Sheffield Castle
Encyclopedia
Sheffield Castle was a castle
in Sheffield
, England
, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf
and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon
long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been constructed on the site at some time in the century following the Norman Conquest of England
in 1066. This was destroyed in the Second Barons' War
, and construction of a second stone castle began four years later in 1270. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner in this castle and its associated estates for 14 years between 1570 and 1584. The castle was held by Royalist forces for part of the English Civil War
, but was surrendered to the Parliamentarians in 1644 following a short siege; its demolition was ordered soon after, and the castle was razed. There are no known surviving drawings or plans of the castle, but excavations in the 1920s revealed stone foundations from the castle begun in 1270 as well as evidence of earlier structures.
and the River Don (53°23′5"N 1°27′48"W), on the western bank of the Sheaf and the southern bank of the Don. The rivers provided defence to the north and east and there was a moat on the south and western sides of the castle. This site is now largely covered by the castle market.
The site of the castle is the place where the earliest settlement at Sheffield was founded sometime in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The Domesday Book
of 1086 states that, prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria had an aula (hall) in the manor of Hallam
. In the same entry, it is reported that the manor of Sheffield—which had previously been part of Hallam—was under the Lordship of Sweyn at the time of the conquest. It has been speculated that Waltheof's aula or Sweyn's stronghold may have been at this site, and excavations between 1927 and 1930 were claimed to have uncovered evidence of a Saxon structure.
, an Anglo-Norman
Baron
from Huntingdonshire
. De Lovetot acquired the lordship of the manor of Hallamshire
(including Sheffield) in the early twelfth century during the reign of Henry I
. However, the earliest known reference to a castle at Sheffield is a return made by Ralph Murdac, sheriff of Derbyshire, concerning the wardship of Maud de Lovetot (the great granddaughter of William), dating from around 1188. It is thought that this castle was a wooden motte and bailey type. Maud de Lovetot married Gerard de Furnival
in 1204 and the castle and town of Sheffield passed to the Furnival family. Gerard de Furnival's grandson, Thomas, supported the royalist cause during the Second Barons' War
of 1264–1267. In 1266 a party of anti-monarchy barons, led by John de Eyvill, marching from north Lincolnshire to Derbyshire passed through Sheffield and destroyed the town, burning the church and castle.
to build a castle at Sheffield. Thomas died soon after the castle was completed and was buried in the castle. In 1707 a report was published stating that, when the castle was demolished in 1648, a large flat stone was found engraved I Lord Furnival; I built this castle-hall; And under this wall; Within this tomb was my burial.
De Furnival's castle was built of stone, and extended from the river Sheaf to Waingate and from the river Don to Dixon Lane, an area of about 4.2 acre. A 2461 acre park was attached to the castle, it extended from the castle to Gleadless to the south and Handsworth
to the east. In 1516, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
built the alternative residence of Sheffield Manor
in the park.
, the town and castle was seized by Sir John Gell
for the Parliamentarians. In April 1643, Royalist forces led by the Earl of Newcastle entered Yorkshire and took Leeds, Wakefield, and Rotherham before approaching Sheffield. The Parliamentary defenders of Sheffield castle fled into Derbyshire allowing the Royalists to take the castle without a fight. Newcastle left a garrison at the castle, under the control of Sir William Savile
, as recounted by Margaret Cavendish, Newcastle's wife:
Sir William Savile left Sheffield and the castle under the control of his deputy, Major Thomas Beaumont, who held Sheffield until August 1644 when the Earl of Manchester
sent Major-General Crawford and Colonel Pickering, a force of 1200 soldiers to recapture Sheffield for the Parliamentarians. At first the castle resisted, and finding their artillery—the largest of which was a demi-culverin
—was insufficient to breach the castle wall, General Crawford sent a letter to Lord Fairfax
for a demi-cannon
(the Queen's pocket-pistoll) and a whole culverin
. These extra cannon were able to breach the castle wall, after which terms for the surrender of the castle were agreed:
Lady Savile (mentioned in this agreement) was the widow of Sir William Savile
. She was pregnant at the time of the siege, and went into labour the night after the castle was surrendered.
Following the siege Colonel John Bright of Carbrook Hall
was left as governor of the castle. He was soon appointed governor of the city of York, and so left Captain Edward Gill in charge of Sheffield. On 30 April 1646 the House of Commons passed a resolution that Sheffield Castle should be made untenable, and on 13 July 1647 a resolution was passed for the castle to be demolished. Despite considerable demolition work, in 1649 the Earl of Arundel
repurchased Sheffield castle with the intention of restoring it, however the damage was too great and no restoration work was ever started The castle was soon completely razed; for a while it was used as an orchard, and then a bowling green, before being built over.
: they are Grade II listed and are open for viewing.
The visible remains are situated in two rooms below Castle Market
. One room is open to the public, pending booking of a tour, the other room is walled and the only access is via a manhole
in the market's food court. Due to the precarious access down a narrow tunnel, tours are no longer conducted in the main room though the second room is accessible.Peter Hague, Castle Market. Retrieved 9 May 2009
The remaining ruins, approximately 32 feet above the River Don, are those of one of the gate towers, they represent a quarter of the Eastern tower.
More recent excavations in 1999 and 2001 by ARCUS, Sheffield University's archaeological research and consultancy unit, revealed the castle to have been much larger than previously was thought: among the largest medieval castles in England. Drilling was done in the upper food court delivery yard and flag stones left in situ to mark boundaries of the 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 Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, 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...
, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf
River Sheaf
The River Sheaf is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its source is the union of the Totley Brook and the Old Hay Brook in Totley, now a suburb of Sheffield. It flows northwards, past Dore, through the valley called Abbeydale and north of Heeley...
and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been constructed on the site at some time in the century following the Norman Conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
in 1066. This was destroyed in the Second Barons' War
Second Barons' War
The Second Barons' War was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort, against the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward , in the name of Henry III.-Causes:...
, and construction of a second stone castle began four years later in 1270. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner in this castle and its associated estates for 14 years between 1570 and 1584. The castle was held by Royalist forces for part 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...
, but was surrendered to the Parliamentarians in 1644 following a short siege; its demolition was ordered soon after, and the castle was razed. There are no known surviving drawings or plans of the castle, but excavations in the 1920s revealed stone foundations from the castle begun in 1270 as well as evidence of earlier structures.
Background
Sheffield castle was located at the confluence of the River SheafRiver Sheaf
The River Sheaf is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its source is the union of the Totley Brook and the Old Hay Brook in Totley, now a suburb of Sheffield. It flows northwards, past Dore, through the valley called Abbeydale and north of Heeley...
and the River Don (53°23′5"N 1°27′48"W), on the western bank of the Sheaf and the southern bank of the Don. The rivers provided defence to the north and east and there was a moat on the south and western sides of the castle. This site is now largely covered by the castle market.
The site of the castle is the place where the earliest settlement at Sheffield was founded sometime in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 states that, prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria had an aula (hall) in the manor of Hallam
Hallamshire
Hallamshire is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, in the current city of Sheffield.The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hallam" originating from a formation meaning "on the rocks"...
. In the same entry, it is reported that the manor of Sheffield—which had previously been part of Hallam—was under the Lordship of Sweyn at the time of the conquest. It has been speculated that Waltheof's aula or Sweyn's stronghold may have been at this site, and excavations between 1927 and 1930 were claimed to have uncovered evidence of a Saxon structure.
William de Lovetot's castle
The construction of the first castle at Sheffield following the Norman invasion of England is usually attributed to William de LovetotWilliam de Lovetot
William de Lovetot, Lord of Hallamshire, possibly descended from the Norman Baron Ricardus Surdus, was an Anglo-Norman Baron from Huntingdonshire, often credited as the founder of Sheffield, England....
, an Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
from Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
. De Lovetot acquired the lordship of the manor of Hallamshire
Hallamshire
Hallamshire is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, in the current city of Sheffield.The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hallam" originating from a formation meaning "on the rocks"...
(including Sheffield) in the early twelfth century during the reign of 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...
. However, the earliest known reference to a castle at Sheffield is a return made by Ralph Murdac, sheriff of Derbyshire, concerning the wardship of Maud de Lovetot (the great granddaughter of William), dating from around 1188. It is thought that this castle was a wooden motte and bailey type. Maud de Lovetot married Gerard de Furnival
Gerard de Furnival
Gerard de Furnival was a Norman knight and Lord of Hallamshire and Worksop. De Furnival's father was also called Gerard de Furnival, and had fought with Richard I at the Siege of Acre....
in 1204 and the castle and town of Sheffield passed to the Furnival family. Gerard de Furnival's grandson, Thomas, supported the royalist cause during the Second Barons' War
Second Barons' War
The Second Barons' War was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort, against the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward , in the name of Henry III.-Causes:...
of 1264–1267. In 1266 a party of anti-monarchy barons, led by John de Eyvill, marching from north Lincolnshire to Derbyshire passed through Sheffield and destroyed the town, burning the church and castle.
Thomas de Furnival's castle
In 1270 Thomas de Furnival obtained a charter from King Henry IIIHenry 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 build a castle at Sheffield. Thomas died soon after the castle was completed and was buried in the castle. In 1707 a report was published stating that, when the castle was demolished in 1648, a large flat stone was found engraved I Lord Furnival; I built this castle-hall; And under this wall; Within this tomb was my burial.
De Furnival's castle was built of stone, and extended from the river Sheaf to Waingate and from the river Don to Dixon Lane, an area of about 4.2 acre. A 2461 acre park was attached to the castle, it extended from the castle to Gleadless to the south and Handsworth
Handsworth, South Yorkshire
Handsworth is a suburb of south eastern Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Handsworth has a population of approximately 15,000. It covers an overall area of approximately...
to the east. In 1516, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, 9th Baron Furnivall, KG was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham....
built the alternative residence of Sheffield Manor
Sheffield Manor
Sheffield Manor, also known as the Manor Lodge or Manor Castle, is a lodge built about 1516 in what then was a large deer park east of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK, to provide a country retreat and further accommodate George Talbot, the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his large family...
in the park.
Destruction of the castle
On 11 October 1642, as England moved toward civil warEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, the town and castle was seized by Sir John Gell
Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet
Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet was a Parliamentarian politician and military figure in the English Civil War.-Background:...
for the Parliamentarians. In April 1643, Royalist forces led by the Earl of Newcastle entered Yorkshire and took Leeds, Wakefield, and Rotherham before approaching Sheffield. The Parliamentary defenders of Sheffield castle fled into Derbyshire allowing the Royalists to take the castle without a fight. Newcastle left a garrison at the castle, under the control of Sir William Savile
Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet
Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1642. He fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War and was killed in action....
, as recounted by Margaret Cavendish, Newcastle's wife:
Sir William Savile left Sheffield and the castle under the control of his deputy, Major Thomas Beaumont, who held Sheffield until August 1644 when the Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
sent Major-General Crawford and Colonel Pickering, a force of 1200 soldiers to recapture Sheffield for the Parliamentarians. At first the castle resisted, and finding their artillery—the largest of which was a demi-culverin
Demi-culverin
The demi-culverin was a medium cannon similar to but slightly larger than a saker and smaller than a regular culverin developed in the early 17th century. Barrels of demi-culverins were typically about long, had a calibre of and could weigh up to . It required of black powder to fire an round...
—was insufficient to breach the castle wall, General Crawford sent a letter to Lord Fairfax
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron , English parliamentary general.-Early life:He was born in Yorkshire the eldest son of Thomas Fairfax, whom Charles I in 1627 created Lord Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland and received a military education in the Netherlands. Two of his...
for a demi-cannon
Demi-cannon
The demi-cannon was a medium sized cannon, similar to but slightly larger than a culverin and smaller than a regular 42lb cannon developed in the early 17th century. A full cannon fired a 42-pound shot but these were discontinued in the 18th century as they were seen as too unwieldy. The lower...
(the Queen's pocket-pistoll) and a whole culverin
Culverin
A culverin was a relatively simple ancestor of the musket, and later a medieval cannon, adapted for use by the French in the 15th century, and later adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century. The culverin was used to bombard targets from a distance. The weapon had a...
. These extra cannon were able to breach the castle wall, after which terms for the surrender of the castle were agreed:
Lady Savile (mentioned in this agreement) was the widow of Sir William Savile
Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet
Sir William Savile, 3rd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1642. He fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War and was killed in action....
. She was pregnant at the time of the siege, and went into labour the night after the castle was surrendered.
Following the siege Colonel John Bright of Carbrook Hall
Carbrook Hall
Carbrook Hall is a historic house in Sheffield, England. Located at in the Attercliffe district of the city, the original building was owned by the Blunt family from 1176. This was rebuilt in 1462, and was bought by Thomas Bright in the late 16th century...
was left as governor of the castle. He was soon appointed governor of the city of York, and so left Captain Edward Gill in charge of Sheffield. On 30 April 1646 the House of Commons passed a resolution that Sheffield Castle should be made untenable, and on 13 July 1647 a resolution was passed for the castle to be demolished. Despite considerable demolition work, in 1649 the Earl of Arundel
Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel
Henry Frederick Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel, PC was an English noble and the second son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel and Lady Alethea Talbot, later 13th Baroness Furnivall...
repurchased Sheffield castle with the intention of restoring it, however the damage was too great and no restoration work was ever started The castle was soon completely razed; for a while it was used as an orchard, and then a bowling green, before being built over.
Archaeological investigations and remains
An excavation led by Leslie Armstrong in 1927, prior to the construction of the Brightside and Carbrook Co-operative Society store, uncovered the base of one of the gateway bastion towers, as well as part of the gateway itself. These remains of the castle are preserved under the city's Castle MarketCastle Market
Castle Market is an indoor market in Sheffield, England. It lies in the north east of the present city centre, by the River Don, and is built on top of the remains of Sheffield Castle, which can still be seen via guided tours....
: they are Grade II listed and are open for viewing.
The visible remains are situated in two rooms below Castle Market
Castle Market
Castle Market is an indoor market in Sheffield, England. It lies in the north east of the present city centre, by the River Don, and is built on top of the remains of Sheffield Castle, which can still be seen via guided tours....
. One room is open to the public, pending booking of a tour, the other room is walled and the only access is via a manhole
Manhole
A manhole is an opening used to gain access to sewers or other underground structures, usually for maintenance.Manhole may also refer to:* Manhole , a metal band from Los Angeles* The Manhole, a computer game...
in the market's food court. Due to the precarious access down a narrow tunnel, tours are no longer conducted in the main room though the second room is accessible.Peter Hague, Castle Market. Retrieved 9 May 2009
The remaining ruins, approximately 32 feet above the River Don, are those of one of the gate towers, they represent a quarter of the Eastern tower.
More recent excavations in 1999 and 2001 by ARCUS, Sheffield University's archaeological research and consultancy unit, revealed the castle to have been much larger than previously was thought: among the largest medieval castles in England. Drilling was done in the upper food court delivery yard and flag stones left in situ to mark boundaries of the castle.