A-Z Challenge 2012 - S
Spofforth Castle
The Percy family have been an influential
family in northern England
since the days of the Norman Conquest, William de Percy, a favourite of William
the Conqueror, built the manor house at Spofforth in what is now North Yorkshire. In 1215 Richard de Percy and insurgent
Barons are reputed to have drawn up the Magna Carta there.
In 1224 Henry II granted a licence to a later
William de Percy to hold a Friday market in the town. It was in 1308 that
Edward II gave Henry de Percy a licence to fortify the manor house.
Spofforth Castle sits on a small rocky outcrop
overlooking the town. Only the west range, which contained the principle
apartments, still stands; earthworks and low walls are all that are left of the
north south and east ranges.
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| Spofforth Castle - 2009 |
In 1403 Harry Hotspur (immortalised by
Shakespeare), Baron of Spofforth and born at the castle, was killed at the
Battle of Shrewsbury.
During the
Wars of the Roses the Percys supported the House of Lancaster. After the Battle
of Townton in 1461 the Yorkists burnt the castle and plundered the local
countryside. The castle lay in ruins for nearly a hundred years before it was
restored by Henry, Lord Percy. By this time it was Alnwick Castle
that had become the Percys seat. [A for
Alnwick in A-Z Challenge 2011 here]
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| Spofforth Castle - 2011 |
The last occupant of the castle was a steward
who died in 1604. Spofforth
Castle was finally
reduced to a ruin during the Civil War.
But what of Spofforth’s ghost?
A bluish-white female appears for a moment on
the top of the tower before plunging to the ground. The spectre is made even
more gruesome by only the upper half of her body being visible. Who she was and
why she killed herself has never been ascertained; she disappears at the moment
of impact with the ground.
I toyed with the idea of using
Scotney Castle
in Kent
for the letter S; instead you may check it out here
Hilary Melton-Butcher’s castle for R yesterday Raby Castle, County Durham
Attributions
- Spofforth Castle 2009; author TJ Blackwell; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license
- Spofforth Castle 2011; author Immanuel Giel; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 unported license.
- Video by Justin Chapman 2011
