Rockingham Castle is a former royal

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 ...

and hunting lodge in

Rockingham Forest Rockingham Forest is a former royal hunting forest primarily located in the English county of Northamptonshire, with a small section extending into neighbouring Cambridgeshire. It is an area of some lying between the River Welland and River ...

, approximately two miles from the town centre of

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England.

History

11th – 14th centuries

The site on which the castle stands was used in the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, in the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, by the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, Normans, Tudors and also in the medieval period. This is because its position on elevated ground provides clear views of the Welland Valley from a strong defensible location.

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 ...

ordered the construction of a wooden

Motte and Bailey 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 ...

at Rockingham in the 11th century shortly after the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. Within three decades, William II replaced it with a stone castle. A stone keep was added to the large motte and the outer bailey was enclosed by a curtain wall. The castle was then used as a royal retreat throughout the Norman and Plantagenet periods. Nearby Rockingham Forest was especially good for hunting

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

and

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

. A church/state council was held at the castle in 1095 to address the issue of episcopal appointments. It was attended by William II and Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, but failed to reach a resolution. In 1270 Henry III strengthened the castle with the addition of a twin D-tower gatehouse. But less than a century later

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

became the last monarch to visit the castle while it was possessed by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

15th – 21st centuries

By the late 15th century Rockingham Castle had fallen into disrepair. Sir Edward Watson, founder of the Watson dynasty, acquired the lease of the castle from

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. ...

. Parts of the castle were later replaced with a Tudor house with gardens. The former royal castle became a hunting lodge for the nobility. Watson's grandson Lewis Watson acquired the freehold of the castle and lands from the Crown. Watson was successively a knight, baronet and

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Vol. 1'' 1900
/ref> In the 1640s, during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Rockingham was garrisoned by royalist troops. They fought several small skirmishes with Parliamentary forces. In 1643 Rockingham was captured by Parliamentarian general

Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford ( 1599 – 21 August 1673), known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill. His mother was probabl ...

and Lewis Watson was temporarily forced to leave. Its remaining walls were

slighted 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 ...

in 1646. In the latter 17th and 18th centuries, Rockingham returned to being a civil residence. Lewis' grandson, also Lewis, already Baron Rockingham, was created Earl of Rockingham and Viscount Sondes in 1714. He had inherited

Lees Court Sheldwich is a village and civil parish in the far south of the Borough of Borough of Swale, Swale in Kent, England. Geography Sheldwich is a rural parish situated south of the market town of Faversham, north of Ashford, Kent, Ashford and 12 m ...

, in 1709 on the death without issue of his brother in law Louis De Duras 2nd Earl of Ferversham, The earldom was extinguished with the death of the 5th baron (3rd earl) in 1746. While the Barony of Rockingham passed to another cousin, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, who was created Marquess of Rockingham later that year, The Rockingham estate along with

, Sheldwich then passed to his cousin Lewis Monson, who changed his name to Watson and later became in 1760 Baron Sondes of Lees Court. Lees Court was a modern house having been rebuilt in the mid 16th Century by George Sondes 1st Earl of Feversham and it became the principal family seat, meaning that Rockingham Castle remained unaltered during this period. Both estates descended via the 2nd and 3rd Barons Sondes, until the later's death. He was Lewis Richard Watson who died unmarried in 1836. At this point the estates of Rockingham Castle and Lees Court diverged, Lees Court remained with the Baron Sondes line and passed to Lewis Richard's brother George John Watson 4th Baron Sondes, However, from the 3rd Baron Sondes, Rockingham Castle passed firstly to his younger brother The Rev. Henry Watson and then another brother Richard Watson. The castle was inherited by successively by the sons of Richard Watson, George Lewis Watson (d.1899) and Rev Wentworth Watson, on whose death in 1925 the estate passed to his great nephew Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 5th Baronet in 1925. He lived here with his wife, Lady Mary Faith Montagu, a daughter of the 9th Earl of Sandwich, until 1967, when he transferred it to his nephew, Commander Michael Saunders Watson CBE, chairman of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. Today the mainstay of the castle is the home of the Saunders-Watson family led by James Saunders Watson, the son of Michael Saunders, who achieved £4,000,000 in revenue from its events and rentals in 2017. He served as

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

for 2018/19.

Description

The castle has a strong

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 most ...

, which is to be expected for castles of its time. There are two large semicircular towers, protruding from the castle wall, located on either side of the gate. These are also known as D-towers. This gatehouse is on the east side of the structure, facing almost entirely towards the field. The plan of the castle is a typical rectangular shape, with a passage through the center of the structure. This passage is entered through a porch beneath a drop arch, and was guarded by a portcullis in front of a wooden door. Another door is located at the end of the passage. Along the sides of the passage are openings, leading to rectangular chambers. In the east walls of these were the doorways two the semicircular chambers of the towers. The gatehouse and its towers have only two floors. This design is reminiscent of the rectangular stone gatehouse of the early Norman castle. The remainder of the castle is contained by stone walls. Within this castle are many halls, units of housing, and other buildings.

Location

Street inside Rockingham Castle - geograph

The parish borders directly onto the town of

. Rockingham (and Corby) are part of

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby, the district's la ...

, part of the ceremonial county of

. The castle overlooks the villages of Rockingham and Caldecott, and has views over the Welland Valley. Privately owned, it is open to the public for events and on certain days. The place was visited by writer

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, who was a friend of Richard and Lavinia Watson, ancestors of the current family. The castle is arguably the inspiration for Chesney Wold in Dickens' novel ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'', published in 1853. The castle takes its name from the manor of Rockingham, which was the only manor of the parish which in turn had markedly few churchlands, especially as is common after the dissolution of the monasteries.

was, largely outside of the parish, named after the place during the time of William the Conqueror because of the castle's importance as a royal retreat. A

cricket pitch A cricket pitch is the rectangular central strip of a cricket field between the two wickets, where most of the action takes place. It is long (1 Chain (unit), chain) and wide. The surface is flat and is normally covered with extremely sh ...

lies within the grounds and is home to Old Eastonians Cricket Club.

Filming

Rockingham Castle was used as a principal setting for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

'' By the Sword Divided''. In the TV series, "Arnescote Castle" was the home of the Royalist Lacey family. The castle also featured in the film ''

Top Secret! ''Top Secret!'' is a 1984 action comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker ( ZAZ) and Martyn Burke. It stars Val Kilmer (in his film debut) and Lucy Gutteridge alongside a supporting cast featuring Omar Sh ...

'', which starred

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

References

External links

Official websitePhotos of Rockingham Castle and surrounding area on geograph
* {{coord, 52.5129, N, 0.724, W, region:GB_type:landmark_scale:10000, display=title Castles in Northamptonshire Country houses in Northamptonshire Historic house museums in Northamptonshire Gardens in Northamptonshire Grade I listed buildings in Northamptonshire