Flamborough Castle
Motte-and-bailey castle in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flamborough Castle, also known as the Danish Tower,[1] is a Grade II listed Medieval manor house in Flamborough, East Riding of Yorkshire which has partial ruins existing today.[2]
thepublicAvailable to view from a public pathway
| Flamborough Castle | |
|---|---|
| East Riding of Yorkshire, England | |
Flamborough Castle's Danish Tower in 2010 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Manor house |
| Open to the public | Available to view from a public pathway |
| Location | |
  Flamborough Castle Shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire | |
| Coordinates | 54.114125°N 0.126081°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference TA226702 |
| Site history | |
| Built |
|
| Built by | Marmaduke Constable |
| In use | 12 February 1352 – 1537 |
| Materials | Chalk |
| Demolished | c. 1573 |
History
The first fortified manor house that existed on the site was built around 1090 by the Constable family,[3] and it is mentioned between 1180 and 1193 when a constabularius existed on the site.[4]
The surviving Farnborough Castle structure was built on the site of an oratory constructed in 1319. Construction began on 12 February 1352[5] by Marmaduke Constable (c. 1300 – 1378) after he obtained a licence to crenelate from King Edward III on 24 May 1351.[3][6] The main tower of the Castle was the Danish Tower,[1] and the building was in use by the Constable family until it was abandoned when Sir Robert Constable was executed on 6 July 1537,[3] causing his family to forfeit Flamborough Castle among thirty-four other manors to the King.[7] It was in ruins by c. 1540 until some repairs were carried out in 1543 but the building was largely demolished by c. 1573 when the kitchen was removed.[8][9]
Although the Constable family were able to regain their Flamborough estate from Queen Elizabeth I in 1582, they did not live there as it was in a state of ruin.[10] They sold the Castle in 1636 and the Strickland family purchased it in 1656. The ruins of Flamborough Castle were then in use as a cattle barn by 1798,[4] and was used as a cattle barn until at least 1892.[10] Stones from the castle were stolen over time to construct later buildings in Flamborough[11] with evidence of lime kilns being built on the site in the form of surviving earthworks.[8]
The north wall collapsed no later than 1925,[12] and the vaulted chamber collapsed before 1971.[12]
Excavation
The earthworks surrounding the castle were first excavated by J. R. Earnshaw in c. 1964,[13] and Flamborough Castle was excavated again and also partially repaired between 2017 and 2018.[10]
Description
In 1537, John Leyland visited Flamborough Castle.[8] He mentioned that the building included a tower, a hall, a 'great parlour', a 'lord's parlour', a chapel, a court house, a mill house, and a great barn.[4]
Today, alongside the surrounding earthworks, three walls of the Danish Tower survive and they only stand to 4 metres (13 ft) tall.[1][2]