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Pictures from The Great Western LEGO Show at STEAM, Swindon, in October 2013. The Tigelfáh Castle and Town display is is the best castle layout I've ever seen, and a sight that it'll take something very special to top. I thought the town square must surely have been a pain to get right, but according to builder Jimmy Clynche (Invicta Bricks), it's just the last 1/4 of it that's a problem. But still!
A view from inside the ground floor, showing how small it was. The springing of the vault can be seen again here, and the slots that held the ends of the rafters.
There is an information sign beside the track on the way up to the castle, which states that:
'Castle Varrich is a bit of a mystery. Was it the Beruvik where Thorfinn fought a sea-battle in the 11th century; a residence of medieval bishops; an early stronghold of the McKays; or a rebuilding on far more ancient foundations?'
Whatever else it may be associated with, this building was certainly not here in the days of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, or Thorfinn Raven-feeder as he was also known. Quite apart from the fact that this building is nowhere near 1000 years old, Thorfinn was Earl of Orkney and the grandson of Malcolm II, King of Scots, and far too important a figure to be skulking around in a fortified bothy!
The sign goes on to tell us about Iain Abrach, a son of the McKay chief, who was something of a local hero up here in the McKay Country. Iain was brought up in Lochaber and one interpretation of the castle's name, Caisteal a' Bharraich, is 'Castle of the Lochaber man"! There is also a cave in the cliffs to the west of the castle, called Leabaidh Eoin Abraich, meaning 'Iain of Lochaber's bed' and Abraich may have evolved to Bharraich and Varrich. Be all that as it may, Iain Abrach earned his fame by leading a force of local men to victory at the Battle of Druim na Cub in about 1431, which means that Iain is unlikely to have had anything to do with this building, which would not appear to be that old.
Castle in Moszna (Poland , woj. opolskie).
Samsung GX-20 + Sigma 17-70 at 28 mm F 8.0 , ISO 140. 3 frames +2,0,-2 EV witout tripod, SR on in camera body. Processed in Machinery HDR Effects 2.5.
Commercial use is prohibited without permission from the author Marek Koteluk
Looking on from the tea room by the entrance we had a beautiful day to admire this historic castle whilst listening to the ravens calling from the top of the main tower
Castle of Fontanellato, near Parma, Italy.
Summer 2011.
Pano assembled from 6 shots.
Exposure taken handheld, Canon EOS 5D, Canon zoom 28-70 3.5-4.5 MKII @ 28mm, 1/250s @ F11, ISO 100.
"The oldest parts of the Castle were built between 1066 and 1074, during the reign of William the Conqueror. The Castle now houses the spectacular collections of the Shropshire Regimental Museum Trust."
Harlech Castle, Harlech, Wales
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Castle Toward is a nineteenth-century country
house on the southern tip of the Cowal
peninsula, overlooking Rothesay Bay in Argyll
and Bute on the west-coast of Scotland. Built
in 1820 by Glasgow merchant Kirkman Finlay,
it replaced the late medieval Toward Castle,
formerly the ancestral home of the Clan
Lamont. It was greatly extended in the early
20th century, and in the Second World War it
served as HMS Brontosaurus.
Castle Mountain in Banff (the back says Cathedral Mountain?), photo dated August 1933... The vendor I purchased it from thought it might be a Byron Harmon photo... I just love how the old car provides some perspective and dating to this picture... And this car has a rather unfamiliar look to it, any guesses?
This is a scan of the picture within a picture frame, there is no way of removing the photo without wrecking the back of the frame
Originally a Romanesque castle with an interesting horseshoe shaped residence tower, it was turned to a Gothic castle later and its size was increased in the 15th and 16th centuries. A Renaissance renovation followed in the 17th century. Finally, in 1708 the castle was captured and plundered by the rebels of Ferenc II Rákóczi. It has been in decay since.
The castle was a residence and later the prison of the Countess Erzsébet Báthory (1560-1614) who was the world's most prolific female serial killer. She tortured and killed hundreds of girls and young women.
