by Keith Kellett
You’ll probably recognise Old Wardour Castle from the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. According to the film, it’s just outside Carcassonne, to which Robin journeyed by way of Hadrian’s Wall. In actual fact, though, it’s near Tisbury, in Wiltshire, and is only reached by way of a tortuous country road.
The castle was first built in the 1390s, when John, Lord Lovell bought a parcel of land, and received, from King Richard II a ‘licence to crenellate’ … that is, permission to build a castle.
The design was different, for, by this time, castles were not only defensive works, but visible demonstrations of the wealth and influence of their occupants … and Lord Lovell was wealthy and influential. His design was based on the hexagonal castles frequently seen on the Continent; indeed, it’s the only castle of a hexagonal plan in England.
The castle remained in the hands of the Arundells, who were elevated to the peerage, until the Civil War. The family were still staunch Roman Catholics, so they were loyal to the Royalist cause. So, the castle was besieged by Parliamentarian forces, and, in the absence of Thomas, Lord Arundell, a garrison of only 25 men, led by Thomas’; wife, the formidable Lady Blanche Arundell, held out for six days against a besieging force of about 1300.
Eventually, Lady Blanche surrendered, and, shortly afterwards, Thomas died of wounds received at the Battle of Stratton. His son Henry, the 3rd Baron, decided he wanted his castle back, and laid siege to the place once more. The Royalists laid explosive charges underneath the castle, and it’s believed that the defendants were on the point of surrender when told of the mere threat of these. What happened next isn’t clear, but it’s believed they were accidentally set off by the defenders, destroying the castle wall, and leading to the eventual surrender of the Parliamentarian forces.
Some years ago, I went to a series of re-enactments of these two sieges by the ‘Old Wardour Garrison’, and managed to get some pictures. But, of course, the damage to the walls had already been done, over 350 years before. The castle was, however, partly rebuilt and made habitable, but, in 1776, the Arundells built New Wardour nearby. The fashion of the day was to have a ‘folly’ in your grounds, to add some drama and romance to the landscape. Some landowners would have a replica of a ruined castle built for them, but a ‘real’ old castle in your garden would definitely put you one-up on your neighbours! Here they would often hold outdoor balls, picnics and other celebrations.
You can still do that today; you can even get married there. Or, you can just wander around the grounds, and admire the architecture, and absorb the history of the place.
If You Go:
Old Wardour Castle is in the custodianship of English Heritage. It’s open daily, betweenа10 a.m. and 6 p.m. It’s located 3.5 miles SW of Tisbury, just off the A30 road. If you bring a car, parking is free, but there is very limited parking space.
Entry is £5 for an adult; concessions for senior citizens, children or families. English Heritage members free. Visitors from abroad can buy the Overseas Visitors Pass; see http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/overseas-visitors for details.
If you don’t have a car, your journey there will be only slightly less arduous than Robin Hood’s. You can take a bus from Salisbury to Tisbury (Service no. 26 to Shaftesbury) www.salisburyreds.co.uk or the train from Salisbury to Tisbury www.southwesttrains.co.uk
If you don’t fancy a 3.5 mile walk to the castle, there are several taxi firms in Tisbury.
About the author:
Keith Kellett writes about, and photographs food and drink, beer, old cars, railways, beer, steam engines, historical re-enactments, bygones, beer, gardens, travel, beer and brewing, nature and the outdoors and beer. Sometimes, he gets published; sometimes, he even gets paid! He operates a blog travelrat.wordpress.com and is presently trying to get his head around video and podcasting. His work frequently appears on the Web, as well as in British and American magazines, and English language magazines in Japan, Greece, Germany and Egypt.
Photos by Keith Kellett
Despite the defeat of Napoleon, another decline in Anglo-Franco relations during the century ensured that the castle was further expanded from 1850 – 1869. Part of the expansion included the addition of the east and west batteries. Located just beyond the castle, the east and west auxiliary batteries have since been landscaped; and no artillery is now included there. As warship gun ranges expanded four sea forts were also constructed in the Solent, which included up to 54 guns. Then they could pick off the ships if they were outside Southsea Castle’s range.
Behind these guns is a bridge that crosses the castle’s dry moat up to the entrance. The entrance leads to the castle’s small courtyard, otherwise the bailey, which is surrounded by four granite gun platforms which slope down towards the parapet. They were sloped to absorb the recoil of the guns.
Also included within the keep museum are artillery shells and cannon balls. One artillery shell is displayed on the ground floor, which is a studded shell for a ten-inch 1870 RML gun. Stone cannon balls recovered from the castle’s well are also on display in the keep.
About the author:
Included in his works are “Do not go gentle into that good night,” “Under Milk Wood” and “Portrait of a the Artist as a Young Dog.” Thomas began his career at the age of 16 as a journalist and many of his works appeared in print while he was still a teenager. Although he was appreciated as a one of the most popular poets of his time, he found living an earning as a writer difficult so he augmented his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts. In 1937 he married Caitlin Macnamara and lived for a time in the Welsh fishing village of Laugharne. Unfortunately, their relationship was destructive due to Thomas’s alcoholism.
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Maybe it was the type of holiday: endless hot sunshine highways and beaches might have inspired a desire for more freedom. We were traveling to the end of the road on this holiday, literally at John O’ Groats, and to the most interesting places around, so I was content… although the Orkney Islands looked temptingly close out in the ocean!
This time we traveled through the Cairngorms National Park and past Inverness to the small village of Garve. Low cloud and dusk limited the view, but increased the melancholic atmosphere; it felt great to be surrounded by nature once more, having escaped high-density population. The roads were so narrow in places there was little room for pedestrians or cyclists.
After a quick walk around the main town my mother and I went to the Isles Inn. It looked a traditional pub from the outside, and its interior was similarly rustic, with a stone decor ideal for the open fireplace. I had a tasty vegetarian haggis with mashed potatoes, vegetables and gravy to eat; washed down with a local ale.
Driving north to John O’ Groats alongside the east coast was quite exhilarating. We stopped in Dornoch on the way, with its historic monthly market taking place that morning. On the opposite side of the street, the old jailhouse has been converted into stylish shops. It also has a thirteenth-century cathedral; Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s son Rocco John Ritchie was baptized there in 2000, the day before the couple married in nearby Skibo Castle.
The majority of our group had said they’d prefer to split the third day by visiting Loch Ness before Inverness, instead of spending the whole day in the latter, and that was okay with our driver/guide. So, in the morning we drove forty-five minutes south to Loch Ness, and parked above, funnily enough, Urquhart Castle. Nobody saw Nessie, but it was a nice setting above the loch. I had previously seen the north of the loch from the Rockness festival in 2008.
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