Codnor Castle is a ruined thirteenth-century castle in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, England. The land around Codnor

Codnor

Codnor is a Derbyshire village in the Amber Valley district, and a former mining community, with a population of nearly 5,000. It is approximately 12 miles from the city of Derby and 14 miles from Nottingham by road.-History:...

 came under the jurisdiction of William Peverel

William Peverel

William Peverell , was a Norman knight, and is shown in 'The Battle Abbey Roll' to have fought at the Battle of Hastings.-Biography:...

 after the Norman conquest. Although registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

 the site is officially, as at 2008, a Building at Risk.

The castle is a stone keep and bailey fortress and was established by William Peverel

William Peverel

William Peverell , was a Norman knight, and is shown in 'The Battle Abbey Roll' to have fought at the Battle of Hastings.-Biography:...

. The present fragmentary remains represent a three-storey keep and a strong curtain wall and ditch, flanked by round towers. The outer bailey is on a lower level and was constructed at a later period. The castle overlooks the Erewash

Erewash

Erewash is a local government district and borough in eastern Derbyshire, England, to the east of Derby and the west of Nottingham. It contains the towns of Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre and fourteen civil parishes....

 valley and the counties of Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 and Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

. It originally had a deep moat and on its eastern side there was once a considerable abundance of trees, which have now been cut down. On the west side there was a courtyard that was strongly fortified by huge round towers, which had battlements. In other parts of the ruins there is evidence that the outer walls had loopholes included to allow bowmen to use them if necessary.

By 1211 it was owned by Henry de Grey

Henry de Grey

Sir Henry de Grey of Grays Thurrock, Essex , was a favourite courtier of King John of England.-Family:Sir Henry was the son of Richard de Grey and probably a great-grandson of Anchetil de Greye of Rotherfield Greys in Oxfordshire...

, a descendant of the Norman knight Anchetil de Greye

Anchetil de Greye

Anchetil de Greye was a vassal of William the Conqueror, whom he accompanied in the Norman conquest of England.-Life:Anchetil de Greye is specifically named in the Domesday Book of 1086...

. Henry's descendants include the long line of Lords Grey of Codnor

Baron Grey of Codnor

Baron Grey, of Codnor in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of England. Sir Henry Grey, grandson of Richard de Grey and who saw military service under Edward I, was summoned to Parliament by writ in 1299...

, the Lords Grey of Ruthyn

Baron Grey de Ruthyn

The title of Baron Grey de Ruthyn was created in the Peerage of England by writ of summons in 1324 for Roger Grey, a son of John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton. It has been abeyant since 1963...

, Wilton

Baron Grey de Wilton

Baron Grey de Wilton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 23 June 1295 when Reginald de Grey was summoned to the Model Parliament as Lord Grey de Wilton. This branch of the Grey family of aristocrats was based at the Wilton Castle on the Welsh border in Herefordshire...

 and Rotherfield

Rotherfield Greys

Rotherfield Greys is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of the village of Rotherfield Peppard....

, Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...

 and the Earls of Stamford, and the extinct families of the Dukes of Suffolk and Kent. His son Richard settled in Codnor

Codnor

Codnor is a Derbyshire village in the Amber Valley district, and a former mining community, with a population of nearly 5,000. It is approximately 12 miles from the city of Derby and 14 miles from Nottingham by road.-History:...

 and was a loyal Baron to Henry III

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

. Along with his brother John they served the King in the Holy Land. John Grey distinguished himself in the Scottish wars and found himself in great favour with Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

. Together with William D'Eincourt, the Lord Grey commanded all the knights of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in case of an invasion.

Henry, the last of the family, died during the reign of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. He left part of his lands to his sons, Henry and Richard.

The remainder went to his aunt Elizabeth Grey, who in 1429 married Sir John Zouche, the youngest son of the fourth Baron Zouche

Baron Zouche

Baron Zouche is a title that has thrice been created in the Peerage of England.-Genealogy:The de la Zouche family descended from Alan de la Zouche, sometimes called Alan de Porhoët and Alan la Coche , a Breton who settled in England during the reign of Henry II. He was the son of Vicomte Geoffrey I...

 of Harringworth

Harringworth

Harringworth is a village and civil parish in East Northamptonshire extremely close to the Northants-Rutland border. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 247 people....

. Sir John Zouche of Codnor was three times High Sheriff of Derbyshire

High Sheriff of Derbyshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...

. The castle remained in the hands of the Zouche family for two hundred years until they sold up and emigrated to Virginia in 1634.

Sir Streynsham Master

Streynsham Master

Sir Streynsham Master was one of the 17th century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681 and is credited with having introduced the first administrative reforms in the Madras Government.Returning to England, in 1692 he...

, High Sheriff of Derbyshire

High Sheriff of Derbyshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...

, who bought the Codnor Castle estate in 1692, is reported as the last resident of the castle. He lived there until his death in 1712.

Codnor Castle was situated on high ground, and commanded an extensive prospect to the East, of which a small portion of the walls remain, and a dovecote entire. From the walls and foundations, it appears to have been a place of considerable extent. On the south it had a large square court, from which were two entrances into the castle; on the east side was a broad deep moat, and on the bank grew a double row of trees, which were cut down about the year 1738. The park belonging to the Castle contained about 2200 acres (8.9 km²) of land. In the early part of the 13th century there was a castle here; and in the reign of Henry III., it was the chief seat of Richard de Grey, whose descendants, the Barons Grey, of Codnor, possessed it for many years, the last of whom, Henry, a philosopher and alchymist, in the reign of Henry IV. obtained a license to practise the transmutation of metals; he died in or about the year 1526, when the Codnor estate passed to Sir John Zouch, who had married Elizabeth, the aunt of the last possessor. The Codnor estate was sold by Sir John Zouch and John Zouch, Esq., his heir apparent, in 1634, to Archbishop Neile, and his son, Sir Paul. Their descendant, Richard Neile, Esq. sold the manor and castle of Codnor, with its members—Heanor, Loscoe, and Langley, and the manor of Codnor Park, in 1692, to Sir Streynsham Master

Streynsham Master

Sir Streynsham Master was one of the 17th century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681 and is credited with having introduced the first administrative reforms in the Madras Government.Returning to England, in 1692 he...

, who was high sheriff in 1712, and occupied Codnor Castle, but even then it was in a ruinous state, and since that period it has entirely fallen into ruins and it is said six farm houses with other convenient buildings, were raised from the materials collected from the ruins. The Cromford and Erewash canals here unite.

Today the remnants of Codnor Castle are a fragile ruin, its few remaining high walls supported by scaffolding. Signs at the perimeter fence indicate that the site is now owned by UK Coal Mining Ltd

UK Coal

UK Coal plc is the largest coal mining business in the United Kingdom. The Company is based in Harworth, in Nottinghamshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

 and that public access is prohibited. However, good views of the castle's remains are possible from nearby public footpaths.

In June 2007, Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

's Time Team

Time Team

Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...

 programme carried out an archaeological dig around the castle, with some interesting results. The most spectacular find was a perfectly-preserved medieval gold coin found in the moat, which is now displayed at Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...

.

External links

• Codnor Castle - official website
• Bibliography of sources relating to Codnor Castle
• Heanor & District Local History Society covers the Codnor area, and their site contains a page (with photographs) of the castle
• Codnor & District Local History & Heritage website - Codnor Castle webpage
• "Time Team arrives at Codnor Castle" - Ripley & Heanor News (June 14, 2007)
• Earthwork Analysis English Heritage Research Reports (contains maps)