Cawood Castle

Cawood Castle was the palace for the Archbishop of York. The remains of the castle are located in Cawood, a village in North Yorkshire, England (gbmapping|SE573376).

History

The castles presence was first mentioned in 1181 before being converted in a quadrangular castle during 1374 and 1388. Numerous documents show that the palace regularly changed inhabitants and was often improved. Among these improvements was the gatehouse, which was constructed by Archbishop John Kemp. It was constructed with stone from Huddlestone which supplied stone for the York Minster.

On January 15, 1466, George Neville held a feast at the castle in celebration of becoming Archbishop of York. The Earl of Warwick, the Archbishop's brother, aided in the preparation of the feast and is said to have wanted a feast larger than the King's coronation feast. Guests included the Duke of Gloucester, the King's brother. The feast lasted several days and became known as the "Great Feast of Cawood" due to the size of it. Records from the feast show that there were:
*104 oxen
*6 wild bulls
*1,000 muttons
*304 veals
*304 porks
*400 swans
*2000 geese
*1000 capons
*104 peacocks
*400 mallards and teals
*204 cranes
*204 kids
*2000 chickens
*4000 pigeons
*4000 rabbits
*25000 gallons of wine.

One year later, in 1467, Henry Bowet became the Archbishop of York and he used this opportunity to construct the great hall and banqueting hall.

In 1530, Cardinal Wolsey visited Cawood as the Archbishop of York. He was disrespected by the village however, he used his visit to become trusted and liked by the villagers, in which he succeeded. Before he was enthroned as Archbishop of York, he was arrested by the Earl of Northumberland, and whilst on the journey to London, he became ill before dying in Leicester.

In 1642, the English Civil War begun and the village and castle were identified as a Royalist stronghold. The castle was captured by the Parliamentarians from the Royalists, however the Earl of Newcastle briefly recaptured it for the Royalists in 1644. Shortly after, however, Lord Fairfax recaptured it and it was used as a prisoner of war camp. Once the war ended, the castle was abandoned and destroyed with only the farm buildings and parts of the wall remaining. The cellar was filled in with rubble and soil.

In 1932, the gatehouse was converted into a courthouse for the local people before being used as an officers' mess and a building for the British Home Guard during World War II.

Current status

The only remaining parts of the castle are the gatehouse and the banqueting hall. The rest of the castle was destroyed after the Civil War. Stones from the destroyed castle were used in the construction of surrounding houses. The foundations of some other structures do remain as well as the castles cellar which was excavated in the 19th century.

The castle is now in the ownership of the Landmark Trust who restored it however the banqueting hall remains with no lighting.Cawood Castle - what you see today are the inside of the original gateway, and the banqueting hall - the remainder of the Castle was destroyed after the Civil War, as Cawood had been a stronghold of the Royalists - stones from the Castle found their way into many local houses of the time, including Bank House! Cawood Castle was built on the banks of the tidal River Ouse, as the home of the Archbishops of York. It was visited by many Kings, including King John, who hunted game in nearby Bishop's Wood in the 13th Century; and Henry VIIIth and Catherine Howard.{Cawood Castle - Gateway} The Danish King Athelstane probably built the first fortification at Cawood on the site of the present castle ruins.

The Castle was seized by the Parliamentarians during the Civil War. The Earl of Newcastle briefly took it back for the Royalists in 1644, but it was re-taken by Lord Fairfax, and used by the Parliamentarians as a prisoner of war camp.back to home page

The gatehouse was built by Archbishop John Kemp with stone from Huddlestone, the same stone was used for York Minster. The Great Feast of Cawood was held in honour of the enthronement of George Nevill as Archbishop of York in 1466. His brother, the celebrated "Kingmaker", the Earl of Warwick, was a fifteenth century proponent of "one-up-manship", and wanted a bigger feast than that held at the King's coronation. The King's brother, the Duke of Gloucester, was one of many guests, and the feasting went on for several days -the villagers must have lived off the "leftovers" for some considerable time! The feast included: 104 oxen, 6 wild bulls, 1,000 muttons, 304 veals, 304 porks, 400 swans, 2,000 geese, 1,000 capons, 104 peacocks, 400 mallards and teals, 204 cranes, 204 kids, 2,000 chickens, 4,000 pigeons, 4,000 conies (rabbits) as well as 25,000 gallons of wine!{stairs in the gatehouse} {view over the skating pond, garth at twilight}Cawood Garth at twilight, looking across to Sherburn Street (above).The Castle Garth was bought by the Parish council in order to keep it as an open space in the heart of the vilage. At its centre is a pond, built as a skating pond in the 19th century. There are also remains of medieval fish ponds.(Bishop's Wood) This is what the Castle may have looked like(right) Back to home page Cardinal Wolsey came to Cawood as Archbishop of York in 1530 and made himself popular with the villagers by putting right years of neglect. However, before he was installed as Archbishop in York, the Earl of Northumberland arrested him on charges of high treason; Wolsey fell ill at Leicester on his way to London, and died. He therefore fulfilled Mother Shipton's prophecy, that he would see the towers of York Minster but would never be enthroned there.{reconstruction of Cawood Castle}Cawood Castle is now owned by the Landmark Trust, who operate it as a "holiday let". The gatehouse was used as a local court until 1932, during the Second World War it was used as an Officers' Mess, also used by the local Home Guard. {modern bedroom in the Castle}(Back to top)

Books on the history of Cawood include: "History of Sherburn and Cawood", William Wheater; "Cawood - The History of a Yorkshire Village", Michael Bell; "Church, Crown and Commonwealth at Cawood Castle", John Booth; and "The Day War Broke Out", John Booth. (For more village history)

{inside the banqueting hall} {looking from the path to the Castle and Bank House beyond}The Castle great hall is believed to have been constructed by Archbishop Henry Bowett in 1467. This photo was taken inside the banqueting hall - not very good quality, I'm afraid, but it is rather dark - no electricity! You can see where the upper floor used to be(Back to home page) Outside the banqueting hall can be seen remains of other structures - there were more modern farm buildings and a wall along the road, which were removed when the Landmark Trust took over the Castle and restored it. Within the last ten years, there were cows grazing in the garth!

External links

* [http://www.btinternet.com/~Pamela.Y.Ross/castle.html History of castle]
* [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/2052.html The Gatehouse gazetteer]
* [http://www.lhi.org.uk/projects_directory/projects_by_region/yorkshire_the_humber/north_yorkshire/cawood_castle_garth/index.html Local Heritage Initiative]
* [http://mcentire-d-d.com/caywood_history.html History of village and Castle]