Wakefield- Lowe Hill
Originally the Warrenes, under the aegis of the first earl Warrene, had a castle on the left bank of the Calder. Here they built a motte [mound] about 10 metres high
anda bailey [courtyard within the outer defences] now referred to as Lowe ['Law'] Hill near Thornes, Wakefield. The site was excavated in 1953 but although it
could not be dated it is considered to have been built in the 11th century i.e. sometime between 1066 and 1100. It has been surmised that before the first earl,
William The Conqueror himself who held the Manor of Wakefield in D.B.1086, or his son, William Rufus [d. 1100] had this early castle built at Lowe Hill as a
royal castle. Other suggestions are that it was the Warrene's first castle later becoming the constable's residence after Sandal Castle was organised. This constable
would be a local knight whose task was to garrison the castle. It should be remembered that castles were tax gathering centres as well as defensive structures for
the surrounding lands. William The Conqueror was the first to 'popularise' the Inland Revenue.
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Lowe Hill near Thornes 1890 |
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| A
= Medieval ridge and furrow. B = Lowe Hill motte surrounded
by its bailey. |
The bailey defences are likely to have been a timbered palisade construction, as with all early Norman defence works. These were often hastily erected in order
to defend the relatively small number of Normans against a surprise attack from a much larger English populace. Castles had never been built in England before
and were William I's strategic weapon in the pacification and control of England. In towns, the castles were often built over pre-existing English houses in a
deliberate show of supremacy. The first earl Warrene was a commander in the Norman army at Battle, Lord of Belencombre in Normandy, Reigate in Surrey
and Lewes in Sussex
| By the sheer physical presence of a motte and bailey in an English town, the Norman world of class distinction was emblazoned with a hot iron on the cloth of English society. |
Sandal Magna [Sandala in Domesday]
The second Earl Warrene, it is thought, began building the first Sandal Castle [in some texts referred to as "Wakefield Castle"] on the right bank of the river Calder
overlooking Calderdale. Sandal is likely to have been granted by Henry I Beauclerc in the first two decades of the 1100's after the Battle of Tinchebrai [1106]
probably about the year 1110. Again it was a wooden construction. The motte was of a typical 'upturned pudding basin shape', similar to those found at Tickhill
and York and the keep on the mound's summit became the prison for the Wakefield Manor.
From the summit of the mound most of the Calder valley and manor could be seen. Standing today on the what remains of the motte, a view of the surrounding
district is well displayed. It would not be difficult to imagine standing even higher on top of a keep here, from whence the Norman earl could have stood,
surveyed almost all he held of the manor proclaiming 'I am the king of the castle and you are the dirty rascal'. Any military movement at Pontefract Castle,
the seat of the de Laci barons could also be detected.
of Sandal Castle was complete before the time of the second earl's death [1138]. During the time of the second earl, one of two early Wakefield churches were
built, one being St. Helen's at Sandal Magna. The second earl also gained Castle Acre and Conisbrough, probably as a result of his support for the king. By 1121
the honours of Conisbrough and Wakefield had been granted to St. Pancras Priory at Lewes.
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Sandal Castle near Sandal Magna |
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The work on the castle was continued by the third, fourth and fifth earls of Warrene. The fifth earl, Hamelyn Plantagenet is often credited with strengthening the
keep on the motte with stone but if this took place between 1157 and 1159 then it is possible that William de Blois the 4th earl had these additions constructed.
This is likely to be the earliest ever stone building at Sandal Castle. However it is recognised that most constuction occurred during the time of Hamelyn, his son,
William, 6th earl and John, his grandson, the 7th earl.. These stone additions were later revealed during a period of ten years of archaeological excavation.
Hamelyn was a loyal and trusted subject, connected to royalty by being Henry II's half brother. In addition to Sandal, Castle Acre and Lewes, Hamelyn held
Bellencombre and Mortemer in Normandy.
William the sixth earl Warrene became involved with the Crusades and presumably did notoverly concern himself with construction, his money and efforts being
channelled into the Holy Land or Outremer.
