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{{Short description|Ruined manor house in England}} |
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''Torksey Castle''' is located in the centre of [[Torksey]] village, on the East bank of the [[River Trent]]. Lying 12 miles North-West of [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], on the [[A156]]. It is 7 miles to the North is [[Gainsborough Old Hall]] and 10 miles South-East is [[Lincoln Castle]]. |
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[[File:Torksey Castle across the Trent - geograph.org.uk - 209074.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=A view of Torksey Castle ruins from across the Trent|Torksey Castle from across the [[River Trent]]]] |
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'''Torksey Castle''' is an Elizabethan [[manor house]] located in the village of [[Torksey]] on the east bank of the [[River Trent]] in [[Lincolnshire]], England. It is 12 miles northwest of [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] on the [[A156 road]]. Seven miles to the north is [[Gainsborough Old Hall]] and 10 miles southeast is [[Lincoln Castle]]. It is a 16th-century [[Tudor style architecture|Tudor]] stone-built [[Fortifications|fortified]] manor house founded by the Jermyn family of [[Suffolk]]. It is a Grade-I listed building<ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1064079 |desc=Torksey Castle |grade=I |accessdate=16 May 2018}}</ref> and a [[scheduled ancient monument]] but the building is on the [[Heritage at Risk Register]]. The site is private, with no public access, and is only visible from the [[A156 road]] and a [[Right-of-way (transportation)|public footpath]], on the west bank of the River Trent. |
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The Castle is an impressive [[16th century]] [[Tudor era|Tudor]] stone-built [[fortified manor house|Fortified Manor House]], founded by the [[Jermyn]] family, of [[Suffolk]]. |
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The site is strictly private, with no public access and is only visible from the A156 road and a [[public footpath]], on the West bank of the River Trent. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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The [[country house]] was built by [[Robert Jermyn (1539–1614)|Sir Robert Jermyn]] in c. 1560. It may have been built as a waypoint for the Jermyn family's travels to York or as a gift to one of their sons.<ref name=Rodger>{{cite web | url = http://www.lincsheritage.org/community_heritage/guides_information/treasure_trove/article.php?id=18 | title = Torksey Castle | publisher = Heritage Lincoln | accessdate = 2009-01-24 | first = David | last = Rodger}}</ref> In 1645, the property was [[slighted]] during the [[English Civil War]]. Having been taken from the [[Royalist]] Jermyn family by [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]], it was burned by Royalist soldiers based at [[Newark-on-Trent|Newark]]. Very little of the structure remained. |
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Though the Jermyn family retained control of the estate after the Civil War, the property was not restored, but continued to deteriorate. The remains of the buildings were scavenged for usable building supplies by residents of the area. Also, the hall was built quite close to the flood-prone River Trent, which may have stood the family in good stead as a source of transportation and commerce (as the Lords of Torksey had been permitted to levy tolls on the river's travellers), but which also contributed to the damage of the building through flooding. In 1961, the Trent [[river board|River Board]] buried part of the ruins when raising the river bank. |
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It was built in the middle of the [[sixteenth century]], by the wealthy [[Jermyn]] family of [[Suffolk]], some have said it built as a gift to an elder son, or maybe as a convenient resting place on the road to [[York]]. Whatever the reason for its commission, it was to be a home for less than 100 years before, it's almost complete destruction. The West front and part of the kitchen range is all that remains of this once impressive [[country house]]. The present structure never was a Castle, nor could it have coped practically with any sort of attack, being architecturally and structurally unsuitable as a fortress. One posibility given for, it having taken the name "Torksey Castle"(rather than "Torksey Hall"), is that later on, out of the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] movements, that with it's angular projecting towers, crow stepped [[gable]]s(giving it the [[crenellated]] apearance of a castle), in may well have been mistaken as such. Alternatively it was possibly built on the site of an earlier [[medieval]] castle. |
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The west facade and part of the rear wall survive. [[English Heritage]] undertook stabilisation of the building in 1991 but the building is on the [[Heritage at Risk Register]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Torksey Castle, Trent Side, Torksey – West Lindsey|url=https://www.historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/46233|website=Historicengland.org.uk|accessdate=16 May 2018}}</ref> |
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==Origin of the name== |
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It is not known why Torksey Castle was popularly termed a castle. The building was never used as a fortress and would not have been suitable for that purpose. Although the structure is a hall rather than a castle, it bears similar architectural design features, including angular projecting towers and [[crow-stepped gable]]s. According to Heritage Lincoln, these features may have led to its being termed castle.<ref name=Rodger/> Alternatively it may have been built on the site of an earlier [[medieval]] castle. |
