Whittington Castle
-
A Storied History
The Conquest
In 1066, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, successfully invaded the Kingdom of England. After this conquest he did away with the old Saxon aristocracy and replaced them with a host of Norman nobles to help manage his new realm.
These new overlords quickly found the people of England to be a troublesome bunch, as a result they built castles up and down the country to act as centres of power from which they could safely rule the local populace.
It is in this time period that the first motte and bailey castle was built at Whittington, the remains of the old motte (the hill upon which a small fort was built) are still visible on the grounds today, as the viewing platform.
The Anarchy
The first official mention of Whittington Castle is in 1138, during the civil war between two claimants to the throne of England, Stephen and Matilda. This war was called The Anarchy, as it left no corner of England unbloodied.
In this time Whittington Castle was owned by William Peverel, a powerful Norman knight who fought alongside William during the Conquest. Peverel is recorded as fortifying Whittington Castle against King Stephen, siding with the Empress Matilda. It is likely in this period that the old wooden keep was torn down and replaced with a more permanent stone structure.
Roger of Powys
In 1173, King Henry II granted aid to Roger of Powys for repairs to be made to the castle. This may be in response to the Revolt of 1173-74 when King Henry’s sons, encouraged by his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, took up arms against their father, the king, in order to cede power for themselves.
Roger was Henry II’s middle man in dealing with Wales and a close relation to the Peverel family. Roger, and his son Maurice, serve as antagonist in the 13th century Romance of Fulk Fitzwarren.
The Fitzwarrens - Fulk I and II
In the latter half of the 12th century, Fulk Fitzwarren, son of Mellete Peverel and Warren de Metz, gained ownership of Whittington Castle. This would not last as Fulk II would have to put his claim to Whittington before King Richard the Lionheart in 1195. Fulk II’s claim was accepted, however he died before he could carry it out.
With King Richard so often out of the country defending his lands in France, there was nobody on hand to ensure the claim was carried out, so Whittington remained out of Fitzwarren’s hands.
The Fitzwarrens - Fulk III
Following the death of Richard the Lionheart, his treacherous brother John took the throne. The reign of King John would prove a difficult time for the Fitzwarren family. Much of the history surrounding Fulk III comes from the Romance of Fulk Fitzwarren.
The legend goes that a young Fulk had a dispute with then Prince John over a game of chess; this dispute ended in violence as Fulk struck the prince. John was an unforgiving man and never forgot the slight that Fulk had given him.
In 1200, following the death of Richard, John ignored the will of the previous king and granted Whittington to Maurice, son of Roger of Powys. This forced Fulk III to rise in revolt against the king, therefore becoming an outlaw. It is thought that the tale of Fulk III is one of the main inspirations for Robin Hood.
The Fitzwarrens - Outlaw
Fulk III would prove to be a thorn in John’s side for many years. His revolt was such a problem for the weak King that he charged Hubert deBurgh, a powerful Earl and an influential member of John’s court, with putting an end to Fitzwarren’s revolt. To achieve this he was given 100 knights, no small force in the period, to track down Fulk III and bring him to justice.
Fulk was eventually forced into hiding in the court of the French king, Phillip II Augustus. After 4 years of revolt and exile, Fulk III was pardoned by John and was forced to pay a substantial fine of 200 marks, or 130 pounds of silver. After returning from his exile and paying the fine to the king, Whittington was returned to Fulk III in 1204.
The Welsh and the English
In 1223, the castle was captured and destroyed by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth during one of the countless conflicts with the Welsh in this period. It was later returned as part of a peace treaty. After its return the castle was rebuilt fully in stone, the layout of the castle has not changed since this time with the exception of the main keep, which would be replaced by a more luxurious manor house.
The castle had remained in the Fitzwarren’s hands until in 1267, nearly 40 years since it’s destruction and subsequent rebuilding, where it found itself back in Welsh hands as a result of The Treaty of Montgomery with Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales.
After the defeat of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, the castle once again came into the possession of the Fitzwarren family. It is likely at this time that the keep was replaced with a more comfortable manor house; the Welsh border was far more secure than it had ever been since before the Norman invasion of 1066, and the English lords of the March could afford to live in more luxury.
Owain Glyndwr
The Last Prince of Wales
Whittington Castle would see over a century of relative peace, with only some minor repairs needing to be made in 1402.
In 1404 the town of Whittington was brutally raided as part of Owain Glyndwr’s wars of independence. Though the castle was not taken, the surrounding town was burnt to the ground, the land was now deemed to be of such little worth that the Lordship itself was considered to have no value.
Following the ascension of King Henry V to the throne in 1413, he undertook a campaign of reconciliation with the Welsh, granting pardons to many of the most powerful Welsh leaders. This effectively ended the ongoing Welsh revolts under Glyndwr. This act made the border as safe as it had ever been. Henry V even offered a pardon to Glyndwr himself, but the Welsh Prince refused. All of this ensured that Whittington would no longer be needed to serve its role as a bulwark against Welsh raiding or as a staging post for English invasion.
The Fitzwarrens
End of a Dynasty
In 1420 the last male heir of the Fitzwarren line died, the castle and its associated estates would pass into the hands of Fulk XI’s sister, Elizabeth, who then married Richard Hankeford.
In 1422 the castle was captured as the forces of William Fitzwarren, a cousin of the main Fitzwarren branch looking to claim the castle as a male heir. They stormed the walls with ladders in a daring assault. This would eventually prove fruitless as the castle soon came into the possession of Lord Clinton, the step father of the deceased Fulk XI.
This was the end of the Fitzwarren family’s ownership of Whittington, but their centuries of lordship would not be forgotten.
Centuries of Neglect
The Daughter of Elizabeth Fitzwarren and Richard Hankeford, Thomasia, would go on to marry William Bouchier. The castle then fell into the possession of the Bouchier family until in 1545, when John Bouchier exchanged lordship of Whittington with King Henry VIII, in return for some old monastic estates closer to his home in Devon. A survey conducted at the time of this exchange described the building as ‘in decay’, thus it is likely the castle had been uninhabited for some time, and it would remain that way for centuries to come.
Over the following centuries the castle would fall into many different hands. Eventually it became the property of William Albany, whose descendants would later become the Lloyd family. Pieces of the castle would fall down or be removed in order to build new structures around the area including a forge at Fernhill. There is no evidence that the castle played a part in the English Civil War, as it was likely in a state of complete disrepair at that time.
Castle Reclaimed
The next few centuries were quiet for Whittington Castle with records telling a story of further neglect and decay, followed by a hopeful new beginning.
In 1673 the gatehouse was let as a romantic dwelling to one Thomas Lloyd, a merchant from London.
Around 1760 one of the towers collapsed and fell into the moat. This, as well as other parts of the castle, was used to make roads in the area.
In 1808, William Lloyd undertook a restoration of the castle, the gatehouse being let out as a farmhouse, which would remain inhabited until the 1990’s
In 2002, the Whittingon Castle Preservation Trust signed a 99 year lease on the castle. They are currently charged with its upkeep and restoration, turning it into a local landmark and preserving it for future generations to enjoy.