Continuing our journey into the medieval past, daughter Sophie and I recently visited Skipton Castle to learn more about our English history.
The imposing castle dates from 1090 and was built on the site of a Roman fort. Later the building was strengthened and fortified by Robert Clifford, the first Lord of Skipton after he was granted the castle by King Edward II
Lady Anne Clifford was born in the castle in 1590, her father intended her to inherit the property, however, her uncle inherited, and it was not until she reached the age of 53 that she finally inherited her castle from her cousin.
The Clifford family were Royalists and Lady Anne was mistress here during the English Civil War.
The English Civil War 1642 – 1651 – Roundheads v Royalists
As the name suggest, the Royalists were supporters of King Charles and the Monarchy. The Roundheads were Parliamentarians, supporters of a mostly Puritan Parliament including Oliver Cromwell.
Charles I ruled England without Parliament for eleven years, an era that became known as the ‘Eleven year Tyranny’ .
The Civil war broke out in 1642 and during that time there were only three major battles.
In 1644, The King lost control of the north of England at the Battle of Marston Moor.
The Royalists were no match for the joint armies of Parliament and the recruited Scots, which led to a Royalists defeat.
The narrow stones steps lead to the dungeon. There are no records of escapes and prisoners here spoke of being treated in a fair and just manner.
The Conduit Court is found at the heart of the castle, the impressive yew tree was planted by Lady Anne Clifford in 1659.
I’ve included my amateur video tour of the castle and as usual, I hope you’ll excuse the penchant I have for informal commentary that I record for my friend.
The video brings the castle to life and needed to be included, it also includes a glimpse of the remains of the castle moat.
The pictures below show how some of the rooms featured on the video may have looked during medieval times.
The Banqueting Hall, the Kitchen and the Withdrawing Room
The Kitchen Today
If you would would like to learn more, the Castle Website is worth a look.
Upon leaving the castle, Sophie and I chatted to Peter, one of the castle guides. Peter has worked at the castle for over thirteen years and quite happily filled in some of the gaps in our knowledge.
The castle is now privately owned, it was purchased in 1956 from the descendents/relatives of the Clifford family. Apparently it was acquired to prevent Billy Butlin (of holiday camp fame) from purchasing the castle and turning it into a hotel.
Would I recommend a visit to Skipton Castle? Absolutely I would, though because of the number of steep and narrow steps, it’s not suitable for the disabled, wheelchairs or baby push-chairs. However, well behaved dogs are allowed!
Skipton itself is also worth taking the time to look around especially if like me you are a fan of street markets.
The Market traders on the Greek Olive stall and Mr Bashir’s fruit stall happily fed me delicious samples from their stalls. The strawberries and peaches were delicious and at the Greek stall I became a new fan of the very tasty pickled garlic with olives, not to mention the authentic homemade feta cheese. Thank you gentlemen.
© nansfarm.net 2017 Article linked to the Word-prompt ‘Penchant’
Bravo Susan. AN entertaining and educational look at history. You meld the past and the present day well. Your commentary and photography enticing. Thank you for this tour into your history. Hope you will share more articles like this one.
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Thank you so much for your kind comments which as usual are much appreciated. Rest assured there will be more articles to follow.
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Thanks for the lovely tour, and all the beautiful pics. I liked the History story, and I’m always interested in old Castles, we’ve nothing like them here in Australia, being such a relatively new settlement….
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When I’ve exhausted Yorkshire I may have to step over the border into Lancashire and have a look at what it too has to offer, but I doubt that will be anytime time soon as there’s still so much to see here on my doorstep. Thank you Ivor.
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A lovely tour, thank you Sue. There are so many castles to see. Northumberland is our go to county at the moment.
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Thank you Peter. That’s on my list too, we spent time up there when my son was at university in Newcastle.
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We regularly stay in Warkworth and use it as a touring base. If you are ever in Alnwick, head for Barter Books and plan on a long time stay!
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I’ll do that Peter, I always intended to visit Alnwick but never did.
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Thank you for sharing this, Sue. A most enjoyable tour this morning. I am ready to strike out and take in the day, all the while longing for the beauty of your environs!
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Thank you again Ethel for your comments, much appreciated.
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