Conisbrough Castle

Research

Toni Lumley – Rainbow Rhythms

ContentsTimeline slide 3,4Hamelin & Isabel slide 5Castle Grounds slide 6The Keep Explained slide 7,8Castle Features slide 9-11Castle Anatomy slide 12 Wars of the Roses slide slide 13-18Emblems slide 19Point of Interest slide 22-24Additional Resources slide 25

TimelineCASTLE TIMELINE• 1066 onward – William de Warenne built a wooden castle on the Conisbrough grounds. • 1170– Hamelin Plantagenet (Henry II’s  half brother ) builds the stone castle.• 1180 - The cylindrical keep built, Hamelin seems to have ordered its construction to his own

design, there being no other example of this type of keep anywhere in the country. • 1202 - It is generally assumed that the construction of the stone curtain walls of Conisbrough

followed not long after the keep.• 1347 – The castle became part of the estates of the royal Dukes of York• 1446 – Almost unoccupied, after the death of Maud, stepmother of Richard Duke of York,  and

over next century and falls into disrepair.• 1538 – Described as a ruin by commissioners to Henry VIII. and played no part in the Civil War in

the next century.

CASTLE OWNERS• 1066 – William de Warenne (1st Earl of Surrey) built the first castle after the Norman conquest.• 1163 – The Warrenne  heiress (Isabel) married Hamelin Plantagenet (second marriage). Hamelin

dies in 1202.• 1347 – The last Earl (John, son of Hamelin) died in 1304, with no heir the castle reverted to the

Crown and Edward III cohered the Estate for his youngest son Edmund Langley.• 1461 – The castle had passed via decedents to Richard Duke of York and then to his son who

became Edward IV.• 1540 – Henry VIII passes the castle to the Carey family (cousins of future queen Elizabeth). It

passes by marriage to the Coke family.• 1737 – Duke of Leeds• 1859 – Baron Conyers• 1920  - Conisbrough local council buys the castle.• 1940 onwards - English Heritage take over its care.

Years of focusIn-depth timeline here:http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/conisbrough/find/manor_conisbrough.html

TimelineCASTLE BUILDING TIMELINE

In-depth timeline here:http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/conisbrough-castle-teachers-kit/conisbrough-castle-tk/

11th Century 1070 • First castle (motte & bailey design) built by Willian, the First Earl Warenne

12th Century 1180 • Construction of the cylindrical stone keep by the Fifth Earl Warenne, Hamelin Plantagenet

13th Century 1210-1215

• The Barbican added to the castle• Kitchen modified• Construction of the Stone CurtainWalls by the Sixth

Earl Warenne, William

14th Century 1300 • A fireplace with a chimney was installed into the normal wall of the Great Hall.

• The curved west end of the Hall had a dividing wall built across it producing a new room into which a fireplace was built

Hamelin Plantagenet, Isabel & Family Occupancy• The third earl who died in 1147 left no male heir, having only one

daughter, Isabel. She married William de Blois, who became the fourth Earl Warenne. He died in 1159, and in 1163 Henry II arranged another marriage for Isabel, the fifth earl was Hamelin Plantagenet, Henry’s illegitimate half-brother.

• Hamelin spent more time at his Yorkshire castle than any of the previous earls; he held the earldom for close on forty years, from 1163 until his death in 1202.

• It was this period that saw the construction of the great stone keep of the castle.

• The cylindrical keep probably dates from around 1180, Hamelin seems to have ordered its construction to his own design, there being no other example of this type of keep anywhere in the country.

• It is generally now assumed that the construction of the stone curtain walls of Conisbrough followed not long after the keep, but the layout and the planning of the stone buildings within the bailey may not have been begun until the thirteenth century and may be the work of Hamelin’s son William, earl from 1202 until 1239.

• After the death of William in 1239, the castle passed to John, his son by his second marriage to Maud. She took custody of the castle during the minority of her son, who held the manor from 1239 until 1304.

• John married Alice, the sister of Henry III.

• From the Hundred Rolls (records of the local court assizes) of the period of the seventh earl’s tenure, there come tales of men and women imprisoned at Conisbrough, and of the colourful if rather unlawful dealings of the seneschal and constables of the castle, one of whom, Richard de Heydon, was charged with ‘devilish and innumerable oppressions’.

BREAKDOWN

Isabel & Hamelin (4 children);

1) William  (1166–1240)2) Ela (1170 born)

3) Isabel4) Matilda

Son William & Wife Maud

Son John & Wife Alice

No Heir (reverted to the Crown)

The Castle Grounds

http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/conisbrough1.htm

97 feet high, supported by 6 buttresses.

Built from the highest quality stone (magnesium limestone) – cylindrical keeps rather than rectangular were popular of the century however only Conisbrough Castle also featured a ring of wedge shapes buttresses whose tops may have been used by archers.

Despite the popularity of the cylindrical design, Conisbrough Castle is the only one still standing today.

The Keep Explained (a.k.a Donjon)The Keep is the oldest building at the Castle. It dates back to 1180 and was built under the instructions of Hamelin Plantagent.

It stands 27 metres (90 feet) high with walls of 4.6 metres thick and has 5 levels including the roof.

The Keep was the last bastion of defence at the Castle; if the Castle came under attack and the walls were breached then the defenders would retreat to the Keep, pull in the wooden bridge at the top of the stairs and bolt the door making it almost impossible for the attackers to gain entry.

The Keep contains a number of interesting features including the largest hooded fire-place of its date, a very impressive private chapel and a fine processional staircase.

At the top of the Keep are two water storage tanks, a bread-oven, two observation turrets and a shelter.

The Keep Explained (a.k.a Donjon)• The Keep is one of the finest medieval ashlar-faced structures in Britain having been built

with the finest limestone. • Its design, circular with six evenly spaced full height buttresses rising 90 feet into the air,

is unique in Britain. • The keep is splayed at the bottom for extra strength in the event of its being besieged, and

its entrance lay on the first floor over 20 feet above the court. • The keep was entered up a wooden staircase near the castle. • The staircase would end near the entry to the castle, level with the keep's single door, but it

would be quite a distance from it. • Entry to the keep itself would then be over a drawbridge. • The ground floor of the keep was a vaulted basement and well, accessible only from a hatch

in the vault's crown from the first floor. This hatch was used in order to lower buckets into the well.

• The first floor, where the keep would have been entered from, consists of a windowless, round room which would have been used primarily for storage and as a workroom.

• The second floor, accessed through stairs built into the curve of the keep's wall, was the Lord's Hall. This was the lord of the castle's public area, and comes complete with wash basin on its north-west side, latrine on the north-east, a fine window-seat as well as a fine fireplace.

• The third floor was the Lord's Chamber and also houses a latrine, basin and fireplace. Also on the third floor, built into the eastern buttress, is a small private chapel. This had a round-headed window, sacristy and retains other Norman decorations.

• Above this level lies the keep's battlements. Here the buttresses are used as a dovecote, shelter for guards, bread oven and two are used as cisterns.

• The keep of the castle was a hollow shell from the 16th Century until the mid 1990s.

Typical Castle FeaturesWhat is it About

Arrow slits Thin, vertical, holes where an archer can launch arrows, lockers nearby to store spare arrows and bolts.

Battlement

Wall-like barrier at the edge of the roof (in our case The Keep). Built for arrow firing. Arrow slits are often placed beneath the Crenel’s

The Bailey The home of the rest of the Lord’s household & gave them protection. Barracks, stables, workshops and storage was found here.

Ringwork Motte-and-bailey castles minus the motte (usually circular/oval shaped)

Typical Castle FeaturesWhat is it

About

Gatehouse

Weakest part of port. The gateway was hard to find on castles so added on either side. Passage to gatehouse was lengthened to increase the amount of time an assailant had to spend under fire.

Portcullis Latticed grille made of metal. Raised and lowered using chains and ropes attached o a winch. Possibly two gates to trap enemies in-between. Burning wood or fire-heated sand would be thrown from the roof.

Workshops

Craftsmen, artisans, carpenters, farrier and blacksmiths would have these in the bailey.

Yett Gate of latticed wrought iron bars used for defensive purposes. Also used over openings and pane-less windows.

Typical Castle FeaturesWhat is it About

Ballista /Springlad

Ancient missile weapons. Launched large projectiles at distant targets.

Oubliette Type of dungeon/prison which is accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling, would leave prisoners in the to forget about them.

Dungeons Underground complexes of cells and torture chambers. A lot of rooms underground were used for storing cold food and ice.

Medieval Castle Autonomy

War Of The RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars fought in medieval England from 1455 to 1487 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The name Wars of the Roses is based on the badges used by the two sides, the red rose for the Lancastrians and the white rose for the Yorkists. Major causes of the conflict include:

1) Both houses were direct descendants of king Edward III

2) The ruling Lancastrian king, Henry VI, surrounded himself with unpopular nobles

3) The civil unrest of much of the population4) The availability of many powerful lords with

their own private armies5) The untimely episodes of mental illness by king

Henry VI.

House of York

House of Lancaster

War Of The Roses

Royals:   Henry V   Henry VI   Edward IV   Edward V   Richard III   Henry VII

Other Important People:   Margaret of Anjou   Richard, Duke of York   Warwick, the Kingmaker

People of interest

War Of The RosesHorrible Histories Overview

War Of The Roses & Conisbrough Castle• During the Wars of the Roses, possession of Conisbrough

Castle passed to Richard, the Duke of York, but when Edward IV ascended to the throne in 1461, he retook the castle, which he then allowed to decay.

• By 1537, the gates, drawbridge, a lengthy section of curtain wall, and one of the floors inside the great keep had fallen into ruin. Henry VIII then granted the castle, such as it was, to the Carey family, and in the 1940s the local city council took over the site.

• People involved in the Wars of the Roses & Conisbrough:• Edmund of Langley (son of Edward III)• Richard of Conisbrough (son of Edmund of Langley)• Richard Plantagenet (a.k.a Richard of York) - (son of

Richard of Conisbrough)• Edward IV (son of Richard Plantagenet) - (King of

England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470)

Edmund Langley & Richard of Conisbrough

Name: Richard of Conisbrough(3rd Earl of Cambridge)Born: 20 July 1385Death: 14 August 1415

(beheaded for treason by Henry V)

Father: Edmund LangleyMother:  Philippa of HainaultWife: Anne Mortimer/Matilda CliffordSiblings: Edward of Norwich

Constance of York

Name: Edmund Langley (1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge)Born: 5 June 1341Death: 1 August 1402Father: King Edward IIIMother:  Philippa of HainaultWife: Isabella Siblings: Isabella of Castile Joan Holland

• Fifth son of Edward III• Created Earl of Cambridge in 1362• His first independent command was in

Portugal 1381-82• Accompanying Richard II on his march into

Scotland 1385• He took his fair share of fighting in the

ongoing war against France, and he and Gaunt persuaded the Black Prince to halt the massacre of the people of Limoges

• In this capacity he held a parliament in 1395

• He died at King's Langley on the 1st of August 1402.

• As a son of the sovereign, Edmund bore the arms of the sovereign (Lionel's arms)

• Born at Conisburgh Castle • Discovered to be one of the fomenters of the

Southampton Plot against King Henry V to take the throne.

• 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham told the King of the plot and Richard was stripped of all his titles and estates and was beheaded on August 5, 1415 at Southampton Green, Hampshire along with fellow conspirator Henry Scrope.

• In 1461, following the Wars of the Roses, the House of York took the throne from the House of Lancaster and Richard's conviction and execution was annulled at the new king's first parliament.

• Richard bore his father's arms (Lionel’s arms)

Richard Plantagenet (Richard of York) & Edward IVName: Richard

Plantagenet / Richard of York(3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster)

Born: 21 September 1411Death: 30 December 1460Father: Richard of ConisbroughMother:  Anne de MortimerWife: Cecily NevilleSiblings: Isabel, Countess of Essex

Name: Edward IVBorn: 28 April 1442

Death: 9 April 1483Father: Richard of YorkMother:  Cecily NevilleWife: Elizabeth WoodvilleSiblings: Richard IIIKing: 4 March 1461 - 3 October 1470

• Richard was four when his father was executed for treason, yet he managed to recover his lands and titles by 1425.

• In 1454 Henry VI fell ill and York was elected regent in his place. After his and his allies’ dismissal from power in early 1455, the Duke raised an army and defeated and captured the king in battle at St. Albans. For a short while York ruled as ‘regent’.

• In 1459 the conflict reopened with the battle of Blore Heath, but York no longer desired to rule as regent but to wear the crown itself.

• On the 30th of December 1460, the Duke was slain, fighting for his life outside his Castle of Sandal in Yorkshire where the enemy surrounded him.

• Within a few weeks of his death his eldest surviving son was acclaimed King Edward IV, and finally established the House of York on the throne following a decisive victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton. 

