Helmsley Castle

Helmsley Castle: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helmsley_Castle_English_Heritage.jpg

Tuesday 08 July
Depart: Parkinson Steps: 13.00
Arrive: Parkinson Steps: 19.30
Price: £45.50

Helmsley Castle, sited upon an outcrop over the River Rye, is one of northern England’s most impressive castles. First constructed in the early 12th century, the castle was rebuilt in stone by Robert de Ros II at the end of that century. One of this period’s most striking buildings is the fragmentary East Tower. Hereafter followed a sequence of medieval amendments and modifications common to many elite sites of the period. In the late 16th century, the Manners family, owners since 1508, reconfigured the medieval west range, creating a mansion within the castle’s enclosure with a fashionable long gallery. During the Civil War of the mid-17th century, the castle was besieged by Parliamentarians. When the Royalist garrison surrendered, a significant portion of the castle’s medieval defences were demolished. In the last decade of the 17th century, banker Charles Duncombe purchased the estate in which the partly ruinous castle was located. The site entered state care in 1923, and, in the process of conservation works, many important finds relating to the castle’s history were recovered and are on display in its museum.

This tour will describe the castle’s buildings and its history, with an emphasis on linking the material remains at the site with daily life for the castle’s communities. It will touch upon new research undertaken on the lesser-told stories of the castle’s medieval and early modern community and neighbours, as well as discuss the significance of recent geophysical survey work in the castle’s enclosure.

There will be some time for tour participants to explore the charming town of Helmsley.

The guide for this excursion is William Wyeth (English Heritage), who is involved in a project to share lesser-told stories of folk connected to the castle.

For more information on Helmsley Castle, please visit https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/helmsley-castle/.