Helmsley Castle

 

About 10 minutes after Rievaulx Abbey we arrived at Helmsley Castle.

Helmsley Castle, is a medieval castle originally built in wood by Walter l'Espec back in 1120ish. Interestingly this castle was known in ancient times as Hamlake if you like a bit of ancient trivia like we do. It was l'Espec who granted the land to Aelred for Rievaulx Abbey which explains why it was also his final resting place. The castle itself was converted into stone by Robert De Ros (a Baron related to those also buried at Rievaulx) in 1186, and when granted to his son William upon his death a further chapel was then built within the inner bailey. Further work continued as the Castle was passed down to generations upon generations with modifications made to make it more 'Tudor' and then renovations slowly ongoing until around 1587ish or maybe even sooner as a letter is on record detailing the slow movement of works back in 1578. 

Since 1644 the Castle and its ruins have been pretty much how they remain today. The English Civil War saw to the castle's destruction and only the mansion remained intact. The Castle then made its way to the Duncombe family where it stayed and was allowed to fall into disrepair as a country-house view until the villagers took advantage of the space to hold fetes. The ruins were then considered as part of an anti-tank defence in the second world war due to the Earthworks but this was during the guardianship of Sir Charles Peers. The Castle remains owned by the Duncombe family, but of course is upkept by English Heritage.

The main issue with Helmsley Castle was that it was not in-keeping with the style of Castle at the time. This of course made it stand out and be sought after for its grand defence due to the Earthworks, but also allowed its favour to run dry as interest waned and here we are with some less-than-impressive ruins.

We learned all this post-visit, as much like Rievaulx this was a pin on a map selection and we had hoped that by not knowing anything of this place would help us form our own enjoyment and opinions. 

We were actually sorely disappointed by Helmsley Castle. Not Yogi, Yogi loved it, but the humans couldn't see the appeal other than the impressive Earthworks. We thought there used to be a moat here, but walking over the bridges were certainly fear inducing, you can see why it was considered for anti tank defences!

This was another one where you entered through the gift shop or else it would be a public free for all. We were told it was dog friendly by a kind member of staff and sent on our way with a slight glare from the older male volunteer. We were met just past the door with a choice, left or right. Once we had looked at the bronze recreation of the castle in its heyday we decided on left, and enjoyed a peaceful gander past the massive lip of earth encasing the castle until we reached the bridge biding us enter.

There was a statue of a medieval soldier by the entrance among a million mole hills, this was a sight we hadnt seen at an EH property before. Something akin to the King Arthur tribute at Tintagel, this echo of a soldier stood tall on a cold February afternoon. Once entering through the South Barbican we took a moment to explore the space between the outer walls and the sheer drop to the bottom of the earthen wall. The outer stone work was encased in ivy and made for a very calming and picturesque scene, but there wasnt much to see other than the drop below or the building works from the now modern village of Helmsley beyond the trees. Traffic noise from the village spoilt the tranquil surroundings a little but such are the perils of blending the old with the new.

   

We travelled on, over the bridge and through the south gate. Here we were met with the ruins of the kitchens, buttery and hall. Connected to this is the West Tower, barely standing and nothing but a shell despite being impressive in its ghostlike stature. It was empty aside from a ceramic owl peeking from one of the high windows. Leading from the tower is the Tudor Mansion, or what is left of it as the years have clearly been unkind to it despite it surviving the Civil War. It has been made into a little museum of its life before with true to life weapons and canon balls to view. Again there is glass shards and money to be seen, but nothing really jumped out at us to cement the fact that this castle was integral to something in history. Jamie climbed the stairs into the upper rooms that Lauren and Yogi couldnt manage and found that there wasn't anything special here either, the dungeon looking room below the west tower looked promising but didnt hold any secrets only nice views. 

Moving toward the North Barbican, we explored a little more of the inner bailey. Yogi marked the Well which his humans peered down and the East Tower stood high above us looking as though it had been cut in half. This was the most impressive of the Castle ruins as it was gauntlike and imposing. This seemed like a terrifying fragment of a war, one that had actually seen battle unlike the cosy stonework dotted around behind us. There was certainly a bit of a spooky vibe, but nothing on the scale of the Presbytery of Rievaulx. It was a harsh building to look at in such picturesque landscape, but I think it was needed, or else it was just a nice view from the road. 

The ruins of the chapel and bakehouse took us up to the North gate. We zigzagged in between the remnants of walls and were again stunned at how small the space inside the buildings had seemed. Although the castle towers itself never looked to have been practical enough for domestic life and only suitable for battle, I suppose we had forgotten that this was not a true castle, only a stately home with a grand medieval façade. 

We left through the North Gate, over the bridge and through the Barbican back to where we had started with the choice of directions. We opted not to bother to do the reverse or walk the base of the Earthworks as we were not overly impressed by the history we had seen. Perhaps if we had looked this one up before hand we would have been more thrilled by our visit, but it was only on learning of the past which Helmsley Castle had seen that we learnt to appreciate it. We went back to the gift shop which had neglected to refill its one and only water bowl despite several dogs passing through and were made to feel uncomfortable by the elder volunteer again as he followed us about the giftshop as if we were likely to commit a crime. I appreciate the youth of today cannot always be trusted but breathing down the necks of a couple in their late twenties with a Chow Chow seemed unwarranted, especially ones who were EH members. We got our souvenirs and went back to the car a little deflated. This was one we should have looked up but now we savour.

To summarise:

Haunted: 4/10 

Worth the visit: 6/10

Giftshop: 6/10

Ghost count: 0

Dog friendly: Yes

DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images our ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source.. 

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