Spofforth Castle
OS grid reference:- SE 364 510
The ruins of Spofforth Castle, a fortified manor house belonging to the powerful and aristocratic Percy family, one of the most important and influential families in northern England, stands in the village of Spofforth, in North Yorkshire.
The ruins consist of the remains of the hall and solar wing of the castle which has some fascinating features including an undercroft built into the rock. The back of the building is set into a rock outcrop, so the rear entance leads directly onto the upper floor. The most striking part of the remains is the corner turret, which still stands to its full height and still retains its roof.
Spofforth Castle was originally an eleventh century manor house, founded by William de Percy, the first of the great medieval Percy dynasty, he was nicknamed 'Aux Gernons', which meant the Bewhiskered. William came over from Normandy during the reign of King William the Conqueror, who granted him estates in the north of England. The name was taken from Percy, a fief near Villedieu in the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. Many of his Percy descendants were to bear the Christian name 'Algernon' in reference to the historic nickname.
In 1125, Richard de Percy and the rebel barons who opposed King John are said to have met at the Castle to draw up the provisions of the famous Magna Carta. Later generations of the family in the early thirteenth century, added a stone hall house, of which the undercroft still remains.
Henry de Percy was granted a licence to crenellate or fortify the house by King Edward II in the early fourteenth century. He purchased Alnwick Castle in 1309, which was later to replace Spofforth as the family seat. In 1314 he accompanied King Edward II on his Scottish campaign to relieve Stirling Castle which culminated in a disastrous rout for the English forces at the Battle of Bannockburn. Henry was taken prisoner, but was ransomed by the Scots and later returned to his estates, but died soon after.
The famous Harry 'Hotspur' Percy, so called for his impulsive and fiery temper, was born at Spofforth Castle in 1364, he was killed whilst whilst leading a rash charge at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, by an arrow hitting his forehead, while leading a revolt in collusion with Owen Glyndwr against the first Lancastrian king, Henry IV.
Henry IV at first allowed Hotspur's body to be interred at Whitchurch. In response to rumours that he had survived the battle, his attitude hardened and he had it disinterred. Hotspur's body was set up in Shrewsbury, impaled on a spear between two millstones, and was later quartered, its parts dispatched to separate locations in the kingdom, his head impaled on a pike at the gates of York, a grim warning of the king's terrible retribution to others.
The Percy family lost possession of their estates, including Spofforth, when Hotspur's father, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland supported Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York, in another rebellion against the king in 1405, after which Percy fled to Scotland, and his estates were confiscated by the king.
Henry Percy was killed fighting a furious rearguard action as his army was routed at Bramham Moor whilst in further revolt against Henry IV. His severed head was subsequently displayed on London Bridge. The power of the Percy family was shattered, the north of England became the domain of their political rivals and their estates were granted to Sir Thomas Rokeby, Sheriff of Yorkshire, who had commanded the royal forces in the battle.
A little later the family regained their properties, however in 1461 Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland along with his brother Sir Richard Percy, lost the lives fighting for the Lancastrian cause at the bloody Battle of Towton, a decisive Yorkist victory. The Yorkist Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known to history as 'Warwick the Kingmaker' advanced to Spofforth, plundered the surrounding countryside and burnt the castle.
Nine years later, the family estates were restored in 1473, to his son, Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, who commanded the Yorkist reserve at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, but never committed his forces to the battle. He received a pardon from the new Tudor king, Henry VII. In 1489, Sir John Egremont led a riot in protest at high taxation imposed by Henry VII, Percy was targeted by the rioters and lynched. He was buried at Beverley Minster.
Thereafter Spofforth Castle remained neglected. In 1559 the building was restored by another Henry, Lord Percy, who made it an occasional home. The building was briefly garrisoned by Parliamentary troops during the Civil War who later slighted Spofforth Castle.
Spofforth Castle was given to the Office of Works in 1924 by Baron Leconfield. The ruins are now in the care of English Heritage
Images courtesy of Paul Johnson
Historic Buildings in Yorkshire