Bedford Castle
Encyclopedia
Bedford Castle was a large medieval castle
in Bedford, England. Built after 1100 by Henry I
, the castle played a prominent part in both the civil war of the Anarchy
and the First Barons' War
. The castle was significantly extended in stone, although the final plan of the castle remains uncertain. Henry III of England
besieged the castle in 1224 following a disagreement with Falkes de Breauté
; the siege lasted eight weeks and involved an army of as many as 2,700 soldiers with equipment drawn from across England. After the surrender of the castle, the king ordered its destruction. Although partially refortified in the 17th century during the English Civil War
, the castle remained a ruin until the urban expansion in Bedford during the 19th century, when houses were built across much of the property. Today only part of the motte still stands, forming part of an archaeological park built on the site between 2007 and 2009.
in the town of Bedford
, overlooking the River Great Ouse
. The castle was constructed inside the town itself, and many of the older Anglo-Saxon
streets had to be destroyed and diverted to make room for it, leaving a permanent mark in the formal grid system. The castle was built in a motte and bailey design and was probably much smaller than the later castle, just consisting of the motte and the inner bailey.
By the early 12th century the castle was controlled by the royal castellan
, Simon de Beauchamp, the son of Hugh de Beauchamp who had helped conquer England in 1066. Contemporaries described the castle around this time as "completely ramparted around with an immense earthen bank and ditch, girt about with a wall strong and high, strengthened with a strong and unshakeable keep". Simon died in 1137, and King Stephen agreed that Simon's daughter should marry Hugh the Pauper
and that the castle would be given to Hugh, in exchange for Stephen giving Miles compensatory honours and gifts. Miles and Payn de Beauchamp, the children of Simon's brother, Robert de Beauchamp, declared that the castle was rightfully Miles' and refused to hand it over to Hugh.
Meanwhile, civil war had broke out in England between King Stephen
and the Empress Matilda
, resulting in a period of chaos known as the Anarchy
. Matilda's uncle, David I of Scotland
, invaded England during 1137 in support of her claim. Although Miles de Beauchamp declared himself in support of Stephen, the king decided to retake Bedford Castle before marching north. Stephen formed an army to besiege Bedford Castle but Miles gained advance warning of the attack and took in considerable supplies, preparing for a long siege. Stephen was unable to storm the castle and left a force under the command of Hugh to starve it into submission whilst he marched north to tackle the Scots invasion.
Henry of Blois
, the Bishop of Winchester
, intervened in an attempt to produce a negotiated solution. Henry reached an agreement whereby after five weeks, the castle finally surrendered; the garrison were allowed to leave peacefully but the castle was handed over to the king. The deal struck by Miles and Henry appears to have left the surrounding estates in the hands of the Beauchamps, however, and in 1141 Miles returned and retook the castle itself, although no details are available as to how he achieved this.
Miles subsequently supported the Empress, and in 1146, Ranulf, the Earl of Chester
and temporarily on the side of the king, attacked and took the town of Bedford, but was unable to take the castle, which continued to be controlled by Miles until his death several years later. Towards the end of the war, Bedford Castle may have been attacked again; Henry II
, during the final year of the conflict in 1153, marched through Bedford and documentary evidence shows damage to the town at this time. Historians are divided as to whether the castle was besieged at the same time.
. The rebel barons attempted to besiege Northampton Castle
; unsuccessful, they turned to Bedford Castle but the castle withstood the attack and their moved south to London. Bedford was held at the time by William de Beauchamp
but his loyalty came into question and he rebelled against John. Falkes de Breauté
, a key Anglo-Norman leader loyal to John, resisted and seized Bedford Castle back for John in 1216. In return John gave Falkes the Honour of Bedford, and in practical terms the castle as well, although it is unclear whether he gave Falkes the role of castellan or ownership of the castle itself. As the war continued, Falkes took control of Plympton, Christchurch
and Carisbrooke
castles, whilst continuing to hold onto Bedford. After the death of King John in 1216 the war turned against the rebel barons and the royalist faction, including Falkes, was able to restore his son, the young Henry III
to power in England.