Riber Castle is a 19th Century country house that dominates the town of Matlock from its hilltop location. During its life it has been a boarding school and a wildlife park before falling into disrepair. Recently, it has been restored and is being developed into housing apartments.
Bothal Castle is a castle and stately home in the village of the same name near the River Wansbeck, between Morpeth and Ashington in the English county of Northumberland. Botl is Old English for a dwelling. Bothal could refer to a particular dwelling or hall. It was fortified before the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building.
In 1095, Bothal was given by king William Rufus to Guy I de Balliol, whose daughter Alice married William Bertram, Baron of Mitford, who probably built a hall house. Several generations later, in 1343, Sir Robert Bertram was given permission to turn his manor house into a castle, including an impressive gatehouse. The gate tower and fragments of curtain wall are medieval, a good deal of which still survive to this day. Through the marriage of Bertram's daughter Hellen to Sir Robert Ogle (d. c.1363) the estate passed to the Ogle family in the 14th century. In August 1583 Cuthbert Ogle, 7th Baron Ogle, negotiated a marriage between his daughter Jane and Edward Talbot, a son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury's agents visited Bothal, and described the house as 'a castle battled, and not unlike to Nether Haddon where Master John Manners doth dwell.'
In 1591 the estate passed to the Cavendish-Bentinck family (Dukes of Portland), through the marriage of Catherine, Countess of Ogle to Sir Charles Cavendish of Welbeck. Restoration was carried out in the 19th century. The building is used as a private residence of the Cavendish-Bentinck family and also houses the Welbeck Estate Office. The castle is in an excellent state of repair and is not accessible for the public.
A visit to Powis Castle, another National Trust property. You are not allowed to take photo inside of the castle (items in private ownership), but it's fine around the exteriors and gardens. Anyone caught trying to take a photo inside gets told off by one of the guides inside the castle, so it wasn't worth the bother (bit frustrating when going around the castle). At least the outside areas makes up for what I couldn't take.
Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powys) is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country mansion near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales.
It is known for housing the treasures that were brought home by Robert Clive and his son, Edward Clive from India. The Clives obtained them during their service with the British East India Company.
The castle has also been known as Castell Coch, Castell Pool, Castell Pola, Castell Pole, Castell Trallwng, Red Castle, Redde Castle and Castel Cough.
The seat of the Earl of Powis, the castle is known for its extensive, attractive formal gardens, terraces, parkland, deerpark and landscaped estate. The property is under the care of the National Trust.
Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) visited the castle as a child when her mother took her to tour England and Wales in 1832.
Grade I listed building
History
Introduction: The castle was a Welsh stronghold, probably of Owain Cyfeiliog and his heirs, from c1170, and parts of the surviving structure are thought to date from the late C12- early C13. The castle was sacked c1275, and in 1286, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Powys, paid homage to Edward I as Baron de la Pole. A substantial programme of rebuilding followed - the layout, and much of the structure of the present buildings were determined in this work of c1300.
Sir Edward Herbert acquired the castle in 1587, and initiated the creation of a country house from a castle. The first phase of a substantial Baroque remodelling was begun immediately following the restoration of Charles II (Powis had fallen in a siege of 1644 and was not returned to the Herbert family until the Restoration). William, Third Lord Powis who inherited the title in 1867 (and was created Earl in 1674
Marquis in 1685), was exiled with James II in 1688 - and although the Herbert's were not formally re-instated at Powis until 1722, a major programme of work on the castle and gardens was initiated by the family during this period, extending the scope of the Baroque remodelling.
Minor works were carried out during the C18, but the castle was suffering from neglect by the latter years of the century: in 1771, Thomas Farnolls Prichard, architect, of Shrewsbury, was commissioned to report on improvements, and he was responsible for the remodelling of the SW range as a ball-room wing in 1775-7 (for George Herbert, second Earl of Powis). In 1801, the castle was inherited by Edward, second Lord Clive, and the Powis Earldom was re-created for him (for the third time) in 1804. As heir to the Clive fortune, he was able to commission Robert Smirke to carry out improvements to the castle, between 1820 and 1830. Thereafter, the final major alterations to the castle were carried out by G.F. Bodley, c1904, for the Fourth Earl. On his death in 1952, the property was given to the National Trust.
