| Summary : The remains of an 11th century motte and bailey castle and a 13th century shell keep castle. The former was built by William the Conqueror either during or shortly after the 'harrying of the north' in 1069-70. It consisted of an earth motte crowned by a timber palisade, flanked on the north-west side by a crescent-shaped inner bailey and, on the south-east side, by a contemporary or slightly later outer bailey. The motte is circa 20 metres high and has a base diameter of circa 60 metres. It is not yet clear whether this is the original 11th century motte or a later medieval reconstruction. In the latter case, the earlier motte will have been preserved inside the later. The reconstruction of the castle in stone largely took place between 1180 and 1236. There were three main phases of work at this time, the earliest involving the late 12th century replacement of the inner bailey palisade with a curtain wall and the construction of the first shell keep. In its present form the shell keep dates to the early 13th century but the foundations of the earlier keep will survive underneath. The remains of the early curtain wall still round the inner bailey. The earliest buildings so far identified are the early or mid-12th century Old Hall, whose surviving foundations show it to be half-timbered, and the Coleman Tower which guarded the entry across the inner bailey and was also used as a prison. The complete, but largely altered chantry chapel dates from circa 1227 whilst to the west of this is the early 14th century New Hall. The last major programme of building dates to 1324-26 when Edward II ordered extensive works to be carried out which included replacing the whole of the timber palisade round the outer bailey with a stone wall. The outer curtain included three projecting towers, a gatehouse and a postern gate. The three towers, named from north-east to south-west, Rosamund's Tower, Diate Hill Tower and Milk Tower, the latter built as a prison. Scheduled. |
More information : [SE 79878452] Pickering Castle [GT]
Keep [GT] Mill tower [GT] (1)
Pickering Castle consists of 2 baileys with a large shell keep, now very fragmentary, standing on a high mound between them; the inner bailey and the keep date from the 12th cent, and the outer bailey with its toweres, was added in the first part of the 14th century. Rosamund's tower, built c.1330, is a square building of 3 storeys, projecting outside the wall. (2)
See Guide-book for detailed description. (3)
Published earthworks (25") revised. (4)
Castle Scheduled as Ancient Monument. Considerable remains of late 11th or early 12th century, with Keep standing and fine Moat. Curtain walls and towers 14th C. (5)
Pickering Castle Pickering SE 800845-Scheduled. (6)
SE 798 845. Pickering Castle: 11th century motte and bailey castle and 13th century shell keep castle. Scheduled RSM No. NY/13301. (7)
Additional reference. (8)
Listed by Cathcart King. (9)
Additional reference. (10)
One of the lesser roayal castles in the north of England, the castle controlled the route from Helmsley to Scarborough. Founded in the late 11th or early 12th centuries as a motte with irregular bailey, the first major improvements were not undertaken until the early 13th century. Edward II visited the castle in 132 and ordered that the custodian render the walls of the keep and bailey, repair the prison, kitchen and other buildings, enlarge the moat, replace the timber palisade round the outer ward or `barbican' by a stone wall which was to include a postern next to the king's tower, ie the keep, and a gatehouse with a drawbridge. In 1326 it was granted to Henry of Lancaster. By the reign of Henry VIII Pickering no longer had any military value. The 14th century Moot Hall was still in uses as the court house, and it was maintained as such throughout the 16th century. However, a survey of the Moot Hall in 1619-21 showed it to be greatly decayed, and in 1651 it had fallen to the ground, the chapel being used to house the court sessions in its place. All of the buildings were sold in 1652, and the rest of the history of the castle is as a ruin. (11) |