Knaresborough Castle
This was a site worth seeing even if it was shut and we could only walk around the grounds. It was November so the Poppies had been erected for the memorials and it was just such a beautiful evening of exploring. We'd love to go back to see inside the castle and explore the underground bit!
But let's move onto the history...
Back in the 1100s a Norman baron decided he wanted to build a castle on the cliff above the River Nidd. Henry I approved this and ordered the work which is why we know this, and then later there is evidence that Hugh de Moreville and his men used the castle as refuge in the 1170s after they murdered Thomas Becket.
So we know that the castle has stood there for quite some time pretty much intact. During the Easter of 1173 William de Stuteville was made Governor of the castle until his death in 1203 at which point King John gave custody of all Stuteville's lands, castles, and his son Robert, to the Archbishop of Canterbury of the time, Hubert Walter. Unfortunately, young Robert was never going to grow to inherit his father's land as he died 2 years later, so Hubert continued as custodian while Robert's uncle, Nicholas de Stuteville put his hat in the ring as William's rightful heir. The inheritance was granted, but Knaresborough Castle along with Boroughbridge Castle were retained by the king and did not pass to Nicholas.
The choice behind this seems to stem from the fact that the king recognised Knaresborough as an important fortress due to it being on the cliff and so he threw money at it to make further improvements. In August 1304 Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of Edward I, travelled to Knaresborough Castle and gave birth to her son. She was assisted by a 'holy relic of the girdle of the Virgin' which was brought specially from Westminster Abbey for her. Sadly we don't know for sure why she travelled all the way to Knaresborough to give birth, but it was either organised due to how safe the castle was made by the king, because it was comfortable for her, or because it was closer to Westminster from where she was. It was likely more a power move, but to be honest we care about the castle and haven't yet branched into researching historic royals in more depth. Perhaps we will in future!
Anyway, Edward I rebuilt the castle further between 1307 and 1312, work was completed by Edward II who then gave the castle to Piers Gaveston. Funnily enough Edward II then chose to stay at the castle when Gaveston was besieged at Scarsborough Castle.
1331 brought a change of hands of the castle. Phillippa of Hainault took over the castle, which then officially became a royal residence. The queen liked to spend summers here with her family and it was her son, John of Gaunt, who took over the castle in 1372. His third wife, Katherine Swynford took over the castle when he died, although it is likely that the rest of his vast holdings were inherited by others, but we haven't looked into that.
Much like some of the other castles we've investigated that have ended up ruined, Knaresborough Castle 'came a cropper' during the Civil War. The castle was taken by Parliamentarian forces in 1644 and while intact for 4 years in their possession, the order came in 1648 to dismantle all Royalist castles so it was dismantled and the stone was reused within the town.
Now Knaresborough Castle has another connection to London, and this one is more recent. Much like The Tower of London, KC keeps Ravens and has done since 2000. One of these very Ravens was gifted by the infamous bloody tower. By KC also housed an African Pied Crow called Mourdour who became famous in 2018 for greeting people at the castle in a Yorkshire accent! We almost didn't believe it, but we've seen the video and the crow clearly says' Y'alright Love?' to his adoring fans before replying that he's alright.
The castle itself has been used to house royals, murderers, and even courts during its long history. At one point a courthouse was set up here, and interestingly the former court building within the grounds is now a museum which was also shut when we arrived. Alongside this is the prison for those found guilty which can also be visited, so Knaresborough Castle had quite the varied history in the end!
Haunted? Without a doubt. There is a rumour of two feuding wraiths at the site, locked in battle. One dives to the floor while the other makes a move to attack before they both fade to nothing. Considering the rich history of Civil War, murderers, and those who committed other crimes, not to mention royal protection measures, there is no surprise that this rather eerie ruin has its ghosts. We hope to eventually come back here, especially as Knaresborough as a whole has such an interesting history including Mother Shipton and Blind Jack who we will look into later on in the year. This town has a lot of history to uncover and we have only just uncovered the surface!
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 are 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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