The Medieval Castle: By c1300, the castle comprised an outer bailey to the W, with curtain walls to the N and W at least, and an inner ward built around a courtyard, with twin gate towers to its W. It had previously been assumed that the SE angle tower constituted the earliest surviving part of the medieval castle, but recent research has shown that the curved section of the S wall of the inner ward pre-dates it and may represent the remains of a late C12 shell keep, which was subsequently substantially rebuilt when the buildings were extended northward in c1300; the gate towers are probably contemporary with this c1300 phase, together with the N curtain wall of the outer bailey, with the lower storey of the accommodation on its inner face (the present ball-room range). The N range of the inner ward has not yet been investigated in detail, but it is thought to represent the hall range of the C13 castle: the walls appear to be substantially of medieval masonry. The E gate tower may have been added in the C15, when the castle was owned by the Grey Family.
The C16-C17: Major remodelling of the castle followed its acquisition by Edward Herbert in 1587, though largely within the confines of the medieval structure: he added the long gallery on the N and W sides of the inner courtyard, and perhaps the portal on its E side; there are fragments of C16 decoration in other rooms, and documentary evidence for much more, suggesting that the establishment of the interior layout of rooms en filade may date from this time. Most of the present pattern of fenestration was established in the C16-C17 period, although the window details have been several times renewed. While the internal layout of rooms as it survives on the first floor may be late C16, most of their detail and decoration is no earlier than the later C17, with much work of c1660. It now seems likely that a major Baroque remodelling was initiated after the Restoration, and as part of this, new entrances were designed: new pavilions flanking the W entrance were added in 1668, and the main portal at the E (with a corresponding portal at the W, subsequently re-sited), also appears to be late C17. The Baroque programme used local craftsmen at first, but under the direction of William Winde from the 1670's, it attained a greater sophistication of design and planning. The insertion of the grand staircase between 1674 and 1685 (attributed to Winde) entailed further alteration to the internal layout and it may be that the inner walls of the NW drum tower were cut-down at this time to accommodate it.
The C18: Documentary sources record work carried out at Powis between 1748 and 1754, by William Burke, but it is not known what this entailed. However, it is known that further refenestration took place during the C18 (largely probably using existing openings); illustrations of the castle record some sash windows, and in 1856, the Third Earl remembered the draughty 'French sashes' which were replaced by Smirke. Thomas Farnolls Pritchard was responsible for the remodelling of the ball-room range, which had been detached from the castle following a fire in 1725.
Smirke's Restoration: Some sources suggest that Smirke was working at Powis between 1815 and 1818: but others suggest 1820-1830, and Paul Sandby Munn's water-colours of the castle in 1816 clearly pre-date Smirke's involvement. He refenestrated the castle, re-instating stone mullioned and transomed windows, and also raised the E gate tower by an additional storey to enhance its picturesque status. He also added new embattling, and made some alterations to the internal layout, including enclosing the loggia underneath the long gallery.
Bodley's Restoration: G.F.Bodley made minor alterations to the external appearance of the castle (for example removing the curved angle turret to the N of the E gate tower and replacing it with a canted oriel, and renewing windows, largely in earlier openings), and considerable alterations to the interior, including changes to the layout of rooms (notably the creation of the dining room from two smaller rooms), and an extensive programme of redecoration.
Exterior
Red sandstone rubble throughout, with freestone dressings. Main entrance between the two spurred drum towers of c1300, approached up steps with balustraded parapet which were added c1670 (the twisted urns on the parapet appear to be later additions). The original arched entrance with its tiers of stepped-out mouldings was re-exposed when Bodley re-sited a C17 portal which had previously obscured it. In the S elevation, the central section curves slightly in plan (the possible vestigial C12 shell keep), with a rectilinear tower at the SE angle.This retains some (partially recut) C13 flat- headed lancet windows (one with relieving arch); the rest of the fenestration was established in the C16-C17, including the oriel window of the long gallery immediately right of the W drum tower, but the detail is largely C19-C20 renewal of the earlier mullioned and transomed windows. N elevation has corbelled angle turret (medieval?) to NW; fenestration largely on the C16-C17 pattern, as renewed by Bodley. The stair tower towards the left of this elevation may have been added by Smirke when he moved the kitchens into the outbuildings on the N side of the castle.
