Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire
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Tattershall Castle is a
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 ...
in Tattershall,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, England. Since 1925 it has been in the care of the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
.


History

Tattershall Castle has its origins in either a stone
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 ...
or 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
, built by Robert de Tattershall in 1231. This was largely rebuilt in brick, and greatly expanded, by Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell, Treasurer of England, in the 15th century. Tree ring dating indicates that construction was underway between 1406 and 1431. Brick castles are less common in England than stone or earth and timber constructions; when brick was chosen as a building material it was often for its aesthetic appeal or because it was fashionable. The trend for using bricks was introduced by Flemish weavers. There was plenty of stone available nearby, but Cromwell chose to use brick. About 700,000 bricks were used to build the castle, which has been described as "the finest piece of medieval brick-work in England". Of Lord Cromwell's castle, the high Great Tower and
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
still remain. It is thought that the castle's three state rooms were once splendidly fitted out and the chambers were heated by immense Gothic fireplaces with decorated chimney pieces and
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...
. It has been said that the castle was an early domestic country mansion masquerading as a fortress. Cromwell died in 1456, and the castle was initially inherited by his niece, Joan Bouchier, but it was confiscated by the Crown after her husband's demise and remained in royal ownership from king
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
to king
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. ...
. Tattershall Castle was recovered in 1560 by Sir Henry Sidney, who sold it to Lord Clinton, later
Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...
, and it remained with the Earls of Lincoln until 1693. It passed to the Fortesques, but then fell into neglect. It was put up for sale in 1910. Its greatest treasures, the huge medieval fireplaces, were still intact. When an American bought them they were ripped out and packaged up for shipping. Lord Curzon of Kedleston stepped in at the eleventh hour to buy the castle and was determined to get the fireplaces back. After a nationwide hunt they were found in London and returned. He undertook restorations of the castle between 1911 and 1914. It was gifted to the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
, on his death, in 1925 and remains today one of the three most important surviving brick castles of the mid-15th-century in the United Kingdom. The experience of Tattershall led Lord Curzon to push for heritage protection law in Britain; this was enacted as the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913.


Design

The plan of the castle is roughly rectangular; it is bounded by an inner
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
surrounded by an outer moat. The inner enclosure, or Ward, was that of the original 13th-century castle, and the original entrance was on the north side towards the west end. The Outer Ward, between the outer moat and inner moat, housed the stables. The Middle Ward, originally accessed by a bridge from the Outer Ward, housed 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 most ...
and
guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house Security guard, personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have histori ...
. Today, access to the castle is via this Middle Ward. The Inner Moat encompasses the Inner Ward, where the Great Tower and the kitchens (now demolished) were situated.


The Great Tower

The tower is about across. There are separate entrances to the basement, to the ground floor (Parlour), and to the spiral staircase leading to the upper floors of the tower. This suggests that the basement and ground floor were intended to provide communal accommodation, while the three great upper rooms were an independent private suite or
Solar (room) The solar was a room in many English and French medieval manor houses, great houses and castles, mostly on an upper storey, designed as the family's private living and sleeping quarters. Within castles they are often called the "Lords' and Ladi ...
. The design was extremely simple, with four floors, slightly increasing in size at each level by reductions in wall thickness. The fireplaces indicate that the rooms were not intended to be subdivided, but were kept as one great room at each level. One of the four corner turrets contains the staircase, but the other three provided extra accommodation rooms at each level. The basement was used to store spices and other kitchen items. It is believed that 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 ...
it was used as a prison. The ground floor was the Parlour and it was here that local tenants would come to pay their rent. The first floor of the private suite was the Hall, which would have been used to entertain and wine and dine guests. The second floor was the Audience Chamber, and only the finest of guests would have been admitted here. A brick vaulted corridor led to a small waiting room, before the great hall of the Audience Chamber, which today houses Flemish
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...
bought by Lord Curzon. The third floor would have been the Private Chamber, where the Lord would have retired for the night. Above these are the roof gallery and battlements, which provide good views across the Lincolnshire landscape, as far as
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
to the south, and Lincoln to the north. It is not possible today to access the turrets. The brick foundations to the south of the great tower, projecting into the moat, mark the site of the 15th-century kitchens. Today, the old guardhouse (about north-east of the tower) is the gift shop, and the grounds are home to a number of peacocks.


The castle today

The castle is open to the public from 10:30 am every day, with last entry at 3.30 pm. The Parlour is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies for up to 80 guests.


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *


Further reading

* * *


External links


Tattershall Castle information at the National Trust
* {{Coord, 53, 6, 4.8, N, 0, 11, 33.4, W, type:landmark, display=title Castles in Lincolnshire Grade I listed castles Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire National Trust properties in Lincolnshire Historic house museums in Lincolnshire Coningsby