Sandal Castle- The original sand castle
In the time of John, the 7th
Earl Warrene [1231-1304] the stone castle
of Sandal was heavily strengthened from 1240 onwards, making it the chief seat of the manor. It was in this year that
the stone castle was first mentioned in any document and was no doubt nearing completion at
this time. In 1247, the 7th earl's daughter, Isabel, married John II Balliol sometimes called
'Toom Tabbard' or 'Empty Coat' on account of his lack of a coat of arms. It was John who was
later to became the vassal King of Scotland under Edward I. As Queen of Scotland, Isabella
de Warrene linked the castle with Anglo-Norman forays into Scotland, for she is likely to have
met Baliol here at Sandal whilst he was waiting to make an invasion of Scotland. In the time
of John the 7th earl, between 1270 and 1271 the newly constucted barbican and tower were
nearing completion. This form of defence to protect the keep was in the forefront of castle
engineeering of the time. The barbican and its tower were a further impediment to attackers
of the keep, for they would have had to have crossed an inner moat which surrounded this
splendid structure, draw bridge[s], portcullis and another tower. In 1317 the castle was
attacked by the army of Thomas Earl of Lancaser and Maud De Neirford, John 8th Earl Warrene's concubine at the time [later Countess] was
ejected. The question is, was the castle beseiged, attacked, burnt or damaged. One wonders how Thomas Earl of Lancaster ever breached the
barbican to enter the keep in this year. John had been Lancaster'scman until Gaveston was brutally killed in 1312 and had returned to Edward II.
This would have been a great annoyance to Lancaster who held the juxta-posed Honour of Pontefract.
The bailey or castle courtyard had a number of buildings around its
outer perimeter. These buildings catered for business, entertaining and communal
meals.
The latter took place on the first floor of the Great Hall. One wall
of this is still extant and is one of the most visible aspects of the castle
remains today.
Some of the castle staff slept here in the Great Hall at night. To the
east of the hall were private rooms for the earl and his family. Today
to the west of
the hall, can be seen the foundations of the larder, kitchen, bakehouse
and brewery. The constable supervised the castle, and resided in buildings
near
the gatehouse.
..
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Structure of Sandal Castle by the early 1300's |
By about 1320, during Edward II's reign, Thomas Plantagenet, the Earl of Lancaster had completed Sandal Castle as a strongly defended stone fortress. Later
n 1322 Lancaster was to have an abortive attempt at resting power from Edward II at Boroughbridge.
John, the eighth Earl Warrene, Earl of Surrey and
Sussex.[1286-1347] is perhaps the most
interesting and
controversial owner of Sandal Castle. He had succeeded
to the estates in 1304.
In 1306 John married Joan of Bar, grand-daughter
to Edward I. They later divorced without issue.
[There is a Bar Lane in the nearby hamlet of Midgley]
John quarrelled with Piers Gaveston, Edward II's favourite,
and joined the party of barons at Scarborough in
1312, when Gaveston was taken prisoner and murdered
at Blacklow Hill near Warwick Castle, Warwickshire..
But John recanted when Gaveston was
murdered and returned to supporting Edward II,
an unpopular king.
As mentioned elsewhere, John
produced many "divers bastards" and left no lawful issue. The estate
was thus transferred to the crown following his excommunication in 1316
for adultery with an Isabel de Houland [Holland of Upholland, Lancs]
and Maud/Matilda de Neireford*, both producing illegitimate children.
Later John married Matilda4 [others say Isabel
de Holland2 who d.1389]
John 8th earl of Warrene had a disagreement with
the Earl of Lancaster over the murder of
Gaveston and subsequently the Warrenes of Conisbrough
abducted [or she willingly absconded] Lancaster's
wife whilst in southern England and held her at Reigate
Castle in Surrey. This and the fact Warrene had left his
cause against Edward II prompted Lancaster to lay siege to
Sandal and Conisbrough Castles in October 1317. Sandal Castle was supposedly
burnt to the ground although archaeological excavation has
not shown any great evidence of this sacking except for a
thin layer of black ash found beneath a layer of sand and black
rotted vegetation near the bottom of a barbican garderobe completed
about 1270-1271.8
The earl of Lancaster also laid siege to Conisbrough Castle with
a resultant battle in October 1317. In the following year a Robert
Hood of
Wakefield was called to join King Edward II's army for service in
Scotland but he disobeyed. This is not surprising as many men stayed home
in 1318 to
bring in the first good harvest following two severe years of famine
compounded by cattle murain in this year. At the same time the Earl of Lancaster
who
held the manor of Wakefield from 1317-1322 did not attend and no doubt
encouraged his workers to do the same.
* This is also variously spelled Neirford,
Nerford or Mairford but it would seem that Maud
de Nereford was born at Narford Hall,
lying west of the Warrene castle of Castle
Acre, Norfolk. Castle Acre remained associated with
Sandal and the Warrenes until the death of the 8th earl in
1347.
In the 12th year of Ed.(1319) John 8th Earl de Warrene was forced
to grant the manor to Thomas Earl of Lancaster,
probably because of earl Warrene's licentiousness
and consequent ex-communication by the Pope, but equally,
Edward II feared the power of Lancaster and may have been trying to
appease him to retain control of the North
of England..
From
1320 Thomas Earl of Lancaster built a stone
castle at Sandal Magna.
Excavations indicate that the castle
had a keep surmounting the motte with twin turrets
either side and guarding a
passage entry which was protected by a high wall. The
whole being protected by a closed semi-circular barbican
defending a drawbridge.
However Thomas Earl of Lancaster's tenure of Sandal
Castle was short lived when he allied with the Scots
against
Edward II and lost at Boroughbridge in 1322, being
executed at Pontefract in the same year. Pontefract reverted
to Edward II until granted to Henry Plantagenet, Thomas's brother
in 1324.
Nereford, his concubine and subsequent wife and received back the Wakefield estates from the crown whilst the
remainder may have been given to their two sons, John de Warrene and Thomas de Warrene [both born before
the marriage]. However other records indicate these two brothers became Knights Hospitallers and left for the Holy Land, never inheriting due to their
illegitimacy and the fact that they pre-deceased their mother.
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| A reconstruction of the keep and
barbican about 1300 during the 8th earl's time9 |
After the death of Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster
and just-about-everything-else, King Edward II held the Warrene lands
until they were regranted to John 8th earl in May 1326 for the
remainder of his life. The King, by then Edward III, did not regain
Sandal and other Yorkshire lands until 1334. This regrant is likely
to have occurred because John 8th earl supported Edward II
against Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. In October 1330
when the eighteen year old Edward III took power from Isabella
and Mortimer at Nottingham Castle with William de Eland* and
other faithful Yorkshire knights, John 8th Earl of Warrene was the
Lord of Sandal Castle and the manor of Wakefield.
At this time he would have been aged about forty-four, thus he may well have given his assent toWilliam de Eland in support of Mortimer's demise.
* It would seem that this William de Eland of Algarthorpe [now Bagthorpe,
Notts.] was a deputy constable of Nottingham Castle. It was this William who
enabled the young King Edward III to enter Nottingham Castle and have Sir
Roger Mortimer arrested in Queen Isabella's boudoir. William seems to be a
younger brother to Sir John de Eland. Sir John was the high steward for Wakefield Manor under John 8th earl as well as being a High Sheriff or Viscount of Yorkshire. John de Eland was killed along with his son John during what became known as the "Elland Feud".
.
The hypothesis is that the young 'emancipated' Edward III came north with his wife Philippa and
friends, passing through Barnsdale to Wakefield, granting money to build a new Wakefield church in the same year and perhaps staying at Sandal Magna and Pontefract. This secured a loyal base in
Yorkshire where he had been married earlier at York to Philippa of Hainaut ["Hainault"] on
the 24th January 1328 and thence campaigned with Yorkshire forces against the Scots in Durham
in 1327. 1331 is a year in which King Edward III appears to be appraising the likelihood of war
with Scotland and settling to his new found power. Robert de Bruce having died in 1329, the
Scots in 1331 were coming well South into Yorkshire, where they sensed an imbalance of
power during the changeover of the English throne.
