Devizes Castle was a medieval fortification in the town of

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

, Wiltshire, England, on a site now occupied by a Victorian-era

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. It is a Grade I listed building. The original castle (not currently visible) was overbuilt by the current structure. Records indicate that the first castle on the site had its origins in about 1080 as an early Norman motte and bailey with wooden pallisade and tower.

Medieval building

The first

motte-and-bailey castle 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 ...

on this site was probably built around 1080 by Osmund,

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

. It is first mentioned in 1106, when Robert of Normandy was imprisoned in it, and, despite reports, it is not mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. It became known by its Latin name ''Castrum ad divisas'', the castle at the boundaries, because it was located at a place where three parishes joined. That later evolved into the word Devizes. The town grew around the castle. The original structure burned down in 1113 and was rebuilt in stone by Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, by 1120. In that era, it was said (by an unknown source) that it was the most beautiful fortress in Europe. He occupied it under Henry I and the castle was claimed by

Stephen, King of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

in the 1130s;

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

once took it but returned the castle to King Stephen when he threatened to kill her son. Matilda later reclaimed it and held the castle for some time. The property was owned by the Crown until the 17th century. It was used as a prison by

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

and Henry III. It went on to become the property of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

who gifted it to his wife

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

and then reclaimed it after their divorce. Important prisoners were held at the castle, including (from 1106)

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...

, eldest son of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, and (in 1232) Hubert de Burgh. Also, in 1206,

John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

held his second wife Isabella here as a prisoner.

Civil War and afterwards

In 1643, during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, the castle was occupied by

Royalist 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 gove ...

troops and besieged by

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

forces under Sir

William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159819 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War. Elected MP for Andover to the Long Parliament in 1640, Waller relinquished ...

. However, three days later in the

Battle of Roundway Down The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643 at Roundway Down near Devizes, in Wiltshire during the First English Civil War. Despite being outnumbered and exhausted after riding overnight from Oxford, a Royalist cavalry force under ...

, Waller's army was routed by Royalist forces. At that time, Devizes was a base for Lord Hopton's forces. The castle and town remained in Royalist hands under the military governorship of Sir Charles Lloyd, the King's Chief Engineer, who defended the town against repeated attacks and bombardments by the Parliamentarians. In September 1645, Cromwell with large forces and heavy artillery invaded the town and laid siege to the castle, which surrendered after a bombardment by the 5,000 man Parliamentary army. In May 1648 the castle was dismantled following a Parliamentary Order, a process known as

slighting Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

. The stone used for building other local structures. The original castle (below the current castle) became 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, visu ...

in 1953 based on excavations at the site. The

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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

report provided this information:

The motte and bailey castle at Devizes survives well and is a good example of its type. Despite part of the remains of the original castle having been built over, the motte and the ditch are imposing features, and the relationship between castle and town can still be seen. Additional evidence relating to the castle has been revealed by excavation, and the unexcavated parts of the castle motte, moat and bailey will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the castle and the landscape in which it was constructed. There is good documentary evidence to show the history of the castle. Devizes Castle had its origins in about 1080 as an early Norman motte and bailey with wooden pallisade and tower ... The castle was used as an Italian prisoner of war camp in WW2. The castle has left its mark on the plan and development of the town of Devizes, where elements of the defensive system, and the way in which the town was laid out around the castle, can still be seen in the town plan today.

In her book ''

Northanger Abbey ''Northanger Abbey'' ( ) is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic fiction, Gothic novels written by the English author Jane Austen. Although the title page is dated 1818 and the novel was published posthumously in 1817 with ''Persuasio ...

'', written in 1803,

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

referred to the town, but not the castle; in the book John Thorpe was to stop there during one of his journeys.

Victorian rebuilding

In 1838 the castle lands were acquired by J. N. Tylee who sold them in 1838 to Valentine Leach, a Devizes tradesman. The present castellated

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

'castle', in a mixture of Neo-Norman and

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

styles, was designed by Henry Goodridge, an architect from Bath. It was begun about 1840 with a boldly asymmetrical design, and was extended northwards in the 1860s and succeeding decades. The north tower incorporates the remains of a 17th-century brick windmill. According to the National Heritage List, excavations of the keep and aisled building were first done in 1858 and indicated "a number of lesser buildings surrounding the hall". The moat was excavated in 1860 when Leach was enlarging the castle. By that time, excavations had already found the footings of the former hall piers. Subsequently, the property has had a succession of owners, including Sir Charles Rich, Bt. (d. 1913), who made some alterations. In 1951 it was sold in two lots, named "North Tower" and "South Tower". The current castle, with its turrets, towers and castellations, on a 2.4 acre property, was

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1972 as DEVIZES CASTLE INCLUDING GLASS HOUSE AND GARDEN WALLS ENCIRCLING WEST SIDE OF MOUND. The listing provides specifics as to modifications and enlargement made in the 1860s, 70s and 80s. The interior is described as "designed in a mixture of neo-Norman, Gothic and C16 styles. The drawing room and bedroom in the northern section facing west have the partly original frames of C16 or early C17 ceilings inserted with carved and gilded bosses, small brackets and ribs, the whole completed in plaster".

21st century

A 2004 report indicated that the owner of the north tower area at the time was Edward Owen, while Mark Lovell owned the south tower area. News coverage in March 2009 stated that Jonathan Lewis was then the owner of the "main section and the north tower". By November 2010, the "north tower and main area" of the castle had been purchased by Julia Dempster. In March 2019, a news article stated that "the castle" was then owned by Lavender Howard but did not specify which section. The "principal part" of the castle, with gardens in front and rear, was listed for sale in 2018 and again in 2019. Some documents referred to it as "semi-detached" because the south tower area was not included in the sale. Specifics as to the status of the principal part of the castle became available at that time. It was said to be a 9,117-square-foot mansion with nine bedrooms, eight according to some sources, and six full bathrooms. The property included a 2.4-acre lot. Photographs published by ''Country Life'' indicated that a great deal of modernization had been completed, and also provided this information:

There are stone mullioned windows, detailed stone archways, cavernous fireplaces, oak floorboards, and spiral staircases ... Several of the rooms – including the drawing room and study – have ornate ceilings with gilded bosses, while the ‘fernery’ accessed via the drawing room has a beautiful encaustic tiled floor and a wooden ceiling ... There are eight bedrooms in total, five of which are on the second floor, with one more on the first floor and the other two on the third floor – including one in the turret ... The living spaces are set across the ground and first floors, and include a huge kitchen/breakfast room, grand entrance hall with wooden staircase, a library and a long gallery.

References

* Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.

External links