A GRAND DAY OUT: CASTLES, LOOSE MORALS AND DRAGONS
Dear Readers,
Following on
from our last Grand Day Out post, today we’re having a history lesson. We are very lucky to have a country steeped
in history, from our pubs to our houses to our castles, history is around every
corner, smacking us in the face.
It’s really
important, I think, dear Readers, that we appreciate it, and our children
appreciate it.
Once again,
it very much depends upon where you live, but I would hazard a guess that
pretty much everyone in the UK doesn’t live that far from a historical place,
be it a cathedral, a castle or a monument.
Of course,
history is nothing without folklore and legend.
A Grand Day Out is about having fun and learning something at the same
time. So what better way than to
investigate a few castles and their associated legends?!
In the
interest of trying to give a good spread, we’re taking in castles in the South
East, Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. Also
because I think there’s nothing better than a bit of personal experience to get
you really feeling the history, so let’s go back in time, to land of knights
and noblemen, to brave armies and beautiful ladies…sorry, getting carried away
there…
Bodium Castle, Sussex
We love
Bodium Castle. It’s so picture postcard
castlish, you can’t believe it. Bodium Castle
was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge for Richard II as a defence against
a possible French invasion. Although it
never saw action as such, it was dismantled and left as a ruin until its
purchase by John Fuller in 1829 for £3000 (£260,000 in today’s money) and
subsequently Lord Curzon who, after the 1st Baron Ashcombe, also
restored the castle and left it, upon his death, to the National Trust who
charge you a fortune to go and see it.
Interestingly enough, it seems to have been some sort of original
tourist attraction thanks to its connection with the Medieval period and
drawings dating back from the 1750s depicting it overgrown with ivy and a ruin.
It was even
used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail!
It had 28
toilets, which would have drained directly into the moat surrounding the
castle…basically an open sewer in the Summer, then…
Why do we
like Bodium Castle? Well, dear Readers,
it’s just everything. There’s still a
moat to this day, it’s achingly picturesque and the best thing is you can climb
everywhere in it. Right up each tower
and along the top and the views from up there are something else. Apart from a steam train station, and if you ignore
the cars in the carpark, there is not a pylon nor wind turbine to be seen, so
it’s really easy to imagine yourself back in the 14th Century, with
the threat of French invasion, and all the sights and sounds and smells of the
working castle and its 28 loos!
Hever Castle, Kent
This is what
one might call the direct opposite of Bodium Castle. It’s “intact” and the destination of many a
school trip!
The castle
actually dates back to 1270 after which it fell into disrepair (they all seem
to, don’t they, dear Readers?! Although
I think it was the time of the Dark Ages when things weren’t too hot in the
UK…) until 1462 when Geoffrey Boleyn turned it into a manor. It was then further renovated by William
Waldorf Astor in the 20th Century.
The interesting
history however comes from Thomas Boleyn, Geoffrey’s grandson, who inherited
the castle in 1505. He had 3
children: George, Mary and of course,
the famous, Anne. She became Henry
VIII’s second wife but it was all rather sordid, dear Readers, as you well
know. She should have married her
cousin, but instead secured a post in court as a maid of honour of Henry’s
first wife, Catherine of Aragon (what a cow!).
Henry pursued her but she refused to become his mistress like her sister
Mary had been (whaaaaaaaaat?!) and so Henry tried to annul his marriage to
Catherine. Pope Clement VII refused and
so, famously, began the breakdown of the Catholic Church’s power in
England. They married officially in Jan
1533 and Anne was crowned Queen on 1st June 1533. By September she had given birth to what was
to be the future Queen Elizabeth 1.
Henry wanted a son, and after Anne had had 3 miscarriages, he had
started on Jane Seymour. He needed to
find a reason to end the marriage to Anne, so he decided to accuse her of
treason. She was found guilty of some
ridiculous charges, and beheaded at the Tower of London (see our Blog post,
London Calling), however, after her daughter, Elizabeth was crowned Queen, Anne
as venerated as a martyr.
After Anne’s
father died, the castle came into good old Henry’s possession, and he gave it
to Anne of Cleaves as part of their annulment (4th wife…keeping
up?!). Fascinatingly, Hever still has
one of Henry’s private locks which he took to every dwelling he stayed at for
his personal security (necessary I would have thought…).
Once again,
it fell into disrepair (!) and was eventually bought by William Waldorf Astor,
an American millionaire in 1903, then sold in 1983 to the Guthrie family.
Why would you
want to go there? History comes
alive! Each room is intact with the
original furniture or similar replicas, dress of the time, Anne Boleyn’s possessions,
even torture instruments! Although it’s
totally different to Bodium in that you can’t clamber over everything and roam
to your heart’s content, it is a monument to history and legend. There’s even a maze to get lost in! And a picturesque lake and walks round the
extensive grounds.