After the war, Falkes made Bedford Castle his headquarters and he expanded it considerably, resulting in what David Baker has described as a "major refortification". Falkes destroyed the neighbouring churches of St Paul's and St Cuthbert's to make space for a new bailey, reusing the stone for the castle. The exact form of the castle after this expansion remains uncertain. The castle appears to have been quadrangular, with the western edge running along the rear of the modern High Street and the northern edge running along the modern roads of Ram Yard and Castle Lane. The castle had a new barbican
; an outer and an inner bailey, with the inner bailey in the south-east corner, protected by an internal ditch and a stone-lined palisade; further stone lined ditches lay around the castle; and a new keep was built on the motte. Brown suspects that the new keep was probably a shell keep
with a tower, similar to those built at Launceston
or Bungay
. The stone-lined palisades and ditches built at Bedford were very unusual in England - their closest equivalent are those found at Skenfrith Castle
. The castle had a postern watergate facing towards the river, and a great hall within the inner bailey in the middle, at least 13 m (43 feet) wide and 40 m (131 feet) long. There was possibly a large stone gatehouse positioned on the outer bailey wall. A mound in the north-east corner of the castle probably supported a large tower.
, a royal judge who was hearing law cases against Falkes. When Falkes refused to release the judge, Henry mobilised an army, supported by the Church in the form of Stephen Langton
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, and advanced to Bedford. Falkes had left the castle, along with around eighty men, in charge of his brother, William de Breauté, who refused to surrender it to the king. Falkes was probably hoping that if the castle held on long enough, his efforts to convince Pope Honorius III
to intervene against Henry would succeed. The Archbishop excommunicated William and the siege began.
The siege of Bedford Castle required huge resources. Siege engines were brought from Lincoln, Northampton
and Oxfordshire
, while carpenters built others on site using timber from Northamptonshire
; ropes from London
, Cambridge
and Southampton
; hides from Northampton and tallow
from London. Labourers from across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire were gathered by the relevant sheriffs, and miners from Hereford
and the Forest of Dean
. Crossbow bolts were ordered from a depot at Corfe Castle
and from the provinces; 43,300 crossbow bolts are known to have been ordered by the king. Local trees were cut down, and stone quarrying begun to provide ammunition for siege engines. Tents and pavilions for the king were sent from London, along with supplies of luxury foods and wine for the king. In total, Henry's wage bill for the siege came to £1,311; it is uncertain exactly how large Henry's army was, but potentially there were between 1,600 and 2,700 men present at any one time. To support the siege, Langton instructed his bishops to mobilise one man from every 24 hectares (60 acres) of land they owned and levied a special tax on the churches' estates.
With these resources, Henry erected a number of siege engines around the castle; one probable trebuchet
and two mangonel
s were set up to the east of the castle; two mangonels were placed on the west side, to attack the keep, and one mangonel on both the north and south sides. Two siege-castles were established to observe the occupants of the castle.. William was confident, however, that either his brother would return and relieve the siege, or that the pope would intervene, and held on despite the artillery attacks. The losses in the royal army began to mount; chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall
suggests that seven knights, and over 200 soldiers and labourers were killed as the siege dragged on.
Bedford Castle finally fell through a sequence of four attacks. Royal forces first captured the barbican and then stormed the outer bailey, seizing most of the castle's supplies but taking considerable losses. Miners, operating under the protection of a "cat", then gained access to the inner bailey by collapsing part of the wall. Finally, on 14 August, the miners attacked the keep itself, lighting a fire under the walls, cracking the stone and filling the building with smoke. The female members of the household, including Falkes' wife, and Henry de Braybrooke were released, the royal standard was raised over the tower, and the next day William and the garrison surrendered.
