Perhaps its because Virginias history was so tied to the Old World England, that when we got

our independence from King George, we rejected the palace fortresses and stone compounds so
common in Europe. Instead, Virginia adopted her own architecture, moving away from Georgian
influences and opting for structures of wood and local stone that blended more aesthetically with
the geography of the New World.
But for some Virginia residents, the romance and intrigue of a real-deal castle, complete with
turrets and towers was just too much to resist. And who can blame them? These 9 gems in
Virginia range from historical landmarks to modern-day medieval and are used for everything
from offices to residential homes. But regardless of their current purpose, they are all full of
romance, mystery and lofty ambitions just like castles should be.
Melrose Castle, Fauquier County, Virginia

Jerrye and Roy Klotz, MD / Wikimedia Commons

Built c.1853 by Scottish brothers, James and Edward Murray, Melrose castle was named after
Melrose Abbey and served as both a Confederate hospital and a Union Army camp during the
Civil War. This real-life castle comes complete with a three-story tower, parapets and a spiral
staircase leading to the roof. The home cycled through a number of owners until it went into
foreclosure in 2013. Sorry to say for all of you who dream of owning your own castle, you

missed your chance when the house sold again later that year at a discount, no less. I guess for
some people, fairytales do come true.
Bacon's Castle, Surrey, Virginia

Photo Phiend / flickr

Built in 1665 by the Allen family, Bacons Castle has more than one claim to fame. Not only is it
the oldest remaining brick home in the United States, but like any good castle, it comes with
some political intrigue. The castle was given its name in 1676 when supporters of Nathaniel
Bacon, the leader of Bacons rebellion, drove the colonialist Allens from their home. Fortunately,
they returned and the home remained in the family until 1844. The castle is now held by
Preservation Virginia and is open to the public.
Pratt Castle, Richmond, Virginia

whitewall buick / flickr

Although this architectural beauty was demolished sometime between 1958 and 1962, it was one
of the most remarkable and remarked upon houses in Richmond. Built in 1854 by William
Pratt, the house survived multiple fires, the Civil War and more than 100 years of use before it
was torn down to make room for office buildings. But legends remain and history books record
that Pratts Castle was full of mysterious passages, hidden tunnels, secret staircases and even a
concealed room where observers could watch others through the eyes of a painting. Now if thats
not straight-up creepy castle goodness I dont know what is. Pratt's Castle shows the value of
efforts to preserve our historical monuments - it's a shame we lost this one.
Maymont, Richmond, Virginia

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Richmond Castle: eleventh to fourteenth

century enclosure castle
List Entry Summary
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a
copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Name: Richmond Castle: eleventh to fourteenth century enclosure castle

List entry Number: 1010627

Location
The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: North Yorkshire
District: Richmondshire
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Richmond
National Park: Not applicable to this List entry.
Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.
Date first scheduled: 09-Oct-1981
Date of most recent amendment: 18-Mar-1992

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: RSM
UID: 13277

Asset Groupings
This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the
official record but are added later for information.

List entry Description

Summary of Monument
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Reasons for Designation

An enclosure castle is a defended residence or stronghold, built mainly of stone, in which the
principal or sole defence comprises the walls and towers bounding the site. Some form of keep
may have stood within the enclosure but this was not significant in defensive terms and served
mainly to provide accommodation. Larger sites might have more than one line of walling and
there are normally mural towers and gatehouses. Outside the walls a ditch, either waterfilled or
dry, crossed by bridges may be found. The first enclosure castles were constructed at the time of
the Norman Conquest. However, they developed considerably in form during the 12th century
when defensive experience gained during the Crusades was applied to their design. The majority
of examples were constructed in the 13th century although a few were built as late as the 14th
century. Some represent reconstructions of earlier medieval earthwork castles of the motte and
bailey type, although others were new creations. They provided strongly defended residences for
the king or leading families and occur in both urban and rural situations. Enclosure castles are
widely dispersed throughout England, with a slight concentration in Kent and Sussex supporting
a vulnerable coast, and a strong concentration along the Welsh border where some of the best
examples were built under Edward I. They are rare nationally with only 126 recorded examples.
Considerable diversity of form is exhibited with no two examples being exactly alike. With other
castle types, they are major medieval monument types which, belonging to the highest levels of
society, frequently acted as major administrative centres and formed the foci for developing
settlement patterns. Castles generally provide an emotive and evocative link to the past and can
provide a valuable educational resource, both with respect to medieval warfare and defence and
with respect to wider aspects of medieval society. All examples retaining significant remains of
medieval date are considered to be nationally important.
Richmond Castle is a very well-documented example of an early enclosure castle, important not
only for the excellent state of preservation of its twelfth century keep and other later medieval
remains, but also the exceptionally good survival of its earlier eleventh century features. It is one
of a very small number of stone castles built in the first twenty years after the Norman Conquest
to retain almost all its eleventh century masonry, and Scolland's Hall is one of the oldest, if not
the oldest, great halls in the country. The remains of other structures and features, relating to all
phases of the castle's history, will survive within the open areas of its three courts.

