Thornbury Castle.

Thornbury Castle

In 1508 The Duke of Buckingham (Edward, Earl of Stafford) started to build a castle at Thornbury. He built onto the existing medieval manor house where he stayed as a child.

In 1521 he was executed for treason before he had a chance to finish it.

It has puzzled historians for many years whether the castle was built for defence or just to show off. The question I am going to try and find the answer to is: “Was Thornbury castle the last English castle to be built with a serious purpose of defence?”

Thornbury Castle has features that make it look like a castle and features that make it look like a palace. For this reason some historians have called it a “Tudor castle-palace”.

Features that make it look like a castle:

Arrow slits: Some of the walls have arrow slits, a few of which are also crossed for crossbows. These could give some protection from an arrow attack, but in the 15th century cannons were becoming more popular and the use of arrows in battle was declining.

Moat: There is a ditch around the outer walls that also goes behind the barracks. This is most likely to have been a moat. John Leland who, in 1541, wrote about a stream that Buckingham re-routed to fill the moat backs up this theory.

Barracks: In the outer court there are remains of barracks, which is unusual and atypical of the time as it was illegal to have a private army. The barracks had very thick walls and up to 400 soldiers could be housed there. The ground floor contained stables and the upper floors were living quarters. Some people thought Buckingham built the barracks because he was planning to seize the throne.

The barracks were built facing Wales where Buckingham had many angry tenants. He could have been worried about an attack so built barracks to offer better protection.

Portcullis: There are 2 portcullises. One is in the barracks, also facing Wales, probably built as another line of defence. The other is on the West Front. This was more likely to have been built for decorative reasons because there was a small wooden door next to it that would have been easy to get through.

Machicolations: These are behind the portcullis in the West Front. They are holes from which boiling water or oil could be poured onto attackers.

Windows: On the West Front there are no windows low down so it would have been hard to get into the castle.

Features indicating it’s not a castle:

Outer walls: In some places the outer walls are not very tall and wouldn’t have been too hard to get over. There is also a wooden door instead of a portcullis.

Crennelations: Most of the crennelations are too thin or too hard to get to, to offer a good form ...

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Machicolations: These are behind the portcullis in the West Front. They are holes from which boiling water or oil could be poured onto attackers.

Windows: On the West Front there are no windows low down so it would have been hard to get into the castle.

Features indicating it’s not a castle:

Outer walls: In some places the outer walls are not very tall and wouldn’t have been too hard to get over. There is also a wooden door instead of a portcullis.

Crennelations: Most of the crennelations are too thin or too hard to get to, to offer a good form of defence.

Position: Castles are usually built on high ground so as to spot invading armies. Thornbury Castle is built on flat ground that was likely to have been a wood so attacks wouldn’t have been spotted until the last minute.

Chimneys: The chimneys are very ornate and too large and decorative for a castle that was built to be attacked.

Oriel windows: Lots of the windows are oriel. These are extremely expensive and quite large. They would definitely not have been put in if the castle was purely for defence.

Garden: Thornbury Castle has very beautiful gardens. These would have been very well looked after and the garden walls, among others, are quite thin so wouldn’t have been hard to break through.

The crennelations and an ornate chimney The oriel windows on the

South Front

After Buckingham was executed Thornbury Castle was left unfinished for over two centuries. In this time the medieval manor house disappeared and the entire interior of the castle became ruined.

In 1720 the base of the unfinished tower, south of the gateway, was roofed over and occupied by a steward.

In 1824 the estate was sold to Henry Howard who renovated it to become a family home. He built the gatehouse in 1885, the Victorian era. We know this because there is a plaque on the wall. This was probably built to show off and make the castle more fashionable. Crennelations were built onto it to be in keeping with the castle.

In the 20th century it became a listed building so any work carried out on it has to be keeping with the original design.

Thornbury Castle was acquired by the present owner in1966 and is now an exclusive hotel and restaurant.

Buildings of the time

No castles were being built in the 16th century because the country became more at peace and this greater feeling of security was reflected in the house design. Also, any wars fought were fought on fields so castles were not needed. Instead of castles, castle walls were built around towns to act as defence.

I will now look at buildings of the time.