A discussion ensued about the fate of the garrison; near contemporary accounts suggest that the prisoners asked the Archbishop for assistance, but that this was declined. Henry then had all the male members of the garrison hung, except for three knights who agreed to join the military order of the Knights Templar
. Three days after the fall of Bedford Castle, the Pope wrote a letter demanding that Henry cease his campaign against Falkes, but this intervention had occurred far too late to be of use. Alexander de Stavenby
, the Bishop of Coventry
, convinced Falkes to surrender after the fall of the castle; he handed over his remaining castles at Plympton and Storgursey and was absolved by Langton, going into exile shortly afterwards. Historian R. Brown has noted that the 1224 siege of Bedford Castle was remarkable in that the castle's garrison was able to hold out against "the concentrated military resources of the whole kingdom" for an impressive eight weeks. David Carpenter
argues that the fall of Bedford castle "concluded the triumph of central government" over the previously uncontrollable forces of the local barons.
John Leland visited the site in the 16th century, and noted that the castle was "now clean down". The early 17th century mapmaker John Speed
produced a map of Bedford in 1611, showing the motte and a fragment of bailey wall still standing on an otherwise vacant site.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War
, Bedford sided with Parliament; the town was temporarily captured by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in 1643 and the castle was refortified for the duration of the war. A probable wooden fort and prison were built on the remains of the motte and defended by a hundred-man garrison. After the war the motte became used as a bowling green
until the 19th century. In 1804 the north-east tower of the castle was turned into a hexagonal building for the local militia unit. Bedford began to spread eastwards in the late 19th century and the castle baileys became desirable property for housing; in 1851 the last parts of the barbican were destroyed to make way for the construction of cottages.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in Bedford, England. Built after 1100 by Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, the castle played a prominent part in both the civil war of the Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
and the First Barons' War
First Barons' War
The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...
. The castle was significantly extended in stone, although the final plan of the castle remains uncertain. Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
besieged the castle in 1224 following a disagreement with Falkes de Breauté
Falkes de Breauté
Sir Falkes de Breauté was an Anglo-Norman soldier who earned high office by loyally serving first King John and later King Henry III in First Barons' War. He played a key role in the Battle of Lincoln Fair in 1217. He attempted to rival Hubert de Burgh, and as a result fell from power in 1224...
; the siege lasted eight weeks and involved an army of as many as 2,700 soldiers with equipment drawn from across England. After the surrender of the castle, the king ordered its destruction. Although partially refortified in the 17th century during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, the castle remained a ruin until the urban expansion in Bedford during the 19th century, when houses were built across much of the property. Today only part of the motte still stands, forming part of an archaeological park built on the site between 2007 and 2009.
Early history (1100–1153)
Bedford Castle was probably built after 1100 by Henry IHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
in the town of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, overlooking the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
. The castle was constructed inside the town itself, and many of the older Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
streets had to be destroyed and diverted to make room for it, leaving a permanent mark in the formal grid system. The castle was built in a motte and bailey design and was probably much smaller than the later castle, just consisting of the motte and the inner bailey.
By the early 12th century the castle was controlled by the royal castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
, Simon de Beauchamp, the son of Hugh de Beauchamp who had helped conquer England in 1066. Contemporaries described the castle around this time as "completely ramparted around with an immense earthen bank and ditch, girt about with a wall strong and high, strengthened with a strong and unshakeable keep". Simon died in 1137, and King Stephen agreed that Simon's daughter should marry Hugh the Pauper
Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford
Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford was Earl of Bedford from 1137 to 1141. The grant of the earldom was by Stephen of England; this was the first of his numerous creations. Hugh was known as 'Hugh the Pauper' or 'Hugh the Poor'....
and that the castle would be given to Hugh, in exchange for Stephen giving Miles compensatory honours and gifts. Miles and Payn de Beauchamp, the children of Simon's brother, Robert de Beauchamp, declared that the castle was rightfully Miles' and refused to hand it over to Hugh.