• In the mid 1460s Edward had alienated his most important ally and the man that put him on the throne Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, by marrying a commoner.

• Warwick could feel his power slipping away and in 1469 he launched a successful rebellion and imprisoned Edward at Warwick Castle. After Edward’s release Warwick’s next rebellion was crushed, but the earl fled to France, invaded England and put Henry VI back on the throne.

• In 1471 it was the exiled Edward’s turn to invade, and march on London where he met the Kingmaker in battle. Warwick was killed and a year later Edward crushed the remaining Lancastrians at Tewkesbury.

• The King died on April 9, 1483, allegedly of illness caused by his ‘over-living’ and debauchery, leaving behind him seven children, including the princes in the Tower and Elisabeth of York, future wife to Henry VI.

  Coat of arms of Edward IV

Emblems

The Arms of William de Warren

Chequy Or and Azure

Conisbrough: 1066-1304

Black & white tiff image; here

The Arms of Edmund Langley and Richard

Duke of York

Conisbrough: 1347-1461

The Arms of Richard of

Conisbrough

Conisbrough: 1461-1540

The Arms of Edward III. When he claimed the

French throne in 1337, he quartered the royal shield, combining the lions of England with

the fleurs-de-lys of France.

Conisbrough passed on to son Edmund

Era of interest

Point of Interest: The KeepThe Keep contains a number of interesting features including:• The largest hooded fire-place

of its date• A private chapel• A processional staircase. • The Lord’s Chamber & Halls• The Basement (usually

storage of jugs)• At the top of the Keep were

two water storage tanks, a bread-oven, two observation turrets and a shelter.

Point of Interest: The ChapelIn common with many castles of this date, Conisbrough has its Chapel next to the Gatehouse. During the consolidation of the site in the 1960s, the remains of a stone alter were discovered here.

The Chapel was used each day by all the occupants of the castle for the daily religious observances.

There was also a private chapel next to the Lord’s chambers, this chapel had a great amount of detail within the stone.

Point of Interest: The Great Chamber

Evidence visible at the first floor level in the curtain walls at this point (a large fireplace) suggests that at some time in the Castle’s history a grand apartment was located at this spot. One of the only people to have visited the Castle on a regular enough basis to need such a grand room would have been the Earl Warenne.

The Keep would not have been favoured as accommodation because of the constant draughts that blow through the building, so a cosy apartment on the west side of the Castle to catch the setting sun would have been favoured.

There is some evidence for major building work having taken place in this area in the late fourteenth or fifteenth century, possibly the placing of a large window within the west wall.

Conisbrough Castle: The lord or earl's bedroom with its stone fireplace. 

Point of Interest: The Great Hall Conisbrough’s Great Hall was of the isled variety, a line of 3 large columns supported the high roof. It’s fireplace would have had no chimney, smoke from the fire would have vented through holes in the roof of the hall.

Evidence suggests that in the 14th century however, the central hearth was covered over and a fireplace with a chimney was installed into the north wall of the Hall.

The Hall would have been grandly decorated unlike its cold bare format today. There is a curved headed 'Romanesque' doorway leading up the spiral stone staircase which ascends to the lord's bedchamber.

Point of Interest: The Inner Ward

The Inner Ward or Inner Bailey is the area within the walls of the Castle. It is in this area that many of the out-door activities associated with the day-to-day running of the Castle would have taken place;• Wood would have been chopped for

the cooking fires• Small live-stock such as chickens may

have been kept• Castle’s soldiers would have practised

the art of war. • A kitchen & the Great Hall• The Prison & the Gatehouse• The Chapel was also here

The main function of the Inner Ward was as a staging area for the defence of the Castle. Soldiers could use the area as a muster point before making their way out of the Castle to attack those outside. If the defending garrison was forced to retreat into the Keep, the Inner Ward would have become a killing-ground which could be easily defended from the top of the Keep.

Additional ResourcesInformation:• http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/conisbrough1.htm• http://www.castleweb.co.uk/?p=48• http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/conisbrough

-castle-teachers-kit/conisbrough-castle-tk/• http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A2350018• http://www.warsoftheroses.com/index.htm

Images:• http://www.urbexforums.com/showthread.php/2676-Conisbrough

-Castle-11-01-2009-ARCHIVED

Other helpful resources:• http://mh3dartwork.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/conisbrough-castle-concept.html• http://www.flash-fx.net/3D/misc.php