East Tower - Helmsley Castle (1 x PiP)

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).