Bolingbroke Castle
 Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire Photo © Snidge, October 2005 |
 Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire Photo © Dave Hitchborne, 29 Jan. 2004 |
 Bolingbroke Castle - kitchens Photo © Snidge, October 2005 |
Bolingbroke Castle is at Bolingbroke (or Old Bolingbroke) in Lincolnshire, England.
Construction
Most of the castle is built of Spilsby greenstone, as are several nearby churches. The local greenstone is a limestone that proved to be porous, prone to rapid deterioration when exposed to weather and a substandard building material. The castle was constructed as an irregular polygonal enclosure. The castle is one of the earliest examples of a uniform castle designed and built without a keep. It originally was surrounded by a large water-filled moat 31 metres (100 ft) wide. The curtain wall was up to 5 metres (16 ft) feet thick and defended by five D-shaped towers and a twin-towered gate house.
Similar to another castle built by Ranulf during the same period at Beeston in Cheshire, Bolingroke had no inner defensive keep. The castle relied instead on thick walls and the five D shaped defensive corner towers. Some design similarities are noted with the contemporary castle at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France that was also constructed without a central donjon.
History
The area was first fortified by the Saxons in the 6th or 7th century. In the 12th century the Normans built a Motte-and-bailey on a nearby hill above the settlement of Bolingbroke. The present structure was founded by Ranulf, Earl of Chester, in 1220 shortly after he returned from the Fifth Crusade.
Ranulf died in 1232 without a male heir, and his titles, lands and castles passed to his sisters. By 1311 Bolingbroke had passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt and the House of Lancaster.
In 1367, Henry IV was born at Bolingbroke. Two years later Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt died from plague at the castle.
By the 15th and 16th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair although repairs were carried out during the Tudor period. In 1636 a survey found that all of the towers were effectively beyond repair.
At the start of the First English Civil War, Bolingbroke was again put to use as a military fortification garrisoned by Royalist forces. In 1643 it was badly damaged in a siege during the Battle of Winceby. The following year, the castle was recaptured from the Parliamentarians but due to defeats elsewhere was relinquished again. In 1652 the caste was "slighted" to prevent any further use. The towers and walls were torn down and dumped into the moat.
The last major structure collapsed in 1815.
Present day
The castle, which is now a national monument, was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s. It was maintained by English Heritage up until 1995 when Heritage Lincolnshire took ownership. Much of the lower walls and still visible as are the ground floors of the towers. In the summertime, the castle is home to numerous events including performances of Shakespeare.
Sources
- Matarasso, Francois (1995). The English Castle. London: Cassell. p. 224. ISBN 1 84067 230 7.