E elevation is dominated by the projecting gate tower, probably added in the C15. Rectangular in plan, with curved angle turrets. Fine lierne vaulted ceiling to gate-house passage. Its E portal is late C17: ashlar, with engaged Doric columns flanked by niches with restored statues of Kings Offa and Edgar and surmounted by a balustraded parapet (the portal at the W entrance to the castle, removed by Bodley to the orangery, was originally similarly detailed).The tower was given an additional storey and stair turret by Smirke, and re- fenestrated, presumably at the same time. Some blocked earlier windows are visible, and illustrations suggest that there had previously been sash windows over the entrance. The S portal onto the garden may be by Bodley, reworking an existing feature. Fenestration in the flanking walls also largely renews a pattern of openings set in the C16-C17, but the canted oriel in the right hand angle of the gate tower was added by Bodley, replacing an earlier curved turret.
Inner courtyard is well coursed and squared rubble and balustraded parapet to S and W - associated with the construction of the long gallery, which is lit by a series of wide sash windows. Loggia below the gallery - 4 bays with Doric columns carrying semi-circular arches - was filled-in and glazed by Smirke. The N and E walls of the courtyard appear to be largely late C19-early C20 work: the N wall at least associated with Bodley's work to create the dining room; E portal however is probably late C16 or early C17 (perhaps contemporary with the long gallery?): lozenge rusticated arch carried on Doric columns on high bases; entablature surmounted by twisted urns.The W portal into the courtyard post-dates the long gallery and may be an early C18 interpretation of the classical.
Old kitchen and servants quarters: These buildings form a continuation of the building line of the N curtain wall, immediately N of the main body of the castle. The 2 sections to the E are rubble-faced with brick dressings, and seem to be substantially of C17 date; the rubble embattled wall to the W conceals an earlier layout of buildings - this refronting was probably carried out by Smirke, who moved the domestic offices into these buildings during his restoration of 1820-30. Heavily detailed with bold roll mouldings, and corbelled crenellations.
Interior
Gate passage is canted in plan, with stone vaulted ceiling and two portcullis slots. The two flanking towers retain their internal layout and structure substantially intact, but elsewhere (with the exception of the E gate tower), the internal arrangement owes more to the C16-C17 than to the medieval period. The long gallery is the principle surviving feature of the late C16 period: its wainscoting is painted with trompe l'oeil panels, and the plasterwork of the deep frieze, overmantles and ceiling, all belong to this period. There are other surviving traces of this period in the plaster relief ceilings in window embrasures in the dining room and oak drawing room. Similar plasterwork in SW tower bedroom, with its wall panelling, may also be late C16-early C17.
The late C17 baroque remodelling was probably begun immediately after the Restoration, but its richer later character probably reflects the involvement of William Winde. The state bedroom for instance is largely c1660, although the balustrade which separates the bed alcove from the rest of the room may be slightly later - contemporary with the great staircase, and the panelled lower room in the N tower may also be c1660. The great staircase is attributed to William Winde, and was probably installed between 1673 and 1685, by the First Earl, William Herbert, whose coronet appears in the painted ceiling. The staircase is richly worked, and the symmetrically grouped doorcases at first floor, with enriched pulvinated friezes and scrolled volutes to pediments form part of a single composition with it. The ceiling over the staircase was painted by Antonio Verrio, and has been dated to 1673- 1685, while the wall paintings are by Lanscroon, and are dated 1705. Other late C17-early C18 interiors include the library with its ante-room, both with painted ceilings by Lanscroon (although the rest of the room was re-ordered by Smirke), and the panelled blue drawing room which opens off the head of the great staircase.