It’s a full,
Grand Day Out.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall
Completely
different to Bodium, Tintagel in Cornwall is steeped in history, too, and of
course, don’t forget, dear Readers, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table!
It’s built on
a peninsula called Tintagel Island and is believed to have been habited during
the early medieval period (although Roman artefacts have been found there but
no actual structure) until a castle was built in the 13th Century by
Richard (another Richard) 1st Earl of Cornwall. It then became a ruin (again) until the 19th
Century where, just like Bodium, it became a tourist attraction.
Interestingly
enough, when the castle was built in 1233 in order to establish a connection
with the Arthurian legends associated with the area and because it was seen as
a traditional place for Cornish Kings, the castle was built in the
old-fashioned style so it appears more ancient than it actually is…And of
course, we can’t forget the legend of King Arthur and Merlin the
wizard…although by many accounts, the stories are tenuous to say the least.
The fact
remains that Tintagel is incredibly pretty and extremely unusual with its 148
steps up to the “island” and through a wooden door into what would have been
the Great Hall. Unfortunately, in our
research, dear Readers, we note that it is currently closed for the
construction of a new footbridge, but you can still go there and access the
beach and soak up the atmosphere…
You want to
go there still, though, because it’s most unusual and atmospheric.
Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales
The Welsh are
very lucky as they have a plethora of castles to visit should they so
wish. Even just in Pembrokeshire,
there’s actually 21 different castles you can visit! So if you are a castle fiend, Pembrokeshire
is effectively your Mecca…Again, nothing like a bit of personal experience, and
we can say, dear Readers, that Pembroke Castle is a must. Indeed, it’s everything you ever wanted in a
castle. Plus it’s the largest privately
owned castle in Wales.
More “intact”
than the others we’ve mentioned so far, apart from Hever, where, interestingly
once more, Henry VIII bestowed upon Anne Boleyn the title of Marquessate of Pembroke,
Pembroke is a fully immersive history lesson.
Probably the best of both worlds, Pembroke allows you to scurry round
the turrets and walls but also at the same time, get a real feeling, like at
Hever, of how the castle actually was and looked and what it was like to live
there.
Dating back
to 1093, 100 years later, it was given to William Marshal, by Richard I
(Richard, again!). William was to become
one of the most powerful men of his era, and he built the castle in the stone
you’ll still exists today. In the 13th
Century a 55 step spiral staircase was built to take you down to a huge
limestone cave called Wogan Cavern. You
can still climb down there today, although beware of people coming up and you come
down…it gets a bit tense with holiday makers!
It could have been used then as a boathouse or sallyport to the river,
but we prefer it to have been the home of the legendary Welsh dragon…
Pembroke
escaped attack during the great rebellion of Wales thanks to the castle’s
constable paying off the rebels in gold!
During the English Civil War, although the castle sided with the
Parliament rather than the King, it was saved by Parliamentary forces sailing
from nearby Milford Haven. During the
Second Civil War, Oliver Cromwell took the castle after a seven week siege and
ordered the castle to be destroyed.
Guess what happened next? See a
pattern?! It fell into disrepair until
the good old Victorians and their touristic tendencies restored it. In 1928 Sir Ivor Phillips began restoring it
to the beautiful place it is today, and set up a trust for the continued restoration
after his death.
Why would we
want to go there? You couldn’t get a
more interactive place, and it’s great for kids and adults alike. You’ll learn something even if you don’t want
to!
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
You really
can’t miss this one! It’s so dramatic
and beautiful. It utterly dominates the
city and rightly so.
Human
occupation has been discovered as far back as the 2nd Century. The castle was built in the 12th
Century during the reign of David I and indeed remained a royal residence until
1633. Unlike Hever and Bodium, Edinburgh
castle has seen more action than anywhere else:
26 sieges in its 1100 year history, giving it the title of “most
besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked places in the
World”!!!!
In the 15th
Century the castle was used as an armoury factory for which it became
famous. After siege after siege after
siege it last saw action in 1745 during the second Jacobite Rising when the
Jacobite Army, under Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) captured
Edinburgh. Despite all its sieges, it’s
the only castle on our list that hasn’t fallen into “disrepair” and has been
considered even as far back as 1814 as a national monument. Perhaps not quite as fun as the others for
small children, it certainly holds a plethora of historical armaments and war
memorabilia. And guess what: it's used for all sorts now, even pop concerts. You literally couldn't have a more picturesque venue!
There you
are, dear Readers, a history lesson and a Grand Day Out all in one! What more could you want?!
Now, however,
it’s time to look at some more “out there” travel trends…keep your eyes peeled
for our next post…
