[Gillaume le Castlein]

I'm looking for information about a Hedingham Castle. :Questions:  :Questions:  :Questions:  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks  

[Duncan]

Hedingham
Essex

One of the most famous Norman Towers in England and is still privately owned but is open to visitors.
Built in the 11th C or early 12th C as an earth work and timber fortress by the de Veres which one became the 1st Earl of Oxford in 1141.
Some time late in the reign of Henry 1 or early in Stephen's time the great tower was built in the flat raised area which had been the site of the wooden fortress.
The tower built of Barnack oolite ashlar over rubble the tower stands today over 73 ft tall with tall corner turrets which extend for another 20 ft.
The exterior has several orderly rows of put log holes used for the horizontal posts for building scaffolding.
It's shape is rectangular in plan and is 62 ft x 55 ft on a splayed plinth with flat pilaster buttresses on the angles and at mid wall.
The tower is 4 stories and if you take in consideration the second great hall as two then it has 5.
It has walls between 10 ft and 12 ft thick.
They are filled at every story with chambers and wall passages which runs right round through all the window bays whose Windows provided extra light into what was other wise a dark hall.
The windows at this level are paired.
There is one staircase, a spiral all the way up the north west corner.
The cross walls at 1st and 2d story's levels take the form of flying arches.
The one on the double story rises at its centre to over 20ft.
The tower was well built and on the whole well appointed so far as the accommodation is concerned but it contained no chapel or kitchen which was placed in one of the out building's with another hall.
It's a little known fact that much of the cooking was preformed in a firplace unless a large gathering was being held.
The entrance is at first story {it would be the second floor to most Americans} and is round headed arched with chevron mouldings.
A fore building was added at a later date and this has disappeared except for the foundations and a flight of stairs,  not all of them of original construction.
The creasings where the forebuilding roof joined the west wall can still be seen.
The fore building once was equipped with a portcullis.
The castle was on several occasions involved in warfare or drama.
Robert de Vere was besieged in the castle during the Magna Carta war and forced to surrender by the King.
In 1918 the great tower was severally damaged by a fire which destroyed the interior woodwork and the present wood work is a replacement.


images soon, sorry for the delay.
:computore:

[Gillaume le Castlein]

LOL, delay? I posted this topic about an hour ago! Your speed at the keyboard is amazing.

Thanks for the info so far :thumbs-up:.

--David :sheildsmile:

[AJR]

From a Book entitled "Discovering Castles in England and Wales" by John Kinross.

"Castle Hedingham is a small village dominated by a Norman keep similar to that at Rochester in Kent.  To reach it, take the A604 from Colchester or Cambridge and the village is four miles north of Halstead.
The castle was built around 1130 of Barnack stone brought from Northamptonshire.  It has a basement and three storeys, rising to 110ft (33.5m) at the battlements and a further 20ft (6.1m) to the top of the two remaining towers.  The walls are 12ft (3.7m) thick at their base and, as at Colchester, the first storey windows are loopholes, those higher up being larger to let in the light.  The entrance is on the west side at first storey level and was defended by a gatehouse, now destroyed, and a portcullis.  The hall, with its gallery on the second floor, has an arch across it to support the floor above.  The floor below once had a similar arch, but it has been destroyed.  The third floor, reached from a staircase in the north-west corner that runs from top to bottom of the structure, has access to a parapet walk and to the two turrets that remain of the original four.  Outside the keep is a 16th century bridge over the moat and the remains of the encircling wall which enclosed a site of about three acres.  In its day it must have been one of the strongest castles in England.
The owners, the De Vere family, were frequently at war.  Robert, second Earl of Oxford, fought against King John and, after the latter’s death, the castle, which was in Crown hands in 1214, was two years later occupied by French soldiers who came over with the Earl of Winchester.  Robert de Vere’s son fought for Simon de Montfort at Lewes, and another de Vere, the seventh Earl of Oxford, fought at Crecy.  The ninth earl was a favourite of Richard II and married Edward III’s granddaughter.  He was created a marquis, the first in England.
The most famous Earl of Oxford was the Lancastrian soldier who fought with Warwick at the battle of Barnet.  Unfortunately he lost the enemy in the fog and attacked his own side by mistake.  He was imprisoned for many years by the Yorkists in France, but escaped to land with Henry Tudor at Milford Haven in 1485 and to command his vanguard at the decisive battle of Bosworth Field.  The miserly king, although no doubt grateful, was entertained by the earl at Castle Hedingham, who was afterwards fined 15,000 marks (over £10,000) for keeping so large an army of uniformed retainers.
In 1604 the seventeenth earl dismantled part of the castle to spite his relative Lord Burleigh, who inherited it.  The two had quarrelled over the trial of the Duke of Norfolk (Norfolk, a friend of the Earl of Oxford was accused of supporting Mary Queen of Scots).  In 1713 the castle passed to the Trentham family and later to the Ashurst family from Lancashire.  Today it is owned by Miss Majendie, a relation of the Ashursts, and Dr. Margery Blackie."

I do have one of the guidebooks from Castle Hedingham, but it contains so much information that I have, as yet, to transfer it to my computerised library.  It sits on the top bookshelf waiting for me to have time to do so.

Unless you have any specific questions on this, it may be some time before I get around to finding the time.
All the best
A

[Gillaume le Castlein]

Thanks AJ, Duncan for all the great info.

Quote

Some time late in the reign of Henry 1 or early in Stephen's time the great tower was built in the flat raised area which had been the site of the wooden fortress.

I’m interested specifically in the history of the castle from this time until roughly AD 1200. Any available histories of the de Veres during this time, especially names if any are available, would be helpful.  Also plans or artist renditions of the castle during this time would be a big help as well.

Quote

It's a little known fact that much of the cooking was preformed in a firplace unless a large gathering was being held.

Was this fireplace an original feature of the keep?

--David :sheildsmile:

[Gordon]

Nothing directly to do with Hedingham, but as part of the peaceful 'conquest'of Scotland in the 12thc (see Scottish, 'The Development of Castles in Scotland' ) , one group of de Veres moved into the South Lanarkshire area, and their name later developed into the 'Scottish' surname Weir.

[Duncan]

yikes!! I let this one slip by me, my sincerest apology's for that.  :blush2:

Quote

I’m interested specifically in the history of the castle from this time until roughly AD 1200. Any available histories of the de Veres during this time, especially names if any are available, would be helpful.  Also plans or artist renditions of the castle during this time would be a big help as well.

my scanner was just repaired and I'll try to get some images posted as soon as I can.  :overclocking:

Quote

Was this fireplace an original feature of the keep?

As far as my information on the castle goes, yes. But it was a sort of rule of thumb there were and are still two distinct types of fireplaces.
One for heat which has a different 'threshold' from the other one which is level or sunken slightly with the floor for cooking and was also larger.
Although additional FP's used for cooking may have been smaller then the main one.

[Gillaume le Castlein]

Thanks, Duncan!  This FP was not built into a wall then?  I’m under the impression that FPs built into walls were a late medieval development.  Is that information correct?  I’m looking forward to further posts.  I’m currently trying to put together some research for an historical novel.

Gordon!  Bingo!  I’ve been researching the surnames Werl and Werling.  The only thing I could find from internet searches was that both names were a derivation from the name Weir.  Beyond this I was totally stuck.  However, I’ve also been working on a novel featuring the de Veres, and on a name search I came across a hit that connected the surname Weir to Exeter.  I had a hunch that my two little projects had converged, but I couldn’t find anything else to confirm this hunch.  Thanks Gordon!  Do you know what the coat of arms for the Weirs of South Lanarkshire is?

--David :sheildsmile:

[Duncan]

A source at my fingertips says the FP is early 12 C.

In my humble opinion, the theory of  "FPs built into walls were a late medieval development" is in some ways a truth depending on the castle,  :baaa:   but in others a great fallacy as much as those in positions of authority claiming certain castles were built only after certain certain dates when proofs often stare them in the face if they understood and or had knowledge of other craft trades.  :banghead:
It all goes back to the same mentality displayed at this one museum that had on display what they told everyone was a hair comb, my wife, a weaver, knew better and identified it as being a tool for a loom.  
It didn't do any good.  :bbfft:

TEXT, CREDITS and SOURCES TO FOLLOW SOON

         

A= flying arch cross wall on second floor level
E=entrance
F=remains of the forebuilding
G=Gallery on the second floor

2d level Gallery.

The Great Hall

The Gallery

[Gillaume le Castlein]

I found an image of Hedingham castle depicting King John's siege in 1216.



Personally I think your humble opinion is spot on concerning fireplaces.  It seems such a common sense thing, and I don't think that those who proved so cleaver when it came to construction would overlook such a thing.

--David :sheildsmile: