Helmsley Castle

The impressive Elizabethan fireplace is decorated with polygonal panels with knots and roses.

Probably the private dining room of the late 16th century mansion. The room contains a handsome carved Elizabethan wooden partition. The room is well, with an oriel window and three eight-light windows. The fireplace on the right is dated 1582 and is decorated with polygonal panels with knots and roses. part of the original floor is still to be seen in this room. The ceiling is decorated with extensive plaster work and a heraldic frieze above the wooden partition, this emphasizes the high status of the room in the late 16th century.

Perhaps better enlarged At the same time as the west tower was being built in about 1200, a chamber block was raised next to it. The chamber block provided the main accommodation for the castle's residents, and probably consisted of a ground floor; or undercroft, with a single large room on the upper floor; open to the roof. this building was transformed from the 1570's into part of an Elizabethan mansion.

Perhaps better enlarged Despite its ruined condition, the east tower remains a dominant feature of the castle today. When first built by Robert de Ros II, about 1200, the tower consisted of a vaulted basement with a central pillar, and an upper floor containing the main chamber. The tower would have been visible for miles around, a symbol of the power of the lords of Helmsley. The original upper floor was a grand chamber, it by the three lancet windows (seen here), with a forth above, just below the original roof line. This first floor room my originally have been used for conducting formal and judicial business. In the 14th century William de Ros II raised the tower to create additional stately rooms, giving the tower its present appearance. This heightening, coupled with the insertion of a vault in the original first floor, gave to tower two additional storeys, the uppermost being an attic with a wooden floor. This addition to the height of the tower can be seen in the difference between the stonework on the lower part of the building and that of the upper third, which starts just below the higher of the two central windows. Then final alteration come the late 14th century when a fire damaged the tower, and the uppermost floor was replaced by a stone vault. At the same time a latrine was inserted in the south-east wall, projecting from the tower. Following the surrender of the castle during the Civil Wall in 1664, the outer face of the tower was undermined and brought down with gunpowder to prevent reuse. The large piece of ruined wall situated to the left of the tower is part of the remains of a chapel consecrated in 1246. Very little else of this building survives. The low arch in on the grass in front of the tower is the location of the water well, depth unknown. (The flock of pigeons in the picture had just taken flight from their normal roosting place at the top of the tower as a result of a low-flying RAF Tornado GR4 passing close by).

Perhaps better enlarged The tower, built originally by Robert de Ros II in about 1200, was used throughout its existence as a solar - a private great chamber that provided intimate accommodation for the castle's owners, away from the adjacent chamber block. When first built, it comprised a basement with two floors above, providing views over the extensive parkland to the west and south, and continues to do so today from ground floor windows. In the 14th century the tower was heightened, another floor being added. A third floor was added in the 16th century, and at the same time new windows and fireplaces were inserted.

Note the small tree growing at the top of the structure.

Perhaps better enlarged The south barbican consists of a central twin-towered gatehouse, originally approached across a drawbridge, flanked by curtain walls with rounded towers at either end. The barbican was built between 1277 and 1285. The gatehouse passage had a portcullis with a double-leaf wooden door behind. Some arrow slits remain - others were later widened into windows. in the 1570's the exterior of the gatehouse and its entrance passage were rebuilt. The carved masonry of the passage might be medieval material reused from Rievaulx Abbey. A craving of an imp on the right-hand side was perhaps placed there to ward off evil spirits. Originally the barbican towers were open at the back, but they were enclosed when the castle underwent major refurbishment during the late 13th to early 14th centuries. The defences were not dismantled following the Civil War siege of Helmsley in 1644, and were probably retained to form an impressive approach to the Elizabethan mansion within the inner bailey.

Perhaps better enlarged The south barbican consists of a central twin-towered gatehouse, originally approached across a drawbridge, flanked by curtain walls with rounded towers at either end. The barbican was built between 1277 and 1285. The 'Defender" is one of three bronze warrior figures located near the south barbican. They were created by the the late Malcolm Brocklesby.

Situated in the grounds of Hemlsley Castle, North Yorkshire