In 1332 Edward Baliol [the son of King John II Baliol and Isabel de Warrene] the Scottish claimant, sailed to Fife from Ravenspurn in Yorkshire and took the Scottish crown for a short duration, however he soon came back across the border on a saddless horse almost naked in his attempt to flee the Scots who had discovered he had covertly agreed with Edward III that Edward would be his overlord7. We know that in about the year 1332 Edward de Balliol of Scotland, son of King John Baliol and Isabel de Warrene [the 7th earl's daughter] stayed at Sandal Castle2 under John 8th earl Warrene's benevolence, John Warrene had been forgiven, for Edward III knew he had to get the assistance of these northern lords to overcome any possible coup against himself. A war with Scotland especially a successful one would secure him a place in their favour. The Scots had made several plunderous excursions into Yorkshire from 1311 and except for the Earl of Lancaster* who lands were purposely avoided, the barons were desperately requesting help. * Lancaster was trying to make an alliance with the Scots against Edward II.
.
Artist's impression of a siege
Following Edward Balliol's unceremonious departure from Scotland, three English divisions were amassed against its Northern neighbour, one at Sandal Castle
and later, two at Pontefract under the Earl of Norfolk and the King. [an earlier Earl of Norfolk's daughter had married the 6th Earl Warrene]
They moved northwards to Berwick to overwhelmingly defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill setting the scene for Crecy and Calais. Edward Baliol was once
again placed on the Scottish throne.
See sketch
of Sandal Castle and Wakefield from
1722 the castle was destroyed in 1648
along with that of Pontefract.
Sandal Castle in 1460 is where the "Grand Old Duke of York" [ the Yorkist, Richard Plantagenet] of the nursery rhyme, marched his men before he was killed
at the battle of Wakefield:
'The Grand Old Duke of York he had ten thousand men, he marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again.
When they were up they were up and when they were down they were down and when they were only half way up they were neither up nor down'.
Excavations of the castle site
The Yorkshire Archaeological Society had visited the remains of Sandal Castle in 1869. By 1893 Dr. J. Walker, a Wakefield historian, and H.S. Childe, a
mining engineer, carried out the first archaeological investigation of the site. Walker paid labourers to dig sample trenches, from which he drew a plan of the castle.
Fortunately he did not dig deeper and disturb the earlier levels. The aim was to confirm the evidence of an Elizabethan drawing of the castle. The trenches appear
to have followed wall faces and Walker misidentified various structures.
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J.W. Walker's sketch of the remains of the
Great Hall in 1893. |
Pilkington family in 1954. The Pilkington's had held it since 1912. Pottery was identified from locations as far afield as Norfolk, Oxfordshire and West Sussex.
| County |
Pottery
Type |
Near Estate |
| Norfolk |
Grimston
Ware |
Warrene's
Castle Acre |
| Oxfordshire |
Oxfordshire |
Henry
de La Walda's estate of Wing, Buckinghamshire [steward
to Wakefield Manor in the early 1300's] |
| Sussex |
West
Sussex Ware |
Warrene's
Lewes |
| Yorkshire |
Cistercian
Ware, Wrenthorpe Pottery, Outwood, Potovens. |
Warrenes
Sandal Castle and manor |
The barbican probably completed in 1270-71 as excavated in 1968-70
The fine ashlar stone work
can be seen in its almost pristine state whilst the upper
ashlar has been 'robbed' for local building
stone. It is possible to visualise the superboriginal appearance of the stone castle from these remnants.
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| Timeline for the owners of Sandal Castle William I de Warrene b.1055, d.1088 and Gundreda of St. Omer, Flanders. They both introduced the Cluniac Order into England at St. Pancras, Lewes when they established a priory in1077-8. He sought to marry Edith Ceannmhor, d. of Malcolm Ceannmhor, [Malcolm III] but Edith was then married to Henry I Beauclerc. This marriage may have been the reason for William's hatred of Henry, and helped in causing William to join Henry's son Robert Curthose in a rebellion. William I de Warrene supported the King against the barons but was fatally wounded by an arrow at the Battle of Pevensey. William II de Warrene [William de Placetis] 2nd earl de Warrene, b. 1081, d.1138. He married Isabel [=Elizabeth] de Vermandois (her second marriage after Robert de Beaumont, the first Earl of Leicester, d. 1118). The eldest son of William the first earl Warrene, was granted the Sandal estates in 1107. He granted the parish church of Halifax to St. Pancras priory, Lewes and in 1190 founded a Cluniac daughter house of Lewes at Castle Acre, Norfolk. His daughter Adeline married Henry Ceannmhor, Prince of Scotland, earl of Northumbria and Huntingdon. The 2nd earl probably built the first Sandal Castle of timber. He carried the Warrene Shield. In 1101 William 2nd earl supported Robert Curthose against Henry I and for a time was banished from the kingdom for his efforts. He was reinstated by Henry two years later and redeeemed by distinguishing himself at the battle of Tenchebrai during a Normandy conquest against Curthose. It may be at this time William the 2nd earl was granted the manor of Shelf, north-east of Halifax before being given the Wakefield manor. William III de Warrene, 3rd earl, b~1119 d.1148 on crusade in Laodicia, Palestine. He married Adeliade Talvas [b. abt. 1110, Sussex]. The 3rd earl left no male heir, they had one child, Isabel de Warrene [b.1137, d.13th July 1199]. Isabel married Hamelyn Plantagenet of Conisbrough. The Warrene coat of arms or azure checky is derived from the Count of Vermandois arms through Warrene's wife. William de Blois 4th earl Warrene Isabel, daughter of William 3rd Earl Warrene was given in marriage to William de Blois, son of King Stephen. William de Blois died in 1159, Isabel and William had no issue. Hamelyn Plantagenet 5th earl, b.1129 d.1202. A natural son of Geoffrey of Anjou, he assumed the name Warrene upon his marriage in 1164 to Isabel, widow of the 4th earl. Henry II Curtmantle tried to get 'widow Warrene' to marry his brother William but the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, disallowed this on the grounds of consanguinity, subsequently she was given in marrage to Hamelyn, Henry's half brother. She is buried beside her husband at St. Pancras priory, Lewes. Hamelyn is credited with building the very early Norman stone fortifications of Conisbrough Castle replacing the earlier wooden motte and bailey built about 1100 and similarly at Sandal Castle. Hamelin supported Henry II and was one of the nobles to donate to Richard I's ransom.In later life he attended Prince John's coronation [1199] and the oath of alliegance by the king of Scotland, William Ceannmhor, at Lincoln towards John and England [1200] as well as playing host to King John at Conisbrough. One of Hamelyn's daughters became a concubine of John. William Plantagenet Warrene 6th earl. b.1166, d.1240 In 1204 King John lost his campaign in France, and like all the English nobles who held land in France and supported John, the sixth earl's Normandy estates were confiscated by Phillip II of France. In 1225 he married Maud Marshal, daughter of the great knight William Marshal.William the 6th earl was loyal for a time to King John against the barons and indeed is one of only four nobles whose name appears in the Magna Charta for John. But by the summer of 1216 he had deserted John and was supporting an invasion by the Dauphin, Louis of France. The sixth earl supported Edward III. He confirmed Kirklees priory in 1236 and also visited the Holy land and the Shrine of St. James [Santiago] at Compostella, Northern Spain. Maud Marshall held the Wakefield Manor from 1240 after the 6th earl's death to 1252 when her son John 7th earl de Warrene came of age. John was only 9 years old when his father died. John 7th earl Warrene b.1231, d.1306 He married Alice de Lusignan in 1247. He succeeded in 1240 on the death of his father. He was aged 16 years when according to John Major the ballad hero Robyn Hode was supposed to have died [1247] Also in 1247 the 7th earl's daughter, Isabella de Warrene was married to John II Balliol. 