Meanwhile, civil war had broke out in England between King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
and the Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
, resulting in a period of chaos known as the Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
. Matilda's uncle, David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
, invaded England during 1137 in support of her claim. Although Miles de Beauchamp declared himself in support of Stephen, the king decided to retake Bedford Castle before marching north. Stephen formed an army to besiege Bedford Castle but Miles gained advance warning of the attack and took in considerable supplies, preparing for a long siege. Stephen was unable to storm the castle and left a force under the command of Hugh to starve it into submission whilst he marched north to tackle the Scots invasion.
Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois , often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.-Early life and education:...
, the Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, intervened in an attempt to produce a negotiated solution. Henry reached an agreement whereby after five weeks, the castle finally surrendered; the garrison were allowed to leave peacefully but the castle was handed over to the king. The deal struck by Miles and Henry appears to have left the surrounding estates in the hands of the Beauchamps, however, and in 1141 Miles returned and retook the castle itself, although no details are available as to how he achieved this.
Miles subsequently supported the Empress, and in 1146, Ranulf, the Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
and temporarily on the side of the king, attacked and took the town of Bedford, but was unable to take the castle, which continued to be controlled by Miles until his death several years later. Towards the end of the war, Bedford Castle may have been attacked again; Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, during the final year of the conflict in 1153, marched through Bedford and documentary evidence shows damage to the town at this time. Historians are divided as to whether the castle was besieged at the same time.
Mid-medieval period (1153–1224)
Early in 1215 tensions grew between King John and a rebel faction of his barons, which would lead to the First Barons' WarFirst Barons' War
The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...
. The rebel barons attempted to besiege Northampton Castle
Northampton Castle
Northampton Castle was built under the stewardship of Simon de Senlis, the first Earl of Northampton, in 1084. It took several years to complete, as there is no mention of it in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England completed in 1086....
; unsuccessful, they turned to Bedford Castle but the castle withstood the attack and their moved south to London. Bedford was held at the time by William de Beauchamp
William de Beauchamp (1185)
-Magna Carta baron:de Beauchamp took part in the 1210 expedition to Ireland and the 1214 expedition to Poitiers before joining the rebellious barons in 1215 at the beginning of the First Barons' War, entertaining them at his seat of Bedford Castle; as such Beauchamp was one of the rebels...
but his loyalty came into question and he rebelled against John. Falkes de Breauté
Falkes de Breauté
Sir Falkes de Breauté was an Anglo-Norman soldier who earned high office by loyally serving first King John and later King Henry III in First Barons' War. He played a key role in the Battle of Lincoln Fair in 1217. He attempted to rival Hubert de Burgh, and as a result fell from power in 1224...
, a key Anglo-Norman leader loyal to John, resisted and seized Bedford Castle back for John in 1216. In return John gave Falkes the Honour of Bedford, and in practical terms the castle as well, although it is unclear whether he gave Falkes the role of castellan or ownership of the castle itself. As the war continued, Falkes took control of Plympton, Christchurch
Christchurch Castle
Christchurch Castle is located in Christchurch, Dorset, England . The earliest stonework has been dated to 1160 AD. It is a Norman motte and bailey castle...
and Carisbrooke
Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport, Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial.-Early history:...
castles, whilst continuing to hold onto Bedford. After the death of King John in 1216 the war turned against the rebel barons and the royalist faction, including Falkes, was able to restore his son, the young Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
to power in England.
After the war, Falkes made Bedford Castle his headquarters and he expanded it considerably, resulting in what David Baker has described as a "major refortification". Falkes destroyed the neighbouring churches of St Paul's and St Cuthbert's to make space for a new bailey, reusing the stone for the castle. The exact form of the castle after this expansion remains uncertain. The castle appears to have been quadrangular, with the western edge running along the rear of the modern High Street and the northern edge running along the modern roads of Ram Yard and Castle Lane. The castle had a new barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
; an outer and an inner bailey, with the inner bailey in the south-east corner, protected by an internal ditch and a stone-lined palisade; further stone lined ditches lay around the castle; and a new keep was built on the motte. Brown suspects that the new keep was probably a shell keep
Shell keep
A shell keep is a style of medieval fortification, best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte.In English castle morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte-and-bailey castles, with the wooden fence around the top of the motte replaced by a stone wall...
with a tower, similar to those built at Launceston
Launceston Castle
Launceston Castle is located in the town of Launceston, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. .-Early history:The castle is a Norman motte and bailey earthwork castle raised by Robert, Count of Mortain, half-brother of William the Conqueror shortly after the Norman conquest, possibly as early as 1067...
or Bungay
Bungay Castle
Bungay Castle is in the town of Bungay, Suffolk by the River Waveney.-Details:Originally this was a Norman castle built by Roger Bigod, around 1100, which took advantage of the protection given by the curve of the River Waveney...
. The stone-lined palisades and ditches built at Bedford were very unusual in England - their closest equivalent are those found at Skenfrith Castle
Skenfrith Castle
Skenfrith Castle is a medieval castle located in Monmouthshire, Wales. The castle is in the centre of the village of Skenfrith, located on the banks of the River Monnow, just five miles to the north of the town of Monmouth...
. The castle had a postern watergate facing towards the river, and a great hall within the inner bailey in the middle, at least 13 m (43 feet) wide and 40 m (131 feet) long. There was possibly a large stone gatehouse positioned on the outer bailey wall. A mound in the north-east corner of the castle probably supported a large tower.
Siege of 1224
Henry III decided that Bedford Castle should be returned to its original owner, William de Beauchamp, and became increasingly frustrated with Falkes' refusal to do so; matters came to a head when Falkes' castellans imprisoned Henry of BraybrookeHenry of Braybrooke
Henry of Braybrooke was an English High Sheriff and justice.He was the son of Robert of Braybrooke, who had served as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, as well as Master of the Great Wardrobe, and had accumulated large amounts of land in Northamptonshire,...
, a royal judge who was hearing law cases against Falkes. When Falkes refused to release the judge, Henry mobilised an army, supported by the Church in the form of Stephen Langton
Stephen Langton
Stephen Langton was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228 and was a central figure in the dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III, which ultimately led to the issuing of Magna Carta in 1215...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, and advanced to Bedford. Falkes had left the castle, along with around eighty men, in charge of his brother, William de Breauté, who refused to surrender it to the king. Falkes was probably hoping that if the castle held on long enough, his efforts to convince Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
to intervene against Henry would succeed. The Archbishop excommunicated William and the siege began.
The siege of Bedford Castle required huge resources. Siege engines were brought from Lincoln, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
and Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, while carpenters built others on site using timber from Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
; ropes from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
; hides from Northampton and tallow
Tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
from London. Labourers from across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire were gathered by the relevant sheriffs, and miners from Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
. Crossbow bolts were ordered from a depot at Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle, and is some eight...
and from the provinces; 43,300 crossbow bolts are known to have been ordered by the king. Local trees were cut down, and stone quarrying begun to provide ammunition for siege engines. Tents and pavilions for the king were sent from London, along with supplies of luxury foods and wine for the king. In total, Henry's wage bill for the siege came to £1,311; it is uncertain exactly how large Henry's army was, but potentially there were between 1,600 and 2,700 men present at any one time. To support the siege, Langton instructed his bishops to mobilise one man from every 24 hectares (60 acres) of land they owned and levied a special tax on the churches' estates.
With these resources, Henry erected a number of siege engines around the castle; one probable trebuchet
Trebuchet
A trebuchet is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet", the original version with pulling men instead of...
and two mangonel
Mangonel
A mangonel was a type of catapult or siege engine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle's walls. The exact meaning of the term is debatable, and several possibilities have been suggested. Mangonel may also be indirectly referring to the 'mangon' a French hard stone found in...
s were set up to the east of the castle; two mangonels were placed on the west side, to attack the keep, and one mangonel on both the north and south sides. Two siege-castles were established to observe the occupants of the castle.. William was confident, however, that either his brother would return and relieve the siege, or that the pope would intervene, and held on despite the artillery attacks. The losses in the royal army began to mount; chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall
Ralph of Coggeshall
Ralph of Coggeshall , English chronicler, was at first a monk and afterwards sixth abbot of Coggeshall, an Essex foundation of the Cistercian order....
suggests that seven knights, and over 200 soldiers and labourers were killed as the siege dragged on.
