KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE RUINS
Plantagenet History near Harrogate
Somewhat
forgotten as a castle ruin to visit, the few stone structures left
at Knaresborough in North
Yorkshire near Harrogate
hold the fascination
of some of England’s great power struggles of the Plantagenet age
of the 13th and 14th Centuries, and a played significant part in the
Civil War of Oliver Cromwell. The
few structures remaining of the once great castle situated on a cliff
over the River Nidd which
controlled much of the
surrounding Knaresborough
forest are the “King’s Tower”, some fragments of once
mighty walls, the “Sallyport”, a deep escape tunnel from
the center of the castle complex to the forest outside the walls, and
the deep moat.
The
Knaresborough Forest was a favorite hunting ground of the English Kings,
King John of Robinhood and Magna Carta fame (or ignominy) often resided.
Edward III who had given the castle to his Queen Philippa as part of
her wedding endowment was nearly killed
by
a boar
while hunting
nearby
(see Ripley
Castle and Boars Head Inn). The castle was also a popular
refuge for the hunted. Hugh de Moreville, one of the assassins of Thomas
a Becket hid out here, as well as King Edward II, who held up in the
strong walls of the castle as his "favorite" Piers Gaveston was
besieged in nearby Scarborough Castle.
Under Edward
III and Queen Philippa the castle would see its great days as a royal
court. The castle at Knaresborough
has been a possession of the English Crown for almost a thousand years.
It is still a property of the Queen as part of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Its role as royal fortress also brought about its demise. The
castle supported the royalist cause in the English Civil War. After the
Parlementary victory, Cromwell ordered its destruction, paying the local
townspeople a penny a stone to take it apart. The Kings Tower which remains
today was left to serve as a jail.
While many other castles still existing have gone through changes and
reconstructions in later periods, or were perhaps visited once or twice
by a King on his way to somewhere else, at Knaresborough it is possible
to get a true glimpse of royal court life from the middle-ages. The stones
where great English Kings and Queens most certainly actually stood and
sat during the many festive court ceremonies are laid bare. The castle
also has a Tudor era courthouse and small museum with a guide who will
fill you in on the castle history. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Knaresborough
Castle
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See Also:
FROM
TRAITOR'S GATE TO MORTIMER'S HOLE
STAPLETON'S CHANTRY BED & BREAKFAST
BLENHEIM
PALACE - CHURCHILL AND PLANTAGENET
ROBIN HOOD'S MAJOR OAK OF SHERWOOD FOREST