Smirke re-ordered the S range of the castle, moving the kitchens, and creating bedrooms in what are now the private apartments. The dining room and oak drawing room were re- modelled by Bodley in 1902-1904, in a Neo-Elizabethan idiom that drew on surviving earlier features in the house (the frieze of the long gallery forms the source for the oak drawing room frieze, for example), as well as sources from elsewhere.
Reasons for Listing
Powis Castle is an outstanding monument which charts a progression from medieval fortress to country house: the extensive survival of the medieval external structure forms the framework for a remarkable series of later interiors, amongst which those of the late C16, and the late C17 Baroque are of exceptional importance.
Seen from the car park on arrival.
The castle of Platamon is a fortress-town of the middle Byzantine period (10th century A.D.). It lies at the south-east foot of mount Olympos, at a strategic position which controls the route leading from Macedonia to Thessaly and South Greece.
Excavations conducted in 1995 brought to light the traces of a Hellenistic fortification, dated to the 4th century B.C. This confirms the suggestion that the site of the castle was occupied by the ancient city of Herakleion, "the first city of Macedonia..." after the Tempe valley, according to an ancient literary source dated to 360 B.C. Habitation on the site continued until the 4th century A.D. The Byzantine wall was restored by the Franks after 1204 and again by the Byzantines in the 14th century. At the end of the 14th century the fortress was captured by the Turks and was again rebuilt but its inhabitants continued to be Christians. In the Second World War (1941) it was bombed by the German army.
More info here
Muncaster Castle, home to the Pennington family for 800 years.
The castle evolved from the Pele Tower, built to repel marauding Scots. Those who stay here say it is haunted by ghosts, including the legendary Tom Fool.
The Armoury.
Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex. It was established by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk.
Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building.
Hever Castle
The original romantic double-moated 13th century defensive castle, with its gatehouse and walled bailey, was built in 1270.
In the 15th and 16th centuries it was the home of one of the most powerful families in the country, the Boleyns, who added the Tudor dwelling within the walls. The Castle was to become the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife, who became Queen of England for just 1,000 days. It was Henry’s love for Anne, and her insistence that she became his wife rather than his mistress, that led to the King renouncing Catholicism and creating the Church of England.
The castle later passed into the ownership of another of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne of Cleves, and from 1557 onwards it was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humphreys and the Meade Waldos.
Gradually it fell into decline until 1903 when William Waldorf Astor bought the castle and invested time, money and imagination in restoring the castle to its former glory. He commissioned the ’Tudor Village’, now called the ‘Astor Wing’ and the construction of the magnificent gardens and lake. His vision and great wealth enabled him to create a lavish family home and at the same time indulge his passion for history.
In 1983 the Yorkshire based company, Broadland Properties, purchased Hever Castle and its collection from the Astor family.
Broadlands are committed to the future of the Castle and during their custodianship have invested greatly in the historical integrity of the estate. They have also added to the existing art collection prompting Dr. David Starkey to state that Hever Castle ‘now has one of the best collections of Tudor portraits after the National Portrait Gallery’.
The Gardens
The romantic gardens were created by William Waldorf Astor at the turn of the 20th century.
They were laid out between 1904 and 1908 by Joseph Cheal and his Son who, using Astor's great wealth, turned the existing marshland into the spectacular classical and natural gardens that exist today.
One of the most magnificent areas of the gardens is the Italian Garden, which was designed to showcase Astor's unique collection of ancient Greek and Roman statuary that he acquired while he was American Ambassador to Italy. Over 1,000 men worked on the grand design, with around 800 men taking two years to dig out the 38-acre lake at the far end of the Italian Garden.
Within four years 125 acres of classical and natural landscapes were constructed and planted to form the magnificent gardens which are only now reaching their full maturity.
Another magnificent feature is the Rose Garden which contains over 4,000 rose bushes.
There are many water features around the gardens, including the Half Moon Pond, the Cascade, the Cool and Shady grottoes, the formal Loggia Fountain inspired by the Trevi fountain in Rome, and the less formal Two Sisters’ Pond.
Other equally impressive areas include the Tudor Garden, Rhododendron Walk and Anne Boleyn’s Walk, with its collection of trees planted more than 100 years ago.
My family at Castle Butte, Saskatchewan.
Situated in the Big Muddy Badlands, Castle Butte is a free-standing structure with a circumference of 0.5 km and an elevation of 60 m.
Castle Knock is situated a little to the west of the town of Ballater in Royal Deeside. It is a simple tower house built in the late 16th century by the Gordon family.
Most of this castle is..well,crap due to my lack of bricks and correct colours a couple of years ago, and camera skills were lacking also. The entrance is at top right, the modern entrance these days would be top left ish. 3 towers flank the left hand side of the castle. Below the keep tower is a triangular inner courtyard and pit for prisoners. Another tower was on the right side of the castle but this collapsed in the 1800's and I was out of bricks 2-3,000 minifig skulls on sticks are required to finish it off as decorations on the mountain top!
Castle Class 5071 Spitfire pulls away from Dawlish Station in 1957 with a local train for Paignton. This stretch of line from Exeter to Newton Abbott was one of the busiest on Summer Saturdays when the population would take their two week Summer holiday, often to the resorts in Devon and Cornwall. Between March 1958 and February 1962 5071 was allocated variously at Worcester (85A) and Gloucester Horton Road (85B), but in February 1962 the loco made its final move to Bristol St Philips Marsh (82B). The loco was withdrawn in October 1963 and scrapped at Coopers Metals Sharpness.
The Patrick O'Brien Collection
The inner castle is entered from the outer courtyard by this arched gateway, 7 feet 6 inches wide and protected by a great round tower, the stump of which can be seen on the right. Behind the door, a vaulted passage leads to the inner courtyard, which was surrounded by the principal buildings, including a keep at the south corner.
There has been debate over the years about the order in which these buildings were builded! The usually reliable MacGibbon & Ross stated that the keep at the south corner was the oldest part, but it would appear that for once they were wrong. The oldest part of the castle seems to have been a simple oblong keep, the masonry of which is included here. A description of the castle written in 1898 states that:
"The original keep, containing the principal gateway, has been, strange to say, the best and most substantially built part of the whole structure. The outer walls are composed of blocks of stone all of the same size, squared and dressed, and laid regularly in courses nine to eighteen inches in height, but they are now bleached and weather worn with the storms of centuries. The heart of the wall has been packed with whinstone and other hard material, into which hot lime has been run, welding the whole into one solid mass. A close inspection of the lime in the walls reveals the fact that it had been burnt in open fires by the agency of coal, as numerous particles of unburnt coal are to be discerned mixed up with it. "
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway, in Rochester, Kent. It is one of the best-preserved castles of its kind in the UK. There has been a fortification on this site since Roman times (c AD43), though it is the keep of 1127 and the Norman castle which can be seen today. With the invention of gunpowder other types of defence became more appropriate, and the military centre of the Medway Towns moved to Chatham.
The Romans under Aulus Plautius built a fort on the site of the present castle to guard the important river crossing, where they constructed a bridge. There is evidence of an earth rampart later replaced by a stone wall. The timber piles of the Roman bridge were rediscovered during the construction of the present road bridge.
The Norman period commenced with the victory of William of Normandy at Hastings. He appointed his half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, as Earl of Kent. Rochester's first Norman castle was probably of the motte and bailey type – a wooden tower and with palisades – on Boley Hill. This was the castle that was besieged by William Rufus during the Rebellion of 1088.
As a result of this siege, Bishop Gundulf was persuaded to build a stone castle with a curtain wall. It is not known how much, if any, of the surviving keep is his. Gundulf was a talented architect: he had started the building work on Rochester's Norman Cathedral in 1080, and was also responsible for the White Tower of the Tower of London.
Henry I granted the custody of the castle to the Archbishop of Canterbury, William de Corbeil. Corbeil started to build the great stone keep in 1127, much of which survives today. It is the tallest in England and has dominated the city and river crossing for 800 years.
In 1206, King John spent £115 on repairs to the castle and moat. He even preemptively held it during the year of the negotiations leading up to Magna Carta, but its terms forced him to hand it back into the custody of Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, in May 1215. The rebel barons then sent troops under William d'Aubigny to the castle, to whom its constable Reginald de Cornhill opened the castle's gates. During October, marching from Dover to London, John then found Rochester in his way and on 11 October began besieging it in person.
The rebels were expecting reinforcements from London but on hearing of the size of King John's army they turned back at Dartford. Robert Fitzwalter rode out to stop the king, fighting his way onto the bridge but eventually being beaten back into the castle. He also sacked the cathedral, took anything of value and stabled his horses in it, all as a slight to Langton. Orders were then sent to the men of Canterbury saying, "We order you, just as you love us, and as soon as you see this letter, to make by day and night, all the pickaxes that you can. Every blacksmith in your city should stop all other work in order to make them and you should send them to us at Rochester with all speed". Five siege engines were then erected and work carried out to undermine the curtain wall. By one of these means the king's forces entered and held the bailey in early November, and began attempting the same tactics against the keep, including undermining the south-east tower. The mine-roof was supported by wooden props, which were then set alight using pig-fat, on 25 November 1215 John had sent a writ to the justiciars saying "Send to us with all speed by day and night, fifty of the fattest pigs of the sort least good for eating so that we may bring fire beneath the castle" [2], causing the south-east tower of the keep to collapse. The rebels withdrew behind the keep's cross-wall but still managed to hold out. A few were allowed to leave the castle but on John's orders had their hands and feet lopped off as an example.
Winter was now setting in, and the castle was only taken (on 30 November) by starvation and not by force. John set up a memorial to the pigs and a gallows with the intention of hanging the whole garrison, but one of his captains (Savari de Mauleon) persuaded him not to hang the rebels since hanging those who had surrendered would set a precedent if John ever surrendered - only one man was actually hanged (a young bowman who had previously been in John's service). The remainder of the rebel barons were taken away and imprisoned at various royal-held castles, such as Corfe Castle. Of the siege - against only 100 rebels, and costing over a thousand pounds a day - the Barnwell chronicler wrote "No one alive can remember a siege so fiercely pressed and so manfully resisted" and that, after it, "There were few who would put their trust in castles".
King John died on October 19, 1216, so it fell to Henry III to repair the castle. He spent over a £1000 on rebuilding, with new stables and gateways, and a further ditch to strengthen the defences. A new chapel was built next to the Royal apartments in the bailey. The most notable surviving feature is the new south-east tower, which was rebuilt according to the latest defensive design and is three-quarters round better to deflect missile attack and work against attempts at undermining.
In 1264, the dissident barons, led by Simon de Montfort, attacked Rochester . They crossed the Medway under cover of the smoke from a fire-ship, and took the city. Like John before them, they quickly gained control of the castle bailey and then attempted to undermine the keep. This time the siege was not successful, being relieved after only a week by Henry himself. However, the rebels did burn down many of the buildings, including the Royal chambers. Repairs were not carried out until 1367, under Edward III, by which time much of the stone had been removed for other use.
The 15th century Wars of the Roses were not fought in Kent, so the castle was spared. It was briefly taken by Wyatt's men during his futile uprising of 1554. But with the invention of gunpowder and introduction of cannon, this form of castle was no longer so secure. It became expensive to maintain so fell into disrepair.
The castle is now maintained by English Heritage and is open to the public. The wooden flooring in the centre of the keep is gone, but many of the passageways and spiral staircases within the thickness of the walls are still usable. Decorative chevrons ornament the archways and the water well in the cross-wall is clearly visible. Visitors with a head for heights can climb 111 ft (34 m) to the battlements and enjoy a commanding view of the river and surrounding area.
Castle against the backdrop of the Firth of Forth crossings: the nineteenth-century rail bridge, the suspension road bridge (1964); the Queensferry Crossing (under construction - to open 2017).
15th-century castle, garrison fortress and state prison. Now a visitor attraction.
Blackness was used as a location in the following: Elsinore Castle in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990); Fromt de Boeuf in BBC TV's Ivanhoe (1997); Macbeth (1997); Doomsday (2008); Outlander (2014).
Historic Scotland: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/blackne...