Hampton Court Palace: This is architecturally the finest palace the British Crown possesses. Wolsey began to build it in 1514. It was built as a palace and Wolsey held many lavish parties here. It also had crennelations, tall towers, extravagant chimneys and a moat although this was most likely to have been for decoration.

Richmond Palace: This was built by Henry VII in 1501. Richmond Palace was built with a moat, crennelations and a portcullis. It also had a lot of decorative features including oriel windows. Some historians believe it was this palace that inspired Buckingham to build Thornbury Castle and this could be where he got the idea of having oriel windows from.

From these examples it can be seen that Tudor architecture focussed on details – windows and doors were more ornately decorated and more complex. The most striking windows to emerge in the Tudor period was the oriel, which is a projecting, multi-sided window.

The great houses of the Tudor period featured fanciful gatehouses. The idea was to create an impressive, awe-inspiring entrance. This was accomplished through a broad, low arch with tall octagonal towers decorated with ornate false battlements either side. ()

In this way Thornbury Castle is typical of Tudor architecture because it has oriel windows and ornately designed chimneys. The gatehouse is quite impressive and has two octagonal towers either side.

The ‘Tudor Palace’ was therefore a magnificent house with some castle-like features for effect, such as crennelations, portcullis and a fortified gatehouse. The were built by very rich and powerful people.

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

He was descended from two of the sons of Edward III. He was the richest nobleman in England. Henry VIII was descended from only a slightly better line than Buckingham and had no male heir so if his daughter died or wasn’t accepted as queen, Buckingham would have probably been the next in line for the throne. Henry VIII was very sensitive about this.

Buckingham’s favourite word was “Doresnavant” which is an adoption of the motto “Dorenesavant” meaning “Henceforward” showing he was an ambitious man always looking forward.

He was a vain man and wanted everyone to know how rich he was. He even believed himself capable of defying the king.

Thornbury Castle was probably designed on a scale to rival any of the great palaces that existed at the time so he could show how rich and powerful he was.

First, there was the typical courtyard castle, about 200-ft square-around the same size as Herstmonceux. The one completed tower was massive and businesslike showing the huge ideas Buckingham had for Thornbury Castle. The second part is the atypical Greater Outer Court. This is an astonishing part of the castle and clearly shows Buckingham’s intentions for the castle. Although never completed it was intended to be over 300-ft square with buildings on the north, west and south sides. These buildings, equipped with defensive towers and a double-towered gatehouse, were, in fact barracks for Buckingham’s armed retainers. All this confirmed Henry VIII’s suspicion that Buckingham would seize the throne.

Cardinal Wolsey was Henry’s most trusted minister but Buckingham and Wolsey hated each other. It’s thought that Wolsey was responsible for Buckingham’s arrest for treason. It was claimed that in private conversations he said he wanted to take the throne from Mary if Henry VIII died. He was found guilty and executed in 1521.

On top of this he had taken an armed force with him to collect rents in Wales, despite being refused permission by the king. This was interpreted as preparation for rebellion although Buckingham treated his tenants so badly it was probably the only way of getting his rent, making it unlikely he could have raised a successful rebellion.

This only heightened Henry’s suspicion of him when he was accused of treason.

Conclusion

House building is a very personal matter so the only person who really knows the purpose of Thornbury Castle would be Buckingham but looking at my evidence I don’t think Thornbury Castle was built with a serious purpose of defence.

K.B. McFarlane considered Thornbury indefensible and regarded the military features “only as romantic adjuncts of nobility.” And Colin Platt believes it’s “scarcely a fortress in anything but name.”

W.D. Simpson calls Thornbury “the last great baronial house in England to be built in the old castellated style, retaining something of the serious purpose of medieval fortification.”

This shows there are many different views on the purpose of the Castle but I agree with A.D.K. Hawkyard who points out “the oriel windows and the side gate without a portcullis suggested that Thornbury was not designed as a centre of war and rebellion.” On the other hand the military features might well have withstood a small-scale emergency.

I don’t think he built the barracks because he was plotting to seize the throne. Instead they were for housing the armed forces he took with him to collect his rents, or in the chance of a rebellion from his Welsh tenants it would offer him some protection.

In conclusion I think Buckingham built Thornbury Castle to show off his wealth but added defensive features as he was worried about a rebellion from his tenants in Wales.