Bedford Castle finally fell through a sequence of four attacks. Royal forces first captured the barbican and then stormed the outer bailey, seizing most of the castle's supplies but taking considerable losses. Miners, operating under the protection of a "cat", then gained access to the inner bailey by collapsing part of the wall. Finally, on 14 August, the miners attacked the keep itself, lighting a fire under the walls, cracking the stone and filling the building with smoke. The female members of the household, including Falkes' wife, and Henry de Braybrooke were released, the royal standard was raised over the tower, and the next day William and the garrison surrendered.
A discussion ensued about the fate of the garrison; near contemporary accounts suggest that the prisoners asked the Archbishop for assistance, but that this was declined. Henry then had all the male members of the garrison hung, except for three knights who agreed to join the military order of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. Three days after the fall of Bedford Castle, the Pope wrote a letter demanding that Henry cease his campaign against Falkes, but this intervention had occurred far too late to be of use. Alexander de Stavenby
Alexander de Stavenby
Alexander de Stavenby was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.Alexander was probably a native of Sainsby, Lincolnshire and had two brothers, William and Gilbert, who held land there. He may have studied under Stephen Langton, later Archbishop of Canterbury, as Langton was from a village...
, the Bishop of Coventry
Bishop of Coventry
The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary of the England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield....
, convinced Falkes to surrender after the fall of the castle; he handed over his remaining castles at Plympton and Storgursey and was absolved by Langton, going into exile shortly afterwards. Historian R. Brown has noted that the 1224 siege of Bedford Castle was remarkable in that the castle's garrison was able to hold out against "the concentrated military resources of the whole kingdom" for an impressive eight weeks. David Carpenter
David Carpenter (historian)
David Carpenter is an English historian and writer, currently Professor of Medieval History at King's College LondonHe is the son of Rev. E.F. Carpenter, renowned ecclesiastical historian and Dean of Westminster Abbey between 1974-1986, and Lillian Carpenter...
argues that the fall of Bedford castle "concluded the triumph of central government" over the previously uncontrollable forces of the local barons.
Later history (13–19th centuries)
After the siege Henry III ordered the castle to be dismantled and labourers filled in the ditches and halved the height of the stone walls. William de Beauchamp was forbidden to rebuild the castle, and instead built an unfortified house in the inner bailey. St Paul's and St Cuthbert's churches were rebuilt in 1224 using stone from the castle. The sudden availability of cheap stone led to the repaving of many of the town streets in Bedford in 1224. Local tradition suggests that the first stone bridge at Bedford, the Great Bridge, was built using stone from the castle. By 1361 the castle site was described as "a void plot of old enclosed by walls" and seems to be have been derelict for most of the medieval period. The antiquarianAntiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
John Leland visited the site in the 16th century, and noted that the castle was "now clean down". The early 17th century mapmaker John Speed
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
produced a map of Bedford in 1611, showing the motte and a fragment of bailey wall still standing on an otherwise vacant site.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Bedford sided with Parliament; the town was temporarily captured by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in 1643 and the castle was refortified for the duration of the war. A probable wooden fort and prison were built on the remains of the motte and defended by a hundred-man garrison. After the war the motte became used as a bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
until the 19th century. In 1804 the north-east tower of the castle was turned into a hexagonal building for the local militia unit. Bedford began to spread eastwards in the late 19th century and the castle baileys became desirable property for housing; in 1851 the last parts of the barbican were destroyed to make way for the construction of cottages.