History
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details
Richmond Castle occupies a naturally strong defensive position on the cliff above the River
Swale in Richmond. The monument includes the exceptionally well-preserved standing remains
of the castle, its three courts (the barbican or outer court, the great court and the second court or
cockpit), Castle Bank, down to the edge of Riverside Road, where parts of the south range of the
great court survive and the rampart to the north and east of the cockpit and great court
respectively. Unlike most castles built during the years immediately following the Norman
Conquest, the original building material at Richmond Castle was stone rather than earth and
timber. The earliest form of the castle was that of a massive curtain wall around two sides of a
triangular great court. By and large, the masonry of this wall dates to the last thirty years of the

eleventh century, though the parapets and wall walk on the east side are early fourteenth century.
The great court measures 91m north to south and 137m east to west. Unless it carried a timber
palisade, the south side was originally undefended, being adequately protected by the steep drop
down to the Swale. Three projecting towers defended the eleventh century curtain on the east
side while another smaller tower stood at the south-west angle. The curtain on the west side
stands to a considerable height and contains an eleventh century sallyport, a subsidiary gate
through which the garrison could rush to defend the castle from attack. It also contains a
semicircular arch indicating the site of the greater chapel. At the north angle of the curtain,
beneath the later keep, is the eleventh century inner gatehouse, which was the principal entrance
to the castle and led from the barbican. The outer gatehouse is no longer standing, but the twelfth
century east wall of the barbican survives and the line of the west wall is followed by modern
walling. In the south-east angle of the great court is the eleventh century Scolland's Hall, named
after a steward of the first earl. Originally a two-storey building, with the ground floor being
given over to cellarage, the first floor was reached from an external stair and consisted of the
great hall and, at the south-east corner, the earl's private chamber, known as the solar. Original
windows survive on both floors but differences in the stonework on the south wall indicate some
rebuilding in the twelfth century. In the fourteenth century, the hall was modified by the insertion
of a new doorway and window. The solar retains marks from a fire and appears to have been
remodelled in the thirteenth century after being gutted. Eleventh century masonry also survives
in the three rectangular towers projecting from the east curtain. The garderobe or latrine pits and
lower parts of Gold Hole Tower (the garderobe tower) are of that date, as are the two lower
floors of Robin Hood Tower, both of which are barrel vaulted. Robin Hood Tower also adjoins a
blocked eleventh century gateway and housed the eleventh century chapel of St. Nicholas.
Dominating the castle is the square keep, 30.6m high and built in the second half of the twelfth
century over the eleventh century inner gatehouse. A new gateway was cut through the curtain
wall immediately adjacent to the keep and is the present entrance to the castle. It is likely that the
original gateway was blocked at this time, but this has yet to be substantiated. The rooms
flanking the later gateway are modern and do not form part of this scheduling. Following the
general rule, the keep was entered at the first floor, in this case from the wall walk to either side.
Including the basement, the keep is three-storeyed with the upper storey leading via a stair onto
turreted battlements. Of approximately the same date, ranging along the south side of the great
court, are the remains of a brewery, kitchen and other service rooms, along with the foundations
of a collapsed wall tower. Also twelfth century is the wall round the outer court, or cockpit,
which is thought initially to have been enclosed by a timber palisade. The north section of the
wall, and part of the east, is still extant, and, despite the cockpit being used for allotments in the
nineteenth century, the buried foundations of two towers survive to south and east. North of
Scolland's Hall are the ruins of a group of two-storey buildings built in the fourteenth century
and housing a chamber and chapel. Although in a superbly defensive position, Richmond Castle
had no great strategic value commanding little beyond the entrance to Swaledale. It owes its
excellent state of preservation to its being overlooked by the Wars of the Roses and the Civil
War. Its situation was chosen in response to the urgent military needs of its first Norman earl,
Alan the Red. In 1071, when the castle was begun, he needed a strong place to protect his men
against the rebellious English, who continued their uprisings until suppressed by William the
Conqueror's `harrying of the North' in the 1080s. The castle's subsequent role was tied with that
of the Honour of Richmond, which underwent numerous changes of lordship during the Middle
Ages and after. Paramount were the links of its earls with the duchy of Brittany, which was

