A Castle (and witchcraft) in a Vale

 A-Z Challenge 2012 - V

Belvoir Castle

I feel quite justified in using Belvoir Castle for V; it is situated in the Vale of Belvoir in Leicestershire; it has a ‘V’ in its name and its name translates as ‘beautiful view.’

Belvoir Castle 2011 (aerial view)

The castle, in its commanding position, has breathtaking views across the Vale of Belvoir and is the fourth castle which has stood on the site since Norman times. The existing castle was completed in the early 19^th century after complete or partial destruction of previous buildings.

The first castle built c1070 with a large central square stone keep and surrounding wall lasted for nearly 400 years before being demolished in 1464 during the Wars of the Roses when its owner, Lord Ros, was executed for supporting the Lancastrian cause.

A second castle was built during the reign of Henry VIII (1509 -1547) by the Manners family who had inherited the castle when the Ros family died out in 1508. This castle, a heavily fortified medieval building, stood for c120 years until it was again destroyed during the Civil War. After the war the Earl of Rutland, a Manners’ descendant, rebuilt a classical style mansion on the castle site – an enormous house with four wings round a large courtyard.

In 1703 the 9^th Earl of Rutland was created Duke of Rutland but when the 5^th Duke married Elizabeth Howard in 1799 she wanted a more traditional castle. The previous castle was rebuilt as the fine Gothic Castle that stands there today.

Belvoir Castle (Jones Views)

Belvoir Castle has been the home of the Manners family for 500 years and the seat of the Dukes of Rutland for over three centuries to the present day.

Although the name Belvoir originated with the French-speaking Norman conquerors, the native Anglo Saxons unable to get their tongues round the foreign word called it “Beaver Castle” – and its been pronounced “Beaver” ever since.

Belvoir Castle

If you are waiting for a ghostly connection you may be disappointed. However, the witches of Belvoir are inextricably linked with the Francis the 6^th Earl of Rutland and his second wife Countess Cecilia.

A local woman named Joan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philippa were considered to be witches in league with the Devil. The three had been servants to the Countess until they were dismissed when Margaret was caught pilfering.

Soon afterwards the Earl and Countess suffered convulsions; they recovered but their two sons subsequently died of sudden illnesses and strange sickness. Their daughter, Lady Catherine became the next to feel the witches’ revenge although she survived. At Christmas 1618 the three women were arrested and taken to Lincoln jail. Joan Flower protested her innocence demanded bread and butter saying it would never go through her if she were guilty. When she put it in her mouth she promptly choked to death.

Margaret Flower admitted she had stolen the glove of the young heir and given it to her mother who stroked her familiar cat with it; dipped the glove in hot water and pricked it whereupon the young boy had fallen ill. They had also taken feathers from the bed of the Rutlands, and a pair of gloves, which they had boiled in water, mingled with a little blood. This practice was to prevent the Earl and Countess having any more children.

Associated with the Flowers in their practices were three other women Anne Baker, Joan Willimot and Ellen Greene all from local Leicestershire villages.

Three witches

These three women were condemned to death along with the Flower sisters. Margaret and Philippa Flower were executed at Lincoln on 11^th March 1618(1619?) for the alleged crime of witchcraft,

Note

One source says the Flowers were hanged; another that they were burnt to death.

Attributions

• Belvoir Castle 2011, from an RAF Dominie; Author Jerry Gunner. Lincoln; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
• Belvoir Castle from Jones Views of the seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, published in 1819. The south west range and round tower.
• Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire; author Nancy; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license
• Three women examined in the case of the Witches of Belvoir; source http://www.bookofdays.com/months/march/11.htm

Fotheringhay Castle and Mary Queen of Scots

 A-Z Challenge - F

Fotheringhay Castle and Mary Queen of Scots

The village of Fotheringhay is situated six kilometres north east of Oundle in the county of Northamptonshire. There is nothing left of its castle today other than the motte on which it was built which provides excellent views of the River Nene.

Site of Fotheringhay Castle - 2009

Site of Fotheringhay Castle The motte and bailey is all that remains of Fotheringhay Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was executed. Behind is the modern Castle Barn and beyond, Fotheringhay Church. 

The Norman castle was built around 1100. The motte topped by a stone keep was surrounded by a moat. King Edward III (1312-77) rebuilt the Norman castle and granted it to his son, Edward, Duke of York. In 1452 the wife of a later Duke of York gave birth to the future Richard III. The reign of Richard III was short (1483 – 85) as he was killed at the Bosworth during the War of the Roses.

Henry VIII gave it to Catherine of Aragon as part of her dowry but she refused to go there. The castle became infamous as the site for the imprisonment and execution of the tragic Mary, Queen of Scots. She was tried and convicted for treason and beheaded in the Great Hall on 8^th February 1587.

(If you are squeamish you may want to give the video a miss)

 The castle fell into disrepair and in 1627 it was razed to the ground, its fixtures and fittings sold. The great horned windows and the staircase down which Mary walked to her execution ended up in the Talbot Hotel in Oundle. Reputedly Mary’s face is seen occasionally gazing out at passers-by.

 Hilary Melton-Butcher's Castle E - Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire

Attributions

• Site of Fotheringhay Castle:  By Ian Simpson 2009 – Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. (Geograph Project Collection)
• Video: Execution scene taken from the BBC series 'Elizabeth R' (1971). Starring Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth and Vivian Pickles as Mary, Queen of Scots. No copyright infringement intended

A Plum Job

Visitors to the Glastonbury Festival probably don’t give a thought to the fate of Richard Whiting. As an old man convicted of treason he was hung, drawn and quartered on Glastonbury Tor.

When Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell set about the dissolution of the monasteries in England the Benedictine Monastery, Glastonbury Abbey, was the wealthiest Abbey in England.

Supposedly Bishop Richard Whiting tried to bribe the King. His steward was entrusted with a gift of twelve title deeds to English manorial estates. To protect the deeds from thieves they were hidden in a pie. However the steward stole the deeds to the Manor of Mells, the ‘plum’ of the twelve manors.

The jury that found Bishop Whiting guilty included the treacherous steward. Following the destruction of the Abbey the steward moved into the Manor of Mells.

The steward’s name was Horner; the family lived at Mells until the 20^th century.

The lyrics to a nursery rhyme were first published in 1725:

Little Jack Horner sat in the corner

   Eating his Christmas pie,

He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum

   And said “What a good boy am I!”

That’s an accolade I have earned today when I presented my wife with a bag of plums picked from a tree with the permission of the owner of the garden.

Now my wife has the plum job of baking the pie.