Northborough Castle
Encyclopedia
Northborough Castle, also known as Northborough Hall, is a medieval fortified manor house
in Cambridgeshire
, England
.
, the Bishop of Lichfield
; of the original manor, only the gatehouse
and the hall still survive. The result, according to historian Anthony Emery, was "one of the finest" fortified manors in Cambridgeshire. The gatehouse is dominated by a huge gateway, which, whilst it did not have a drawbridge
or portcullis
, provided considerable protection to the manor behind it. The hall typified the 14th century fashion for improved lighting, with bay windows placed regularly along the line of the hall, and was decorated with wall paintings. Some 16th and 17th-century extensions to the castle were made. Today, the castle is a Grade I listed building.
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
Northborough Castle was built between 1333 and 1336 by Roger NorthburghRoger Northburgh
Roger Northburgh was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. He served as Lord Privy Seal from 1312 to 1316, as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1321 to 1326, and as Lord High Treasurer of England from June to December of 1340...
, the Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
; of the original manor, only the gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
and the hall still survive. The result, according to historian Anthony Emery, was "one of the finest" fortified manors in Cambridgeshire. The gatehouse is dominated by a huge gateway, which, whilst it did not have a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
or portcullis
Portcullis
A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...
, provided considerable protection to the manor behind it. The hall typified the 14th century fashion for improved lighting, with bay windows placed regularly along the line of the hall, and was decorated with wall paintings. Some 16th and 17th-century extensions to the castle were made. Today, the castle is a Grade I listed building.
Biliography
- Astley, H. J. D. (1899) "Northborough church and manor house," in The Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol. 5 pp. 129–40.
- Emery, Anthony. (2007) Discovering Medieval Houses. Risborough, UK: Shire Publishing. ISBN 9780747806554.
- Emery, Anthony. (2006) Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521581325.