Caldicot Castle
Encyclopedia
Caldicot Castle is an extensive stone medieval castle
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 the town of Caldicot, Monmouthshire
Caldicot, Monmouthshire
Caldicot is a small town in Monmouthshire, southeast Wales, located between Chepstow and Newport, just off the busy M4 / M48 motorway corridor. The site adjoins the Caldicot Levels, on the north side of the Severn estuary. Caldicot has easy access by motorway and rail to Cardiff, and across the...
, in southeast Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
It was at one time a possession of Thomas of Woodstock, a son of King Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
.
The Caldicot Estate
Caldicot is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, not for its castle, but as an agricultural holding of Durand, Sheriff of Gloucester. Walter fitz Roger, Durand's nephew, inherited his lands as well as his fathers office of Constable of England which remained with the lords of Caldicot. Walter's son Milo was granted the Earldom of Hereford to add to his titles.The De Bohun Family
Milo's five sons died childless so his eldest daughter, Margaret, took to her marriage with Humphrey (III) de Bohun the Earldom of Hereford, the Constableship of England, and Caldicot. He was responsible for building the stone keepKeep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
and curtain walls of the present-day Castle. The de Bohun family held Caldicot for over two centuries.
Thomas of Woodstock
In 1376 the manor, along with 70 others, passed to Thomas of Woodstock, the third son of King Edward III of England, when he married Alianore de BohunEleanor de Bohun
Eleanor de Bohun was the elder daughter and co-heiress with her sister Mary de Bohun, of their father Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. Her mother was Lady Joan Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster.-Marriage:In 1376 she...
.
King Richard II
With the death of Edward IIIEdward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
the throne passed to his grandson, the nine year old Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
. As the new King's uncle, Thomas played an important role advising him. He was created Constable of England
Lord High Constable of England
The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. His office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was originally the commander of the royal armies and the...
. He rarely visited Caldicot, his main estates being at Pleshey
Pleshey
The village of Pleshey lies in Essex, England, just to the northwest of Chelmsford.William the Conqueror gave Pleshey, in the parish of High Easter to Geoffrey de Mandeville in appreciation of his services; Mandeville was one of William's battle commanders at the Battle of Hastings in 1066...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, close to the seat of power.
Bolt Hole
In 1381, however, EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
was convulsed by the Peasants' Revolt
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler's Rebellion, or the Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the...
. This may be why Thomas decided to spend part of that year in Caldicot. During his stay he gave orders for major new work to be done on the castle. A new gatehouse and drawbridge were constructed. At the rear of the castle a dovecote was replaced by a new tower with private chambers, now known as the Woodstock tower. At the foot of the Woodstock tower two carved stones were to be placed, one marked 'Thomas' the other 'Alianore'.
As time passed relations between Thomas and King Richard grew increasingly strained. In 1391, on the orders of the King, Thomas was kidnapped and murdered. His property was confiscated and passed into the hands of the Crown.
House of Lancaster
In 1399 Henry Bolingbroke seized the throne from Richard, and although Mary de BohunMary de Bohun
Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.-Early life:...
did not live to see her husband crowned Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, her son, born at Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
Castle
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...
, would be one of the country's great heroes, Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, victor of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
.
The division of the de Bohuns estates was revised after the death of Alianore and Mary de Bohun
Mary de Bohun
Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.-Early life:...
's mother Joan, who had outlived both of her daughters by some twenty years. Alianore's eldest daughter and heir, Anne, lost Caldicot to Mary's son King Henry V, and so Caldicot became part of the great Duchy of Lancaster
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...
. Held by Henry's widow, Katherine of Valois, Caldicot was later granted into the stewardship of the Herbert family for much of the fifteenth century, and then leased in the sixteenth century to their successors of the Somersets with their power base at Raglan
Raglan, Monmouthshire
Raglan is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located some 9 miles south-west of Monmouth, midway between Monmouth and Abergavenny on the A40 road very near to the junction with the A449 road...
.
Decline & Neglect
Caldicot Castle was evidently neglected, fell into ruin and became little more than a farmyard. The castle was sold to Charles LewisCharles Lewis
Charles Lewis may refer to:* Charles Lewis , former Western Australian politician for the electoral district of Canning* Charles Lewis , English football player...
of St Pierre in 1857. In 1885 he sold it to Joseph Richard Cobb, who began the restoration of the castle as his family home http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/289963.
Restoration
From 1885 to 1964, the Cobb family owned the castle. Joseph Cobb's family remained at the castle after his death and it was his son Geoffrey Wheatley Cobb, and in particular Geoffrey Wheatley's wife Anna, who continued the work of restorationBuilding restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
. Geoffrey Wheatley died in 1931. In 1943, after Anna's death, the castle passed to Joseph's grandson, Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Cobb. In part to counteract the shortage of housing in Caldicot at the time, Geoffrey and his wife Barbara opened the castle to a succession of young married couples and families, who rented furnished apartments in three of the towers and in parts of the gatehouse.
In 1964, Chepstow Rural District Council bought the castle from the Cobb family for £12,000. By then, much council housing was available locally and the tenancies gradually came to an end. The castle, including a small museum, was opened to the public in 1965. After 1967, medieval-style banquets were held there.
The castle is reputed to be haunted by a number of ghosts and spirits including a grey lady (who is believed to be Alianore de Bohun
Eleanor de Bohun
Eleanor de Bohun was the elder daughter and co-heiress with her sister Mary de Bohun, of their father Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. Her mother was Lady Joan Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster.-Marriage:In 1376 she...
), hooded monks, a beggar boy and a mischievous poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
. At the centre of the activity is the Gatehouse Banqueting Hall; shadowy figures, as well as moving furniture, has been witnessed in this area. Many people have experienced unusual cold spots, as well as hearing footsteps in vacant parts of the castle. The Castle offers Fright Nights and Ghost Tours to visitors wishing to experience these mysterious goings-on for themselves.