Whorlton Castle

Whorlton Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated near the abandoned village of Whorlton, North Yorkshire. It was built in the early 12th century as a Norman motte-and-bailey associated with the abandoned village of Whorlton. The castle is an unusual example of a motte and bailey that remained in use throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period. Built to overlook an important road on the western edge of the North York Moors, the castle fell into ruin as early as the mid-14th century. The site nonetheless continued to be inhabited until at least the early 17th century. Little now remains of the castle itself, other than the remnants of some cellars or undercrofts. The ruined shell of a 14th century gatehouse still survives, albeit in fairly poor condition. It is a listed building and is privately owned but can be visited by the public.

History

The castle was established in the early 12th century at the edge of Castle Bank, a ridge between the villages of Faceby and Swainby, overlooking a small valley through which the road between Thirsk and Stokesley runs. It was originally called Potto Castle (the village of Potto is part of the same parish). At the time of the Domesday Book, Whorlton was recorded as belonging to Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William the Conqueror. It subsequently passed to the de Meynell family, who founded the castle.

It is unclear when exactly the castle was built, but in its first phase it would have consisted of a wooden fortress on a roughly square motte measuring some Vorlage:Convert by Vorlage:Convert. The motte was surrounded by a dry ditch up to Vorlage:Convert wide by Vorlage:Convert deep, with an outer bank standing up to Vorlage:Convert high. Most of the ditch is still extant but its southeast quadrant has been obliterated by a modern road.

In the mid-14th century it passed by marriage to the Darcy family, who lowered the motte and erected a separate tower house and fortified gatehouse a short distance to the east of the castle. The castle itself fell into disrepair or was dismantled and an account of 1343 describes it as being a ruin. In turn, the Strangways acquired the castle by marriage a century later. It is said to be the place where Mary, Queen of Scots signed a marriage contract in 1565 with Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who became her second husband.

The castle passed to the Crown during the reign of Henry VIII. However, it was not maintained and by 1600 the gatehouse was described as "old and ruinous". At some point in the late 16th or early 17th century, a two-storied dwelling-house, which is no longer extant, was built against the northwest end of the ruined gatehouse. In 1875 a large quantity of the castle's stonework was removed to build Swainby's village church.

The castle is currently privately owned, having been bought by Osbert Peake, 1st Viscount Ingleby as part of a shooting estate. It acquired listed status in 1928 and is a Grade I listed site.

Description of the castle buildings and surroundings

The mid-14th century gatehouse, which was substantially altered in the 16th century, is the main surviving relic of Whorlton Castle. It is a roofless and floorless shell, three storeys high, constructed from sandstone ashlar and built on a rectangular plan. Two large segment-arched entrances stand on either side, flanked by cross-windows. Above the east (main) entrance is a row of three carved shields in cusped panels. The shields present the arms of Darcy (centre) flanked by Meynell (right) and Gray (left), the latter reflecting the marriage of Philip Darcy to Elizabeth Gray in the late 14th century. Above the shields is a further single shield that shows the arms of Darcy and Meynell impaled, reflecting the original marriage that united the families and brought the castle into the hands of the Darcys.

The gatehouse was narrow but relatively tall. Those passing through the gates would have crossed through a vaulted central passage, of which some elements can still be seen. On either side were a number of large rooms with smaller mural chambers, and a great hall would have occupied the entire top floor. A spiral staircase enclosed by a tower projecting out from the north-west wall gave access to the upper floors. The staircase can still be followed up to the remnants of the first floor, though the actual flooring is no longer present. On the outside of the castle's north-west wall, the roofline of a now-vanished building can still be seen.

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The castle itself was situated approximately Vorlage:Convert further west at the other end of the bailey. The only elements of it now remaining are fragments of vaulted cellars or undercrofts, the largest of which measures some Vorlage:Convert by Vorlage:Convert. It was recorded in the mid-19th century that the local farmer used the castle cellars as pig sties. The ruins are now overgrown and partly infilled with debris.

A large area of the surrounding landscape is also associated with the castle. Much of the land was cultivated during the Middle Ages and traces of ploughing are still visible. The area immediately adjoining the castle was landscaped during the late medieval period, when ornamental gardens were built in two rectangular enclosures a short way to the east of the bailey. Each was some Vorlage:Convert by Vorlage:Convert and was surrounded by earthern banks about Vorlage:Convert high. To the east of the gardens was an extended rectangular pond Vorlage:Convert long, Vorlage:Convert wide and up to Vorlage:Convert deep. It has been suggested that it might have been a fish pond, but its size makes this possibility an uncertain one. A deer park was laid out to the south of the castle where, it is said, Edward II once hunted. The landscape and the site of the deserved village of Whorlton are included with the castle as part of a scheduled ancient monument.

Conservation plans

The castle gatehouse is in poor condition and has been added to English Heritage's Heritage at Risk register. The building has repeatedly been vandalised and is suffering the effects of the weather. The site is within the boundaries of the North York Moors National Park, and the National Park Authority, English Heritage and the site owner have collaborated to develop a plan to conserve the site. A report produced for the park authority in 2005 examined several options, including retaining the building as ruins but improving security by employing a custodian, converting the gatehouse into a livable property for use as a house or holiday home, or establishing a local community group to help manage and maintain the site. The option of converting the gatehouse was recommended. The report concluded that "retention of the status quo is not felt to be an acceptable option, due to continuing damage through vandalism to the historic fabric and archaeology, together with the impaired public enjoyment and the uneconomic nature of future repairs and maintenance to the site." English Heritage part-funded a feasibility study to assess the prospects of turning the gatehouse into a home.

References

• Martyn Bennett: The civil wars experienced: Britain and Ireland, 1638-1661. Routledge, London 2000, ISBN 978-0-415-15901-2. 
• Bernard Ingham: Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire castles. Dalesman, Skipton 2001, ISBN 978-1-85568-193-4. 
• John Murray: Handbook for travellers in Yorkshire. John Murray, London 1867. 
• Adrian Pettifer: English Castles: A Guide by Counties. Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge 2002, ISBN 978-0-85115-782-5. 
• T. Whellan: History and topography of the city of York: and the North Riding of Yorkshire: embracing a general review of the early history of Great Britain, and a general history and description of the County of York, Volume 2. John Green, Beverley 1859.