sheriff hutton. the south-east corner of the inner court … hutton.pdfthe castle studies group...

71THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 29: 2015-16THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 31: 2017-18

Sheriff Hutton. The South-East corner of the Inner Court viewed from the Middle Court. Entranceand SE Tower, perhaps associated with or accommodating the chapel.

CSG Annual Conference - April 2017 - Sheriff Hutton



ABOVE: Aerial view of Sheriff Hutton from the west. Neville’s lodgings and chambers are in therectangular corner tower in the lower right hand corner. Photo taken in July 1951 prior to recenthousing developments. (CUCAP GU82)BELOW: Pre-1887 photograph showing the view from the south from the park to the castle acrossthe double ditch. The SW tower to the left hand corner. Taken from Dennison 2005, 133 - originalphotograph is in the Tony Wright collection.



Sheriff Hutton: ABOVE: Measured earthwork survey taken from Dennison (2005, 124).BELOW: Schematic reconstruction taken from Dennison (2005)


Sheriff Hutton

In 1534 John Leland wrote of Sheriff Hutton "Isaw no house in the north so like a princelylogginges" although Leland, writing for HenryVIII, knew this was the home of Henry FitzRoy,the king’s natural son. As the 15 year old boywas also, at that time, Lord President of theCouncil of the North, and Warden of the March-es towards Scotland he and his court based inthe castle were effectively the government ofthe North.The village, as the name states, is built on theend of a lowish promontory in the rolling claylands of the Vale of York. This gives the mas-sive stone quadrangular castle some extra visualprominence, particularly viewed from thesouthern approach road from York (The castleis invisible from, and has little view of, thenorthern approach). Leland reports the stone forthe castle came from Terrington three milesNNE, on the edge of the Howardian Hills,where a Jurassic limestone was quarried.John Neville 3rd Baron Neville de Raby (c.1337-1388) was granted a licence to crenellatein 1382 and make a castle in his lands of Shiref-hoton. Building, on an apparently virgin site,started around this time. An earlier timber cas-tle, beside the parish church, probably original-ly built by a Bulmer - Bertram de Bulmer beingthe eponymous Sheriff of York in 1115 - existedand as the Nevilles increased their holdings inSheriff Hutton on several occasions they hadobtaining this earlier old castle and its parkbefore 1257. The Nevilles had become increas-ingly powerful during the 14th century and wereexpanding many of their homes in the north (c.f.Middleham). The site by the church was notadequate for the grand house now required forthe Nevilles (still, in 1382, of gentry statusalthough John’s son Ralph was made Earl ofWestmorland in 1397). The castle remained ahome for the increasingly powerful Nevillesuntil the death of Richard Neville, Earl of War-wick, known as ‘Warwick the Kingmaker’ in1471 when it was seized by the crown. For thenext 50 years it was used as a centre of royalauthority in the North periodically hosting the

Council of the North and becoming home forthe titular President of the Council and hisbona fide advisors.In 1537, shortly after John Leland’s visit Hen-ry FitzRoy died and the Council of the Northstarted to make increasing use of the King’sHouse at York, yet the castle remained anoccasional residence for the President of theCouncil until the end of the 16th century. Inthe 17th century, the castle remained, at leastpartly, occupied and functioned as a manorialcourt but it began to be systematically robbedof its lead, the valuable large timbers, smalliron work and things like decorative wainscot-ting. There was also some stone robbing al-though the value of that stone was not greatand, hence, we are left with todays ruins.The deer park of Sheriff Hutton predates thequadrangular castle being in existence before1282, this originally lay east of the originalcastle but was enlarged in 1334 and again inthe late 14th century to occupy some 290 hect-ares (720 acres) south and south east of thevillage. Marton Priory, founded by Bertram deBulmer in the mid 12th century, lies 7 kmNW. The parish church of St Helen’s has a12th century nave and tower. lt contains thestone effigy of Sir Edmund Thweng (d. 1344)(the Thweng’s were the Neville stewards) andan alabaster effigy of a boy, reputedly EdwardPrince of Wales (1473-84), the 10 year old sonof Richard III who was born and died at Mid-dleham Castle, but more probably a Nevillechild, possibly Ralph Neville, died c.1436.The village, originally Saxon, shows sign ofplanned enlargement in the mid 12th and late13th/early 14th centuries. A grant for a marketand fair was made in 1378.In design the inner court of the castle is similarto Bolton and Wressle castles, although appar-ently somewhat less regular when consideredin detail. Overall the inner court measures 66mby just over 52m externally. Adjacent to thesouth eastern tower, forming part of the east-ern curtain wall, is the gatehouse which led outinto the middle court. This is thought to havebeen an early 15th century addition to the