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| ⚫ | It is obvious from the materials and architectural features of the remaining structure that the building was constructed, at least in layout if not in [[Ornament (architecture)|ornament]], to the latest [[Renaissance]] fashion.{{Or|date=January 2009}} The lower or [[ground floor]] level is built of thin limestone blocks, is very plain and has small [[mullion]]ed windows, meaning it was probably used as the domestic area of the house, where the servants would have worked, but probably not slept. The upper level is built in red brick in [[English bond]] and most probably constitutes a [[piano nobile]], a principle still very much new in [[Northern Europe]] at the time. Brick at the time, although having been used previously, had rarely been in use in British [[secular]] architecture before this period. Brick was widely considered at this time a lavish building material,{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} due to their handmade nature, the cost of the labour involved, and the scarcity of brick and its manufacture, it was often a case that the kilns used to fire the bricks were constructed afresh on the [[building site]]. All of which added to the expense. |
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'''''It's location by the River''''' |
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== Depictions in Art == |
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The [[River Trent]] at this point near [[Torksey]] used to be very busy, as it linked the then thriving port of [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]] with the [[Midlands]], and ancient laws allowed the Lords of Torksey to collect [[toll]]s from passing ships and passengers using the nearby ferry. |
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Torksey Castle was painted by [[Peter De Wint]] in 1835. The watercolour is now held in the [[Usher Gallery]] in [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]. |
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So most likely the decision to locate there could have been a commercial one; not to mention the Trent, was no-doubt part of the [[Jermyn]]s' route between [[York]] and [[London]], as it would have been quicker by boat than [[carriage]] at the time, but it was also an important strategic position from a military point of view (and this was in the end, to be Torksey Halls' downfall). |
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== Pictures == |
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'''''Slighting''''' |
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Pictures taken January 2024. The panoramic view shows stabilisation work carried out by English Heritage in 1991. <gallery> |
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File:Torksey Castle Jan 2024.jpg|Panoramic view |
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File:Torksey Castle Jan 2024 2.jpg|Fireplace & chimney |
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File:Torksey Castle Jan 2024 3.jpg|Fireplace tower from side |
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File:Torksey Castle Jan 2024 4.jpg|Spiral staircase |
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</gallery> |
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== References == |
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The [[English Civil War]] broke out in 1642, setting brother against brother and scarring the landscape. By the summer of 1645, the Hall at Torksey built by the [[Royalist]] [[Jermyn]] family, had fallen into Parliaments hands. [[Newark-on-Trent|Newark]], some sixteen miles South, still held for the King and it was from there that a unit of some two hundred soldiers surprised the garrison at Torksey. The men stationed there were, as legend has it, "taking the opportunity to drink heavily on account of their [[Captain]] being away in [[Lincoln]] on business". According to reports issued at the time, 140 prisoners were taken and the house was put to the torch. |
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{{reflist}} |
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It was never rebuilt. Thomas, the head of the Jermyn family, died before the restoration of the monarchy under [[Charles II of Great Britain|Charles II]]. The estate surrounding the [[slighting|slighted]] house was passed between several different owners for next 300 years, and what remained of the house itself continued to be used, as a readily available source of building material by local residents. |
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The Hall quickly deteriorated into a ruin. A flood bank was built in the mid-[[Eighteenth century]], leaving the Hall on the wrong side to be protected. The bank was raised further, by the [[River Trent Board]] in 1961, covering for evermore the square floor-plan and the possibility of finding definitive proof of the main entrance. The West wing and kitchen range still stand at their full Elevation. |
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"Today, Torksey Castle stands alone in a damp field, a forlorn monument to a bygone age". The fabric of the building was stabilised by [[English Heritage]] in the early 1990's, but it is only a matter of time before this once proud family home is lost to us forever. The building is on the [[Buildings at Risk Register]]. |
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[http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/121/torkseycastle.htm] |
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[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire]] |
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire]] |
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[[Category:West Lindsey District]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Lincolnshire]] |
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[[Category:Villages in Lincolnshire]] |
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{{Lincolnshire-geo-stub}} |
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[[de:Torksey]] |
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Latest revision as of 07:01, 18 May 2024
Torksey Castle is an Elizabethan manor house located in the village of Torksey on the east bank of the River Trent in Lincolnshire, England. It is 12 miles northwest of Lincoln on the A156 road. Seven miles to the north is Gainsborough Old Hall and 10 miles southeast is Lincoln Castle. It is a 16th-century Tudor stone-built fortified manor house founded by the Jermyn family of Suffolk. It is a Grade-I listed building[1] and a scheduled ancient monument but the building is on the Heritage at Risk Register. The site is private, with no public access, and is only visible from the A156 road and a public footpath, on the west bank of the River Trent.
