[MR] BBC: British Castle Repairs

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On Tuesday the BBC posted two separate stories about repairs to Colchester
and Shrewsbury castles. A study of the history of both castles makes very
interesting reading.

Construction of Colchester castle probably began in 1076. It is said to be
the largest medieval keep in Britain, and is 1 1/2  times the footprint of
The Tower of London's inner keep, the White Tower. The reason is that
Colchester Castle was built on the ruined foundations of the Roman Temple
of Claudius (itself a replacement for the original temple of the same name
trashed around 60 CE during the Boudican revolt). Unlike most Norman
castles, the castle was in Colchester's center rather than forming part of
the town's defensive walls. Most of the castle's stones were scavenged from
other Roman ruins in Colchester.

The castle played a small role in the Baron's wars against Bad King John.
It was garrisoned by French soldiers in support of the barons, but was
surrendered to King John in March 1216 after a siege.

After the medieval era, Colchester's curtain walls were torn down, and the
keep's upper floor was lopped off to convert the building into a prison. It
currently houses a museum.

Repairs to the Grade 1 structure will focus on one of the remaining towers,
repairing damage caused by vegetation, correcting water seepage problems
and roof repairs. The museum will remain open during the work.

The BBC story is found here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62v4kvxkvxo
.

Wikipedia offers this history gloss:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchester_Castle .

Shrewsbury Castle's construction probably began in 1067. It was built using
local red sandstone. During the Anarchy, the castle was held by forces
loyal to Empress Maude, but was captured in 1338 by King Stephen. He had
the entire garrison hanged (not "hung", let's get the terminology straight)
from the castle walls. This act of barbarity forms part of the plot in
Ellis Peters' ONE CORPSE TOO MANY, a novel in the "Chronicles of Brother
Cadfael" mystery series (a recommended read, the whole series!). It was
also the initial episode in the Granada television series starring Derek
Jacobi.

Today Shrewsbury Castle is home to the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum, which
among other treasures has a lock of Napoleon's hair. The castle is classed
as a Grade 1 historic structure.

Repairs will focus on some of the battlements, which are crumbling and pose
a threat to the public using the grounds.

The repair story is at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g40ym1r37o .

More about the castle itself is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrewsbury_Castle .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.