castle and retains a frieze of four heraldicshields dated after 1402. This gatehouse is oneof the features which suggests that the castlewas designed as a high prestige residence withconsiderations of the display of wealth and pow-er taking precedence over the needs of defence.The gatehouse has no has no clear survivingevidence for the provision of a portcullis andcould perhaps be circumvented by a groundfloor doorway through the southern curtain wall.The south western tower has the best views overthe Vale of York and is thought to have includedparts of the high-status accommodation. lt wasdivided into four floors with barrel-vaulted


basement, ground floor rooms and well lit firstand second floors approximately 6m and 5mhigh respectively. Each floor had windows inthe southern and western walls, and where themoulding survives, appear to have been typi-cally trefoil headed, often with twin lights. Theother three corner towers are similar in designexcept that in place of the two high roofedupper floors there are three less lofty storeys.There is evidence that ground level chamberswithin the curtain walls also had windowsfacing out of the castle and it is possible thatthe doorway through the southern curtain wallwas mirrored on the northern and westernwalls as well.

Suggested phasesof development forSheriff Hutton vil-lage. (From Denni-son, 1998).


ABOVE: Armorial shields over the gatehouse entrance with heraldic devices.BELOW: Sheriff Hutton. Unknown artist. Medium Etching and aquatint on paper. Dimensions Image:122 x 174 mm Collection: Tate Acquisition Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistancefrom the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, 1996. Reference: Tate Britain:T11671. Probably a view from the south-east, c. 1820. The bridge in the background is interesting.The wooden Lady Bridge crossing the double canals had gone by the end of the 16th century, butthere was evidence for a footbridge in approximately the same position into the 20th century.



Sheriff Hutton (detail). Drawing is part of the Patrick Allan Fraser Album. Medium: Etching onpaper. Dimensions 86 x 169 mm. Purchased by the Tate Gallery as part of the Oppé Collection withassistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996. Tate ReferenceT11607. The north side of the castle’s inner court is shown, with York Minster in the far background.This album dates from the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century and comprises ninety-twoindividually itemised drawings and prints, some of which have now been removed and separatelymounted. It was once owned by the gentleman engraver Francis Place and formed part of hiscollection of ‘pictures, prints drawings & other things belonging to my painting room’ which in hiswill he bequeathed to his second wife, Ann Wilkinson. Place died in 1728 and his wife in 1732,when the collection was inherited by their two daughters, Frances, who married Wadham Wynd-ham in 1733, and Ann, wife of Stonier Parrott.

ABOVE: The north view of Sheriff Hutton near York, dated 1721. Samuel and Nathaniel Buck. TheBuck drawing compares closely to the unknown artist of the above etching, who evidently was inthe circle of Francis Place. Place’s early style was very similar, c.f. Richmond, c. 1670.



Sheriff Hutton, View of the NW Tower (Possibly kitchen and services with chambers over). Re-mains of the vice stair on the right.



Bibliography

Goodall, John, 2011, The English Castle 1066-1650(Yale University Press), 329-31, 330, 373, 438.

Hislop, M., 2007, John Lewyn of Durham: a medi-eval mason in practice (Oxford: John and EricaHedges: British Archaeological Reports BritishSeries 438), 67-8.

Dennison, E. (ed), 2005, Within the pale: the storyof Sheriff Hutton Park (by the Sheriff HuttonWomen's Institute Community Pale Project)(York: William Sessions) (esp chap ‘The SecondSheriff Hutton Castle’, 96-121)

Jackson, M. J., 2001, Castles of North Yorkshire(Carlisle),70-74 (plan)

Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses ofEngland and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press), 390

Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by coun-ties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press), 298-9

King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (Lon-don: Kraus) Vol. 2, 525

Ryder, P.F., 1982 (paperback edn 1992), The Medi-eval Buildings of Yorkshire (Ash Grove Book), 87-107

Colvin, H. M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson,John, 1975, The history of the King’s Works Vol. 3:1485-1660 (part 1) (London), 293-5

Pevsner, N., 1966, Buildings of England: Yorkshire:North Riding (London), 339-40

Illingworth, J. L., 1938 (republished 1970), York-shire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield), 142-3

Calthorp, C., 1923, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH York-shire: North Riding Vol. 2, 174-76

Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns ofEngland (London: Methuen and Co)

Mackenzie, J. D., 1896, Castles of England; theirstory and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2,259-61

Wheater, W., 1884, Historic Mansions of YorkshireVol. 1, 214-32

Tempest, S., 1875, The History of Sheriff Hutton andDistrict

Turner, T. H. and Parker, J. H., 1859, Some accountof Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3Part 2, 11, 419

Grainge, W., 1855, Castles and Abbeys of Yorkshire237-42

Gill, Thomas, 1852, Vallis Eboracumenses, 426

Todd, G., 1824, Castellum Huttonicum, Some Ac-count of Sheriff Hutton Castle (York)

Bigland, J., 1812, Beauties of England and WalesVol. 16, 248-50

Buck, Samuel and Nathaniel, 1774, Buck's Antiqui-ties (London) Vol. 2, 343

Periodical Articles

Richardson, Shaun and Dennison, Ed, 2010, ‘Re-cent work by Ed Dennison Archaeological ServicesLtd’ CBA Forum (newsletter for CBAYorkshire),19-50

Richardson, Shaun and Dennison, Ed, 2008-9, ‘Ar-chitectural and Archaeological survey of the North-east Tower of Sheriff Hutton Castle’ Castle StudiesGroup Journal Vol. 22, 179-200 (extensive report)

Speight, Sarah, 2008, ‘Castles as Past Culture: Liv-ing with Castles in the Post-Medieval World’ Châ-teau Gaillard Vol. 23, 385-94

Richardson, Shaun and Dennison, Ed, 2007-8,‘The Castles of Sheriff Hutton’ Castle StudiesGroup Journal Vol. 21, 172-88

2002-3, ‘Sheriff Hutton Castle’ Castle StudiesGroup Newsletter Vol. 16, 32-3 (news report)

Dennison, E., 1998, ‘Recent Work at Sheriff Hut-ton’ CBA Forum (newsletter of CBA Yorkshire),7-12

Dennison, E., 1997, ‘Sheriff Hutton Castle’ TheArchaeological Journal Vol. 154, 291-6

Coulson, Charles, 1993 Aug, ‘Specimens of Free-dom to Crenellate by Licence’ Fortress: The castlesand fortifications quarterly Vol. 18, 3-15 (reprintedin Liddiard, Robert (ed), 2016, Late Medieval Cas-tles (Boydell Press), 221-240

1934, The Archaeological Journal Vol. 91, 390

1893, Journal of the Society of Antiquaries Vol. 289-11

Pritchett, J. P., 1887, ‘Works of the Nevilles’ Jour-nal of the British Archaeological Association Vol.43, 229-31 (plan)

Guidebooks

Howarth, Richard W., 1993, Some notes on theCastle at Sheriff Hutton


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