Hartlebury Castle
Encyclopedia
Hartlebury Castle, a Grade I listed building, in Worcestershire
, central England
, was built in the mid-13th century as a fortified manor house
on land given to the Bishop of Worcester by King Burgred
of Mercia
. It lies near Stourport town in north Worcestershire. The manor
of Hartlebury
belonged to the bishops of Worcester
from before the Norman Conquest. The castle was thus one of the residences of the medieval bishops and their principal residence in later periods.
.
Bishop Walter de Cantilupe
, a supporter of Simon de Montfort, began to fortify the Castle, which was embattled and finished by his successor, Godfrey Giffard
, 1268. The gate-house was added in the reign of Henry VI by Bishop Carpenter.
In 1646 during the Civil War
Hartlebury Castle was strongly fortified and held for King Charles I
by Captain Sandys and Lord Windsor, with 120 foot soldiers and 20 horse, and had provisions for twelve months. When summoned by Colonel Morgan for the Parliament, it surrendered in two days without firing a shot. The Castle was slighted, and the Parliamentary Commissioners seized the Castle and manor, and sold them to Thomas Westrowe for £3133 6" 8'. At the Restoration they were given back to the Bishop of Worcester.
The avenue of limes in the park was planted by Bishop Stillingfleet. Bishop Pepys
made a present of the deer, which had been kept there from time immemorial, to Queen Victoria. Some idea of how a bishop's family lived in the mid-19th century can be gained from the diary of the ten-year-old Emily Pepys
, daughter of Bishop Pepys, which covers a six-month period in 1844–5.
The library was built by Bishop Hurd, who also presented to it the choicest works from the libraries of Pope and Warburton. The copy of the Iliad from which Pope's translation was made is among them. By 1890 some of the Castle moats had been filled up and laid out as flower gardens.
With the coming of a Bishop Inge
in 2008, the Bishop's residence was moved from the Castle to a house adjacent to the Cathedral
in the city of Worcester itself. In 1964, the north wing of the castle was taken over by Worcestershire County Council for the creation of a County Museum and in 1966 the Worcestershire County Museum
was opened to the public. The future of the rest of the historic building (including the Hurd Library, a special gallery built by Bishop Hurd in 1782 and which still contains his extensive and unique collection of books) is at the present time (May 2008) uncertain.
In 2010, BBC Midlands News
reported that Hartlebury Castle was being put up for sale and that local people had started a campaign to stop it falling into private hands. Campaigners have been given until April 2011 to raise £2,000,000 or the house would be put on the open market.
, local industry and transportation, and area geology and natural history. There are period room displays including a schoolroom, nursery
and scullery
, and Victorian
, Georgian
and Civil War
rooms.
The castle grounds include a cider mill
and the Transport
Gallery that features vehicles including a fire engine, hansom cab
, bicycle
s, carts and a collection of Gypsy caravans.
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, central England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was built in the mid-13th century as a fortified manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
on land given to the Bishop of Worcester by King Burgred
Burgred of Mercia
Burgred or Burhred or Burghred was the king of Mercia .-Rule:Burgred succeeded to the throne in 852, and in 852 or 853 called upon Ethelwulf of Wessex to aid him in subduing northern Wales. The request was granted and the campaign proved successful, the alliance being sealed by the marriage of...
of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. It lies near Stourport town in north Worcestershire. The manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Hartlebury
Hartlebury
Hartlebury is a village in Worcestershire, England. It is a few miles south of Kidderminster and is in Wychavon district. The village registered a population of 2,549 in the Census 2001.The railway station is about half a mile to the east of the village....
belonged to the bishops of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
from before the Norman Conquest. The castle was thus one of the residences of the medieval bishops and their principal residence in later periods.
History
From the early 13th century until 2007, Hartlebury Castle was the residence of the bishop of WorcesterBishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
.
Bishop Walter de Cantilupe
Walter de Cantilupe
Walter de Cantilupe was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.-Life:He came of a family which had risen by devoted service to the crown...
, a supporter of Simon de Montfort, began to fortify the Castle, which was embattled and finished by his successor, Godfrey Giffard
Godfrey Giffard
Godfrey Giffard was Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Worcester.-Early life:Giffard was the son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire, a royal justice, and of his wife Sibyl, daughter and co-heiress of Walter de Cormeilles...