inherited in 1164 by Conan the Little, one of Earl Alan's descendants. His new title meant he was
subject to both the King of England and the King of France. Considering it wise to surrender the
duchy to Henry II, he also betrothed his daughter Constance to Henry's son Geoffrey of Anjou.
On Conan's death in 1171, Henry kept the Honour of Richmond until it could be inherited by
Geoffrey on his marriage to Constance. After Geoffrey's death in 1186, Constance held the
Honour till her death in 1201 when it passed to her third husband, Guy de Thouars. Guy took up
arms against King John in 1203, following the murder of Arthur of Brittany, son of Constance
and Geoffrey. He consequently forfeited the Honour in 1204 and the castle passed into royal
hands until being granted to Ralph de Blundeville, Earl of Chester, in 1205. In 1218, part of the
Honour went to Peter de Braine, husband of the eldest of Constance's daughters and Duke of
Brittany. However, his share was forfeited to Henry III after he submitted to Louis IX of France.
After being restored briefly to the Dukes of Brittany in 1266 and 1298, the Honour was granted
by Edward I to his second son John, and then passed to John's nephew, John, Duke of Brittany,
upon whose death in 1341, it went to John of Gaunt, son of Edward III. In 1372, Gaunt became
King of Castile and the Honour then passed back to the Dukes of Brittany, in this case John de
Montfort. He forfeited it twice, in 1381 and 1384, due to his allegiance to Charles V of France.
Richard II then gave it to his Queen, Anne of Bohemia, until her death when it was leased to
Ralph Neville, Lord of Raby. In 1399, it was given by Henry IV to Ralph Neville, Earl of
Westmorland, and, from 1425 to 1435, it rested with Henry's son John, Duke of Bedford. It then
reverted to the Crown until c.1450 when Henry VI made partial grant of the castle to Richard
Neville, Earl of Salisbury. In 1462, Edward IV gave both Honour and castle to his brother,
George, Duke of Clarence, and, in 1478, it passed to Richard, Duke of Gloucester who, as
Richard III, retained it till his death in 1484. The Honour merged with the Crown upon the
accession of Henry VII in 1485 and became an occasional grant of the Tudor and Stuart
monarchs until being conferred on the Lennox family in 1675 by Charles II. The castle has been
in State care since 1916 and is also a Grade I Listed Building. During the nineteenth century, the
west side of the great court became the site of an army barracks. Cropmarks showing the plan of
these barracks can be clearly seen from the top of the keep. During World War One the castle
was used to confine conscientious objectors. Graffiti made by these prisoners still survives in the
cells and passageway of the cellblock on the south east of the keep/gatehouse. Features within
the protected area which are excluded from the scheduling are: all modern buildings and walling,
the surfaces of paths and drives, and all English Heritage fittings such as notices, grilles, and
flagpole. However the ground beneath all these features is included in the scheduling.
MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Selected Sources
Other
Sir Charles Peers, Richmond Castle, 1981, Official EH Guidebook
National Grid Reference: NZ 17161 00710

Map

 Crown Copyright and database right 2016. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence
number 100024900.
British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2016. All rights reserved. Licence number
102006.006.
Use of this data is subject to Terms and Conditions.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the
full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1010627 .pdf
The PDF will be generated from our live systems and may take a few minutes to download
depending on how busy our servers are. We apologise for this delay.
This copy shows the entry on 19-Sep-2016 at 07:48:48.
End of official listing

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VA
Posted in Virginia March 25, 2015 by Anna Strock

Most People Dont Know These 9 Castles Are

Hiding In Virginia
Perhaps its because Virginias history was so tied to the Old World England, that when we got
our independence from King George, we rejected the palace fortresses and stone compounds so
common in Europe. Instead, Virginia adopted her own architecture, moving away from Georgian
influences and opting for structures of wood and local stone that blended more aesthetically with
the geography of the New World.

But for some Virginia residents, the romance and intrigue of a real-deal castle, complete with
turrets and towers was just too much to resist. And who can blame them? These 9 gems in
Virginia range from historical landmarks to modern-day medieval and are used for everything
from offices to residential homes. But regardless of their current purpose, they are all full of
romance, mystery and lofty ambitions just like castles should be.
Melrose Castle, Fauquier County, Virginia

Jerrye and Roy Klotz, MD / Wikimedia Commons

Built c.1853 by Scottish brothers, James and Edward Murray, Melrose castle was named after
Melrose Abbey and served as both a Confederate hospital and a Union Army camp during the
Civil War. This real-life castle comes complete with a three-story tower, parapets and a spiral
staircase leading to the roof. The home cycled through a number of owners until it went into
foreclosure in 2013. Sorry to say for all of you who dream of owning your own castle, you
missed your chance when the house sold again later that year at a discount, no less. I guess for
some people, fairytales do come true.
Bacon's Castle, Surrey, Virginia

Photo Phiend / flickr

Built in 1665 by the Allen family, Bacons Castle has more than one claim to fame. Not only is it
the oldest remaining brick home in the United States, but like any good castle, it comes with
some political intrigue. The castle was given its name in 1676 when supporters of Nathaniel
Bacon, the leader of Bacons rebellion, drove the colonialist Allens from their home. Fortunately,
they returned and the home remained in the family until 1844. The castle is now held by
Preservation Virginia and is open to the public.
Pratt Castle, Richmond, Virginia

whitewall buick / flickr

Although this architectural beauty was demolished sometime between 1958 and 1962, it was one
of the most remarkable and remarked upon houses in Richmond. Built in 1854 by William
Pratt, the house survived multiple fires, the Civil War and more than 100 years of use before it
was torn down to make room for office buildings. But legends remain and history books record
that Pratts Castle was full of mysterious passages, hidden tunnels, secret staircases and even a
concealed room where observers could watch others through the eyes of a painting. Now if thats
not straight-up creepy castle goodness I dont know what is. Pratt's Castle shows the value of
efforts to preserve our historical monuments - it's a shame we lost this one.
Maymont, Richmond, Virginia

David
Also known as Maymont Mansion or The Dooley House, this 12,000 square foot castle was
built by James Dooley in 1893 on 100 acres of farmland overlooking the James River during
what was known as the Gilded Age of Richmond. He named the house after his wife, Sally
May, and together they lived there for 32 years. When Sally died in 1925, she gave the house and
land to the city where it is now one of the most treasured parks and historical museums in
Richmond. The house and park are open to the public and show a near-perfect preservation of
Victorian elegance.
Bull Run Castle, Loudon County, Virginia

Leslie Johnson / flickr

They say a mans home is his castle but for John Miller, a castle is his home. Tired of working
for others, John Miller quit his job in 1986 and set about livin the dream and that meant
building his very own castle/antique store/bed-and-breakfast combo right off Route 15 in Loudon
County. Miller has since sold the property and it is closed to the public. But that doesnt mean
you cant look and lucky for you, it can be seen from the road. Trust me, it may not be Windsor
Castle, but it definitely provides a distraction from the afternoon commute.
Burruss Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia

Garret Nuzzo-Jones / flickr

Ok, maybe Im cheating a little bit here, because this isnt TECHNICALLY a castle. But you
have to admit, its pretty amazing. Burruss Hall serves as the administration building for Virginia
Tech and houses several academic departments, as well as a 3,000+ seat auditorium Completed
in 1936, the hall was named after then President of Virginia Tech, Julian Burruss. I think all you
Hokies out there can agree with me, its an auspicious sight and one that never gets old.
Virginia House, Richmond, Virginia

Stephen Mahoney / flickr

This castle-like home was designed and built in 1925 by Alexander and Virginia Weddell using
material from a 16th-century English Manor house that had been deconstructed and shipped to
Richmond. But before you go on Amazon for your own mail-order castle, keep in mind that the
Virginia House took nearly 4 years to build and cost close to $250,000 a hefty price tag back in
the day. The house is now run by the Virginia Historical Society and is open for tours and special
events.
Old City Hall, Richmond, Virginia

Valerie / flickr
No, the word castle is not in this buildings name. But thats a castle if Ive ever seen one. And
like most historical castles, Old City Hall in Richmond served as a place where politics played
out, serving as the city seat from 1894 until the 1970s. Built from local granite, the Hall features
an atrium, arched cloisters, a grand staircase and a stunning clock tower I guess bell towers
were out of fashion by then. