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Pictures From Bodiam Castles
By Med | April 30, 2006
A large fortified manor house which was built in 1385. It is surrounded by a moat and is one of the most attractive castles in Britain. It is thought it was constructed purely as a residence and it was lived in only until the 15th or 16th century when it fell onto decay. It may have been damaged during the Civil War, but no record of this exists. During the 19th and early 20th centuries some repairs and restoration work was carried out.
The Bodiam Castle began simply as a Saxon hall in as early at A.D. 1066, as recorded in the Doomsday Book. After a Norman Conquest, the hall was taken over by a Norman family, the Bodehams, who controlled the entire area. The hall, or more formally known as the Manor of Bodiam, was changed into the manor house for the Bodehams and become the foundation for the construction of the present-day Bodiam Castle. For three centuries the hall was a place of construction and renovation.
Threats in A.D. 1385f from French forces allowed King Edward the Third to grant Sir Edward Dalyngrigge a license to strengthen and construct the hall into a castle. Edward Dalyngrigge had came into control of the Manor of Bodiam in 1378 when he married Elizabeth Warddeux, who’s family had also married into possession of the Manor of Bodiam. Though, the actual Bodiam Castle is not the site of where the manor house was, it is clearly linked. Edward, not wanting the manor house changed, decided to build a whole new castle nearer to the river, Rother.
The castle served as a military stronghold and a place of residence for the lord and his family. The castle was never actually attacked by the forecasted invasion of the French. For many years the castle was in peace. In the A.D. 1480′s, the castle was surrendered to the Crown after being besieged. After being regained by the Lewknor family in the A.D. 1500′s, it belonged to John Tufton, the second Earl of Thanet from A.D. 1639 to A.D. 1645. During the English Civil War and after the Bodiam Castle had been victimized by the Parliamentary forces, Cromwell ordered the castle to be torn apart.
Bodium Castle – Entrance
Made of a sandy, brown stone, the castle seems to float majestically in a water-filled moat. Surrounding the moat is a broad expanse of greenery, making the perfect setting for this fairytale castle.
Bodium Castle – Well
The inside of the Bodiam Castle was completely destroyed, but the outside was left very much intact. Ownership of the Bodiam Castle has been passed though many hands during the last 270 years. During that time the castle has received very little attention and repairs have been neglected. In 1917, though, Narquess Curzon came into ownership and things began to change. He began restoration and continued in its repairs up until his death in 1925. The Bodiam Castle, now, rightfully belongs to the National Trust, which keeps the site of the castle and the castle in excellent shape.
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