< John II Balliol and Isabella
WarreneJohn the 7th earl was a half brother to Roger III Bigod through their mother Maud Marshal. It was during the John the 7th earl's time [1274] that the Wakefield Court Rolls were begun. In 1296 the 7th earl was appointed warden for Scotland by Edward I. In the same year Robert III Butler of Skelbrooke, an inspiration for Robyn Hode was pressed to death at York. 1299- at the Battle of Falkirk, Edward I and John 7th earl Warrene triumph over the Scots. John was an ally to Simon de Montfort and a bitter enemy of his wife's relatives the de Lusignans, she was Henry III's half sister. He held Lewes Castle near de Montfort's greatest battle at Lewes. He attended Edward II's investiture as a knight at Caernarvon Castle in 1306. William de Warrene b.1256, dvp.1286 -he was ambushed and killed at a tournament in Croydon. He married Joan de Vere d.of Robert de Vere 5th earl of Oxford. He pre-deceased his father so never becoming an earl, dying at the age of 30 just after his marriage. His son John was born in the year of his death. John 8th earl Warrene b.1286 d.1347 - probably from the Black Death. He was a major land holder in East Anglia. He eventually married one of his concubines, Maud de Nereford of Narford Hall west of Castle Acre. In 1317 he had Alice de Laci abducted. She was the husband of Thomas Plantagenet earl of Lancaster, this and Warrene's disagreement with Thomas over the death of Gaveston may have been the start of the 'Elland Feud'. However there had been strong disagreement over who held lands in the region ['quo warranto'] since the time of the 7th earl.. The eigth earl may have owned the Macclesfield Psalter, now housed at the FitzWilliam Museum at Cambridge. In 1333 he gained the title of Count Palatine when he gained the earldom of Strathearne from his cousin, the claimant to the crown of Scotland, Edward Balliol. In 1240 he was ordered to supply 200 of the 500 rabbits for Henry III's Christmas feast. The 8th earl was was seriously flawed in marriage and a profligate. In 1347 John 8th earl died whilst with his 'companion' Isabel de Holand. His two illegitimate sons by Maud de Neirford now Countess Warrene, did not inherit, becoming Knights Hospitallers in the Holy Land. The earldom lapsed at John's death. For this same year Joseph Hunter claimed that the non-historical ballad figure Robyn Hode died at Kirklees priory which lay within the Wakefield Manor. [But see the death of Stephen II Le Waleys of Burgh Wallis in the same year]. The line of Maud de Nereford, lost the lands after her death [~1360], these lands then passed to Edward III's young son, Edmund de Langley whilst Pontefract Castle and its honour resided in the hands of the king's eldest son, John of Gaunt, granted some time after 1322 A victim of the Black Death or Great Pesrtilence 
Mr Haldane of Clarke Hall North Wakefield excavated the site of St. Swithen's chantry, which lay a little to the east of Clarke and Midgley Halls on a piece of land called St. Swithen's Close. The chantry was founded by John 8th earl of Warrene, lord of Lewes [Sussex], Conisbrough, Castle Acre, Sandal, and the manor of Wakefield. It was built for plague victims, who could attend devotionals whilst others could attend their parish churches without the fear of plague or 'cadaveric particles' being transmitted. It is ironic that the 8th earl may have died from the Black Death or Great Pestilence [in the 21st year of Edward III,about 1347-1348, at the age of approximately 61]. Matilda/Maud de Neireford (now Countess de Warrene) lived on until about 1360, her two sons John and Thomas, who both became Knights Hospitallers in the Holy Land, pre-deceased her. The Wakefield Manor reverted to Edward III and the barony and revenues were granted in 1362 by Edward to his son Edmund [Plantagenet] de Langley. The earl's title moved south to Arundel in Sussex. |
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Sources:
1. Colour photographs kindly taken by Derek Hirst of Barnsley, to whom once again I am greatly
indebted. DOWNLOAD a zip file of larger versions.
2. Yorkshire Past and Present, Thomas Baines.
3. A Descriptive History of the Wakefield Battles, G. Crowther.
4. History of Cawthorne Rev. C.T. Pratt,1881.
5. Walks in Yorkshire, Wakefield and Neighbourhood W.S. Banks, Longmans, London.
6. The History of Wakefield, The Rectory Manor, Thomas Taylor 1886.
7. Bulmer's Gazeteer, The History of Yorkshire, 1892.
8. Butler, Lawrence. Sandal Castle Wakefield. Wakefield Historical Publications.1991.
9. Photograph of visitors information, on site, Sandal Castle.
10. Butler, Lawrence. Sandal Castle Wakefield. Wakefield Historical Publications.1991.
11. Leatham W.H. Sandal in the Olden Time 1839, - an historical poem which purports to describe the siege of Sandal in 1317
Links:
Conisbrough Castle
Wakefield Museum Page
Further Reading:
Walker, J.W. History of Wakefield.
1934, second edition 1939.
Copyright © Tim Midgley 2000, revised 31st January 2010