History
[edit]The country house was built by Sir Robert Jermyn in c. 1560. It may have been built as a waypoint for the Jermyn family's travels to York or as a gift to one of their sons.[2] In 1645, the property was slighted during the English Civil War. Having been taken from the Royalist Jermyn family by Parliamentarians, it was burned by Royalist soldiers based at Newark. Very little of the structure remained.
Though the Jermyn family retained control of the estate after the Civil War, the property was not restored, but continued to deteriorate. The remains of the buildings were scavenged for usable building supplies by residents of the area. Also, the hall was built quite close to the flood-prone River Trent, which may have stood the family in good stead as a source of transportation and commerce (as the Lords of Torksey had been permitted to levy tolls on the river's travellers), but which also contributed to the damage of the building through flooding. In 1961, the Trent River Board buried part of the ruins when raising the river bank.
The west facade and part of the rear wall survive. English Heritage undertook stabilisation of the building in 1991 but the building is on the Heritage at Risk Register.[3]
Origin of the name
[edit]It is not known why Torksey Castle was popularly termed a castle. The building was never used as a fortress and would not have been suitable for that purpose. Although the structure is a hall rather than a castle, it bears similar architectural design features, including angular projecting towers and crow-stepped gables. According to Heritage Lincoln, these features may have led to its being termed castle.[2] Alternatively it may have been built on the site of an earlier medieval castle.
Construction of the hall
[edit]It is obvious from the materials and architectural features of the remaining structure that the building was constructed, at least in layout if not in ornament, to the latest Renaissance fashion.[original research?] The lower or ground floor level is built of thin limestone blocks, is very plain and has small mullioned windows, meaning it was probably used as the domestic area of the house, where the servants would have worked, but probably not slept. The upper level is built in red brick in English bond and most probably constitutes a piano nobile, a principle still very much new in Northern Europe at the time. Brick at the time, although having been used previously, had rarely been in use in British secular architecture before this period. Brick was widely considered at this time a lavish building material,[citation needed] due to their handmade nature, the cost of the labour involved, and the scarcity of brick and its manufacture, it was often a case that the kilns used to fire the bricks were constructed afresh on the building site. All of which added to the expense.
The hall consists of a planned series of ranges around a square courtyard. The symmetrical nature of the surviving main facade makes it a great departure from the usual ad hoc nature which preceded it,[citation needed] and indeed continued up until the mid-seventeenth century.
Depictions in Art
[edit]Torksey Castle was painted by Peter De Wint in 1835. The watercolour is now held in the Usher Gallery in Lincoln.
Pictures
[edit]Pictures taken January 2024. The panoramic view shows stabilisation work carried out by English Heritage in 1991.
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Panoramic view -
Fireplace & chimney -
Fireplace tower from side -
Spiral staircase
References
[edit]- ^ Historic England. "Torksey Castle (Grade I) (1064079)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ a b Rodger, David. "Torksey Castle". Heritage Lincoln. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ "Torksey Castle, Trent Side, Torksey – West Lindsey". Historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
External links
[edit]- Torksey Castle at Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire