<div id="post-body-1792238529692435121" class="post-body entry-content"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>While in Cornwall earlier this month we visited the city of Truro where I&rsquo;m pleased to say we avoided the shops.Inside the cathedral we found this painting which shows an aerial view of the county:</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/TdYD96eg9OI/AAAAAAAADdc/XHzs7Lwg3xg/s576/Cornwall%20Cornubia%20May%202011%20058.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/TdYD96eg9OI/AAAAAAAADdc/XHzs7Lwg3xg/s400/Cornwall%20Cornubia%20May%202011%20058.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="337" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Cornubia -Land of the Saints (John Miller)</span></strong></td> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></td> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>You cannot fail to be impressed by the city&rsquo;s beautiful cathedral, of which more in later posts. It&rsquo;s very difficult to get a picture of the cathedral&rsquo;s exterior as it is surrounded by buildings. I did my best, but this model from inside the cathedral itself was the only &lsquo;complete&rsquo; view I managed.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/TdYDxXf1xYI/AAAAAAAADdY/6B5hOSNvfGY/s576/Cornwall%20Truro%20Cathedral%20model%20&amp;%20reflection%20May%202011%20054.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/TdYDxXf1xYI/AAAAAAAADdY/6B5hOSNvfGY/s400/Cornwall%20Truro%20Cathedral%20model%20&amp;%20reflection%20May%202011%20054.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="343" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">T</span><span style="font-size: small;">ruro Cathedral</span></strong><span style="font-size: small;"> <strong>model</strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div style="text-align: left;"><span>&nbsp;</span></div> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span>While we were there it was also time for the annual Daphne du Maurier festival at Fowey. Inside Truro Cathedral I found this memorial plaque to &lsquo;Q,&rsquo; Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch .</span></span><br /> <br /> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/TdYEJslYMbI/AAAAAAAADdg/Ar4Ya8W8iPw/s640/Cornwall%20Q%20Plaque%20May%202011%20060.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/TdYEJslYMbI/AAAAAAAADdg/Ar4Ya8W8iPw/s400/Cornwall%20Q%20Plaque%20May%202011%20060.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Memorial Plaque - Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (Q)</strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div style="text-align: center;"><span>&nbsp;</span></div> <br /> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1930 Daphne, and Q&rsquo;s daughter, Foy spent the night at an inn on Bodmin Moor; that visit and her meeting with the white-haired vicar of Altarnun inspired Daphne to write &lsquo;Jamaica Inn.&rsquo; </span></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The Daphne and Quiller-Couch connection goes further. Daphne spent the last years of her life in a house call Kilmarth. From the picture windows of the house it was possible to see the sea and onwards beyond towards Frenchman&rsquo;s Creek. Daphne wrote, a few years after &lsquo;Jamaica Inn,&rsquo; what she called her only truly romantic novel. Its title &lsquo;Frenchman&rsquo;s Creek&rsquo; &ndash; a title previously used by &lsquo;Q&rsquo;.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The link continued after Q&rsquo;s death when Foy asked Daphne to finish Castle Dor, a book started by her father.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span><br /> </span></div> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> <span class="mceItemObject" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui> </span> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;">&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>How many of us know that the origin of the saying, &ldquo;An Englishman&rsquo;s home is his castle&rdquo;, was enshrined in law by Sir Edward Coke, first Lord Chief Justice in 1628. In the Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England it said, &ldquo;For a man&rsquo;s home is his castle and each man&rsquo;s home is his safest refuge.&rdquo;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Despite its name I lay no claim to Kent&rsquo;s Scotney Castle. However it has an interesting past and a ghost which features in this, the next of my &lsquo;ghostly&rsquo; blogs. A Jesuit priest, an outlawed smuggler, a faked death, a coffin full of stones, and a murdered tax man take their place in the history of the Castle as well as the ghost.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>&nbsp;</span><img src="http://www.picturesofengland.com/img/L/1031549.jpg" border="0" width="500" height="341" /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">[Picture by Sarah Dawson - PicturesOfEngland.com}<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Scotney</span><span> Castle</span><span> built in the 14^th century by Roger Asburnham was really a fortified manor house designed to withstand attacks by the French on English towns in the south. The castle became the ancestral home of the Darrell family until it was bought by Edward Hussey in the18th century.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Catholicism was illegal in the 16^th century. Thomas Darrel had added priest holes to the castle to be used for hiding priests fleeing from the state. Father Richard Blount, a Jesuit missionary worked from the castle from 1591 to 1598 and conducted secret services for Catholics in Kent and elsewhere.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>At Christmas 1598 Blount&rsquo;s presence was betrayed. Despite the authorities taking up residence in house and conducting rigorous searches Blount escaped capture. Thanks to a ruse by the servants and aided by bad weather Blount was able to let himself out of his hiding place and swim across the moat. He was never caught. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In the 18^th century Arthur Darrell lived in the castle until outlawed for smuggling. Supposedly he died abroad; his body was returned for burial in 1720. At his funeral it is said that as the coffin was lowered into the grave a tall stranger in a black cloak said to a mourner, &ldquo;That is me they think they are burying.&rdquo; The stranger was not seen again.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Did the Darrel fake his own death so he could continue smuggling? In 1924 Arthur Darrel&rsquo;s iron-studded coffin in the Scotney Chapel at Lamberhurst church was opened by the sexton. The coffin contained nothing but stones.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>It&rsquo;s said that Darrel murdered a Revenue Office who had discovered his secret and threw his body into the moat. The Scotney Castle ghost is described as dripping wet, emerging from the moat and staggering to hammer on the front door.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt; line-height: 150%;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">Is the phantom the spirit of the Revenue man? Or is it Father Blount&rsquo;s?</span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Old Wardour Castle is located near Shaftesbury, Wiltshire in South West England. The Castle was built by John, 5^th Lord Lovell on land previously owned by the St Martin family.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pReVRTTSHxE/TivKUbH_JpI/AAAAAAAAD2g/cTdxnwPX2Bo/Old_Wardour_Castle_ruins_-_geograph.org.uk_-_694506.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pReVRTTSHxE/TivKUbH_JpI/AAAAAAAAD2g/cTdxnwPX2Bo/Old_Wardour_Castle_ruins_-_geograph.org.uk_-_694506.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="258" /></a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Old Wardour Castle</strong></span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Photo by Mike Searle </strong></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>(image from Geograph Project Collection)&nbsp;</strong></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>(Creative commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License) </strong></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The castle was bought by Sir Thomas Arundell in 1544. He, a staunch Roman Catholic, was executed for treason in 1552. On his death the castle was confiscated, but later bought back by his son Sir Matthew Arundell.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In May 1643 Thomas, 2^nd Baron Arundell was away on King&rsquo;s business when Parliamentary forces besieged the castle. His wife 61 year-old Lady Blanche Arundell and 25 retainers defended the Old Wardour Castle for 5 days, only surrendering when two mines exploded under the walls. </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After Lord Arundell died his successor returned in 1644 and besieged the castle for four months before retaking it</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However instead of honouring the terms of surrender the Roundheads had first imprisoned and then executed Lady Blanche.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The damage sustained by the castle was so great that the castle was never repaired. Abandoned in the 1700s its ruins have since been incorporated in the grounds of nearby New Wardour House.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_zGtNyC6oM/TivKXXb4ffI/AAAAAAAAD2k/_D8GnwjqHZA/s640/Wardour_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_603734.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_zGtNyC6oM/TivKXXb4ffI/AAAAAAAAD2k/_D8GnwjqHZA/s400/Wardour_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_603734.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="207" /></a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Old Wardour Castle ruins</strong></span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">&nbsp;<strong>Adapted from a photo by Trish Steel </strong></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>(</strong><strong>image from Geograph Project Collection)&nbsp;</strong></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>(Creative commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License) </strong><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lady Blanche has not given up; her ghost did not abandon the castle. At twilight she appears on the walls, haunts the grounds and walks down to the lake.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The family died out in the 20^th century and it is unlikely that one of the castle&rsquo;s supernatural events will be repeated. White owls, seen as harbingers of death, would flutter round the castle as a warning of an approaching tragedy.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Old Wardour Castle was used for some scenes in the modern film Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. What would Lady Blanche, or her ghost, have made of Kevin Costner?</span></div>

<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><br /></h3> <h3 class="post-title entry-title"><br /></h3> <div class="post-header"></div> <div id="post-body-2655483461651060400" class="post-body entry-content"><br /> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0P16Y4T11ww/TtOwFIKLr8I/AAAAAAAAEjI/Aj3ltMmxhv0/s512/800px-Herstmonceux_Castle%25252C_2009.jpg?gl=GB"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0P16Y4T11ww/TtOwFIKLr8I/AAAAAAAAEjI/Aj3ltMmxhv0/s400/800px-Herstmonceux_Castle%25252C_2009.jpg?gl=GB" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The facade of Herstmonceux Castle</strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>(By Brian Raine - Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic license)</strong></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Herstmonceux</span><span> Castle, in East Sussex, has had a chequered existence and like many of England&rsquo;s it has it ghosts.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Sir Roger Fiennes, Treasurer of the Household of Henry VI, started building the castle in 1441. It was one of the first major brick buildings and today is the oldest brick building of any note still standing in England.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>By 1700 the last Lord Dacre, Earl of Sussex was forced to sell the castle and by the end of the century most of it had been demolished. By the early 1900s it had become a ruin before being reconstructed. In 1946 the estate was sold to the Admiralty and it became the home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. In 1993 Herstmonceux Castle was acquired by The Queen&rsquo;s University of Canada; it is now an International Study Centre. </span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The most famous Herstmonceux ghost is the nine-foot tall Phantom Drummer who frequents the ramparts at night. Some accounts say he was killed at the Battle of Agincourt and ever since his death tattoo can be heard accompanied by showers of blue light from his drum sticks. </span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Other versions say the drummer is the ghost of an old Lord Dacre who lived secretly in the castle and beat his drum to ward off lovers of his young wife. He applied phosphorous to his face, clothes and drum and appeared round the castle in a drummer&rsquo;s uniform. His wife became so annoyed she locked him in and left him to die. Unfortunately for her, the sound of his drum could still be heard, frightening her lovers away.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The spectral White Lady seen swimming across the moat at night and standing nearby wringing her hands in torment is believed to be the wraith of a girl from the village. One of Sir Roger's sons had forced his attentions upon the girl; she escaped his clutches by leaping into the moat. Her attacker caught her and dragged her back into the castle. He then assaulted and murdered her.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Visitors to Herstmonceux Castle are now invited take part in a guided tour and become familiar with the stories of the resident ghosts.</span></span></div> <table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e5DXzvP3H_Q/TtOwCybSIcI/AAAAAAAAEjE/NqcDZ-qzjTc/s512/Herstmonceux_castle_aerialview.jpg?gl=GB"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e5DXzvP3H_Q/TtOwCybSIcI/AAAAAAAAEjE/NqcDZ-qzjTc/s400/Herstmonceux_castle_aerialview.jpg?gl=GB" border="0" width="400" height="305" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Aerial View of Herstmonceux Castle</strong></span></td> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><br /> </strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>(By Welshie - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 unported license)</strong></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div> </div> <div class="post-footer"></div>

<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The River Aln skirts the northern side of the town of Alnwick in Northumberland, The remains of Alnwick Abbey with its well preserved 14^th century gatehouse is situated within Hulne Park on the river&rsquo;s bank.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In the town the church of St Michael has Saxon origins but was rebuilt in the 14^th and 15^th centuries; the church has a battlemented tower with some of the finest 15^th century workmanship in the country. In addition to fine monuments inside, the church houses a carved 14^th century Flemish chest.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng38G3wwAI/AAAAAAAAAIo/CvGBNa8eBBQ/s640/Alnwick%20Castle%20002.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng38G3wwAI/AAAAAAAAAIo/CvGBNa8eBBQ/s400/Alnwick%20Castle%20002.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>&nbsp;But it is the castle that has dominated the life and times of Alnwick. The first parts of Alnwick Castle were erected in c1096 by Yves de Vescy, Baron of Alnwick. Its purpose was to protect England&rsquo;s northern border against the Scots and the border reivers. In 1309 the castle was bought by Henry de Percy, 1^st Baron Percy. It has been owned by the Percy family, the Earls and the later Dukes of Northumberland ever since.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The eldest son of the 1^st Earl of Northumberland was also called Harry Hotspur. The</span> nickname, Hotspur&rsquo; is suggestive of his impulsive behaviour. Sir Henry Percy, or Harry Hotspur, acquired a great reputation as a warrior fighting against the Scots and the French in the late 1300s. He helped depose Richard II in favour of Henry of Bolingbroke, who later became King Henry IV.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He led a rebellion against Henry in 1403; but before he could join forces with the Welsh rebel, Owain Glyndŵr, Hotspur was defeated and killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury. His body was displayed at Shrewsbury, impaled on a spear before being quartered and sent around England, his head exhibited on a pole at the gates of York.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hotspur has famous lines in Shakespeare&rsquo;s Henry IV, Part I in which he is killed by Prince Hal (the future Henry V) &ndash; immediately after being stabbed he says, &ldquo;O Harry, thou has robb&rsquo;d me of my youth!&rdquo; A later line is cut off in mid sentence by his death, &ldquo;O Percy, thou art dust and food for -&rdquo; and finished by Prince Hal: &ldquo;For worms, brave Percy.&rdquo;</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In August 2010 a bronze statue of Harry was unveiled in the town of Alnwick. The statue commemorated the 700 year anniversary (in 2009) of the Percy family in Alnwick. There is an earlier statue of Harry Hotspur inside the courtyard of Alnwick Castle.&nbsp;</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4NrFslYI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/Wkea8R9Wy8c/s640/Alnwick%20Castle%20011.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4NrFslYI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/Wkea8R9Wy8c/s400/Alnwick%20Castle%20011.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">&nbsp;<span>Since WWII parts of the castle have been used first as a High School for Girls, then as a teacher training college and since 1981 as a branch campus by the American St Cloud State University.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The Postern Tower houses an exhibition featuring the family&rsquo;s interest in archaeology with frescoes from Pompeii and relics from Ancient Egypt. The Constable Tower contains military displays and the Abbot&rsquo;s Tower the Regimental Museum of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Today the castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England. Only Windsor is larger. Much of the castle is open to the public. There has been increased public interest after it was used in shots for the exterior and interior of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films and for the famous quidditch sequences.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The present Duchess of Northumberland has initiated the establishment of The Alnwick Garden, a formal garden set round a cascading fountain.&nbsp;</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4Pr7PqKI/AAAAAAAAAJU/SEBVYrZTKQo/s640/Alnwick%20Castle%20012.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4Pr7PqKI/AAAAAAAAAJU/SEBVYrZTKQo/s400/Alnwick%20Castle%20012.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The large &lsquo;tree house&rsquo; complex includes a caf&eacute;; the poison garden grows plants such as cannabis and the opium poppy. The pavilion and visitor centre can hold up to 1000 people.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4ZJNNUEI/AAAAAAAAAJo/n4rXcZn1NMg/s640/Alnwick%20Castle%20017.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4ZJNNUEI/AAAAAAAAAJo/n4rXcZn1NMg/s400/Alnwick%20Castle%20017.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>&nbsp;In the town is the prominent Tenantry Column topped by the Percy Lion, the symbol of the Percy Family. The column was erected in 1816 by the tenants to the second Duke of Northumberland after he had reduced their rents in an agricultural depression.</span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4eyv2eCI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/wekeH9wWTEQ/s512/Alnwick%20Castle%20020.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HcW1R2xVTKA/Sng4eyv2eCI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/wekeH9wWTEQ/s400/Alnwick%20Castle%20020.jpg" border="0" width="300" height="400" /></a></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"><span> </span></div>