Torksey Castle
Encyclopedia
Torksey Castle is a manor house
located in the centre of the village of Torksey on the east bank
of the River Trent
in Lincolnshire
, England
. It is 12 miles northwest of Lincoln on the A156 road
. Seven miles to the north is Gainsborough Old Hall
and 10 miles southeast is Lincoln Castle
. It is a 16th-century Tudor
stone
-built fortified manor house founded by the Jermyn family of Suffolk
. The building is on the Buildings at Risk Register. The site is strictly private, with no public access and is only visible from the A156 road and a public footpath, on the west bank of the River Trent.
Jermyn family's travels to York or as a gift to one of their sons. In 1645, the property fell victim to the English Civil War
. Having been taken from the Royalist
Jermyn family by Parliamentarians
, it was burned by Royalist soldiers based at Newark
. Very little of the structure remained.
Though the Jermyn family retained control of the estate after the Civil War, the property was not restored, but continued to deteriorate. The remains of the buildings were scavenged for usable building supplies by residents of the area. Also, the hall was built quite close to the flood-prone River Trent, which may have stood the family in good stead as a source of transportation and commerce (as the Lords of Torksey had been permitted to levy tolls on the river's travelers), but which also contributed to the damage of the building through flooding. In 1961, the Trent River board
buried part of the ruins when raising the river bank.
The English Heritage
undertook the stabilisation of the building in the 1990s.
s. According to Heritage Lincoln, these features may have led to its being termed castle. Alternatively it may have been built on the site of an earlier medieval castle.
, to the latest Renaissance
fashion. The lower or ground floor level is built of thin limestone blocks, is very plain and has small mullion
ed windows, meaning it was probably used as the domestic area of the house, where the servants would have worked, but probably not slept. The upper level is built in brick and most probably constitutes a piano nobile
, a principle still very much new in Northern Europe
at the time. Brick at the time, although having been used previously, had rarely been in use in British
secular architecture before this period. Brick was widely considered at this time a lavish building material, due to their handmade nature, the cost of the labour involved, and the scarcity of brick and its manufacture, it was often a case that the kilns used to fire the bricks were constructed afresh on the building site. All of which added to the expense.
The hall consists of a planned series of ranges around a square courtyard. The symmetrical nature of the surviving main facade makes it a great departure from the usual ad-hoc nature which preceded it, and indeed continued up until the mid-Seventeenth century.
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...
located in the centre of the village of Torksey on the east bank
Stream bed
A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks. In fact, a flood occurs when a stream overflows its banks and flows onto...
of the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, 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...
. It is 12 miles northwest of Lincoln on the A156 road
A156 road
The A156 road runs from the A57 and heads north to Gainsborough. The road runs entirely within Lincolnshire right next to the border with Nottinghamshire. It is a single carriageway for its entire length. It is approximately long....
. Seven miles to the north is Gainsborough Old Hall
Gainsborough Old Hall
Gainsborough Old Hall in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire is over five hundred years old and one of the best preserved medieval manor houses in England....
and 10 miles southeast is Lincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is only one of two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in Sussex...
. It is a 16th-century Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
-built fortified manor house founded by the Jermyn family of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. The building is on the Buildings at Risk Register. The site is strictly private, with no public access and is only visible from the A156 road and a public footpath, on the west bank of the River Trent.
History
It is not known why Torksey Castle was built or why it was popularly termed a castle. The building was never used as a fortress and would not have been suitable for that purpose. A country house dating to the middle of the 16th century, it may have been built as a waypoint for the RoyalistRoyalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
Jermyn family's travels to York or as a gift to one of their sons. In 1645, the property fell victim to the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Having been taken from the Royalist
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
Jermyn family by Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
, it was burned by Royalist soldiers based at Newark
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
. Very little of the structure remained.
Though the Jermyn family retained control of the estate after the Civil War, the property was not restored, but continued to deteriorate. The remains of the buildings were scavenged for usable building supplies by residents of the area. Also, the hall was built quite close to the flood-prone River Trent, which may have stood the family in good stead as a source of transportation and commerce (as the Lords of Torksey had been permitted to levy tolls on the river's travelers), but which also contributed to the damage of the building through flooding. In 1961, the Trent River board
River board
River Boards were authorities who controlled land drainage, fisheries and river pollution and had other functions relating to rivers, streams and inland waters in England and Wales between 1950 and 1965....
buried part of the ruins when raising the river bank.
The English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
undertook the stabilisation of the building in the 1990s.
Origin of the name
Although the structure is a hall rather than a castle, it bears similar architectural design features, including angular projecting towers and crow stepped gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s. According to Heritage Lincoln, these features may have led to its being termed castle. Alternatively it may have been built on the site of an earlier medieval castle.
Construction of the Hall
It is obvious from the materials and architectural features of the remaining structure that the building was constructed, at least in layout if not in ornamentOrnament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
, to the latest Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
fashion. The lower or ground floor level is built of thin limestone blocks, is very plain and has small mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed windows, meaning it was probably used as the domestic area of the house, where the servants would have worked, but probably not slept. The upper level is built in brick and most probably constitutes a piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
, a principle still very much new in Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
at the time. Brick at the time, although having been used previously, had rarely been in use in British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
secular architecture before this period. Brick was widely considered at this time a lavish building material, due to their handmade nature, the cost of the labour involved, and the scarcity of brick and its manufacture, it was often a case that the kilns used to fire the bricks were constructed afresh on the building site. All of which added to the expense.
The hall consists of a planned series of ranges around a square courtyard. The symmetrical nature of the surviving main facade makes it a great departure from the usual ad-hoc nature which preceded it, and indeed continued up until the mid-Seventeenth century.
External links
- Torksey Castle at Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire
- Torksey Castle at CastleUK.net