1595. His son and two daughters sold the castle to Sir William Wentworth of Gawthorpe Hall in 1600 to clear debts; this is probably when Harewood Castle ceased to be a main residence. The castle was last occupied in the 1630s, and in 1656 it was put up for sale as an 'upstanding source of stone and timber'. The Wentworths sold Harewood and Gawthorpe to

Sir John Cutler, 1st Baronet Sir John Cutler, 1st Baronet (1603–1693) was an English grocer, financier and Member of Parliament. He was the 2nd son of Edward Cutler, Salter, of London. He became a successful grocer who also participated in land speculation, acquiring the ...

, by which time the castle had probably already been partly dismantled though Cutler lived there at the end of his life. At Cutler's death in 1693, it passed to his only surviving daughter, Elizabeth, Countess of Radnor and on her death without heir to Cutler's nephew, unmarried

Edmund Boulter Edmund Boulter (abt 1635 – 1709), was a London merchant and politician. He was the eldest son of John Boulter, a maltster, twice mayor of Abingdon and his wife born Susannah Cutler, sister of Sir John Cutler, 1st Baronet, later Edmund's business ...

MP of Boston and

Wimpole Hall Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned ...

then to his nephew John Boulter of Gawthorpe and Westminster, who died unmarried in 1738. His executors sold to

Henry Lascelles (1690–1753) Henry Lascelles (1690 – 16 October 1753) was an English-born Barbados plantation owner. He was the son of Daniel Lascelles (1655–1734) and Margaret Metcalfe. He served as Collector of Customs for the British government in Barbados. He was a ...

whose son, Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood built

Harewood House Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy West Indian plantation ...

. Centuries after it had been abandoned, Harewood Castle remained a landmark, the subject of several paintings in the 1797 by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...

Present

Recent times saw decay and weathering take their toll, and the unstable castle was placed on the Buildings at Risk Register 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 ...

. Then, around the year 2000, a £1 million rescue plan was drawn up, funded partly through English Heritage and partly by the Harewood Estate. As of 2008, the restoration project, which involved architects, geologists, structural engineers, ecologists and staff of the Harewood Estate, Historic Property Restoration Ltd and English Heritage, was nearing completion. The castle was taken off the Buildings at Risk Register in that year.

References

Bibliography

External links

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Remains of Gawthorpe Hall discovered in Yorkshire
{{coord, 53.9059, -1.5117, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Grade I listed buildings in Leeds Grade I listed castles Castles in West Yorkshire Ruins in West Yorkshire Hall houses

History

Present

See also

References

Bibliography

External links