, 1268. The gate-house was added in the reign of Henry VI by Bishop Carpenter.
In 1646 during the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Hartlebury Castle was strongly fortified and held for King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
by Captain Sandys and Lord Windsor, with 120 foot soldiers and 20 horse, and had provisions for twelve months. When summoned by Colonel Morgan for the Parliament, it surrendered in two days without firing a shot. The Castle was slighted, and the Parliamentary Commissioners seized the Castle and manor, and sold them to Thomas Westrowe for £3133 6" 8'. At the Restoration they were given back to the Bishop of Worcester.
The avenue of limes in the park was planted by Bishop Stillingfleet. Bishop Pepys
Henry Pepys
Henry Pepys was a Church of England Bishop of Worcester.-Biography:Pepys was born in Wimpole Street, London, the son of Sir William Weller Pepys , a master in chancery, who was descended from John Pepys, of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the great-grandfather of Samuel Pepys the diarist...
made a present of the deer, which had been kept there from time immemorial, to Queen Victoria. Some idea of how a bishop's family lived in the mid-19th century can be gained from the diary of the ten-year-old Emily Pepys
Emily Pepys
-Family:Emily was born on 9 August 1833, at Westmill, Hertfordshire, where her father was rector at that time. Her father, Henry Pepys , was created Anglican bishop of Sodor and Man in 1840 and translated only a year later to Worcester. He played a minor political role as a Liberal in the House of...
, daughter of Bishop Pepys, which covers a six-month period in 1844–5.
The library was built by Bishop Hurd, who also presented to it the choicest works from the libraries of Pope and Warburton. The copy of the Iliad from which Pope's translation was made is among them. By 1890 some of the Castle moats had been filled up and laid out as flower gardens.
With the coming of a Bishop Inge
John Inge
John Geoffrey Inge is the current Bishop of Worcester in the Diocese of Worcester.He was educated at Kent College Canterbury and St Chad's College, Durham University where he took a BSc in 1977 and an MA in 1994. In 1979 he took a PGCE at Keble College, Oxford. He trained for ordination at the...
in 2008, the Bishop's residence was moved from the Castle to a house adjacent to the Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
in the city of Worcester itself. In 1964, the north wing of the castle was taken over by Worcestershire County Council for the creation of a County Museum and in 1966 the Worcestershire County Museum
Worcestershire County Museum
Worcestershire County Museum is a local museum at Hartlebury Castle in Hartlebury, Worcester, England, run by the Worcestershire County Museum Service, part of the Worcestershire County Council....
was opened to the public. The future of the rest of the historic building (including the Hurd Library, a special gallery built by Bishop Hurd in 1782 and which still contains his extensive and unique collection of books) is at the present time (May 2008) uncertain.
In 2010, BBC Midlands News
Midlands Today
Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
reported that Hartlebury Castle was being put up for sale and that local people had started a campaign to stop it falling into private hands. Campaigners have been given until April 2011 to raise £2,000,000 or the house would be put on the open market.
Worcestershire County Museum
The Worcestershire County Museum is housed in the servants' quarters of Hartlebury Castle. The exhibits focus on local history, and include toys, archaeology, costumes, crafts by the Bromsgrove GuildBromsgrove Guild
The Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts was a company of modern artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement, founded by Walter Gilbert. The guild worked in metal, wood, plaster, bronze, tapestry, glass and other mediums....
, local industry and transportation, and area geology and natural history. There are period room displays including a schoolroom, nursery
Nursery (room)
A nursery is usually, in American connotations, a bedroom within a house or other dwelling set aside for an infant or toddler. A typical nursery would contain a crib , a table or platform for the purpose of changing diapers , as well as various items required for the care of the child...
and scullery
Scullery
Scullery may refer to:*Dishwashing*Scullery * Scullery maid...
, and Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
and Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
rooms.
The castle grounds include a cider mill
Cider mill
A Cider mill refers to the location, structure, or machinery used to crushed apples into apple juice for use in making apple cider, applejack, hard cider, apple wine, pectin and other products derived from apples. The mills used to manufacture the juice products, ferment them, store them and ship...
and the Transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
Gallery that features vehicles including a fire engine, hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
, bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s, carts and a collection of Gypsy caravans.
External links
- Worcestershire County Museum - official web site
- Tour of Hurd Library Retrieved 19 June 2009
- The Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust: The Hurd Library Retrieved 19 June 2009