Devizes Castle Historic Details

By 1113 this wooden Castle was burned to the ground. It was rapidly rebuilt in stone by the Viceroy Bishop Roger. It is said "there was not a more splendid fortress in Europe and one of the most gorgeous in Christendom". Roger spent great and incalculable sums on it.

What you see now is all in the inner bailey, surrounded by the Moat, with the old keep of the Castle now just a flat area on the West of the Castle. Due to Cromwell's cannons and mortars, a battery of ten guns was set up in the Market Place on 21st September 1645. Cromwell demanded the surrender of the Castle "for the use of King and Parliament". The then Governor Sir Charles Lloyd, in reply declared his intention of holding the Castle "'til the death of the last man".

Cromwell continued his bombardment all day and night when finally a granade (or shell) fell into the Keep in which was the powder magazine. This killed several men and the garrison decided to capitulate. On 4th May 1646 it was resolved by Parliament that the Castle be demolished.

For nearly two hundred years the site laid waste and the local people, builders and masons used the Castle as a convenient quarry. So much stone was removed that it can be seen throughout Devizes and nearby local towns. At the beginning of the 18th century, two windmills were erected for the crushing of rape seed and later grinding snuff, a product for which Devizes was then becoming noted.

Around 1840 the South windmill was demolished to clear the site for the now South Tower thus starting the creation of the castellated mansion. The Castle fell into disrepair after the Second World War and the lead on the roof was removed in 1952.

Since 1966 various members of one family have owned the castle building, excluding the South Tower, and have continued to maintain the site, clearing the moat, creating a proper drive and putting the building back in order. In 1992, lead was put back onto the roof, involving the use of a helicopter to lift roofing lead onto the North Tower. There is still a long way to go before the Castle will be splendid again!

Notable features of the current castle include:

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page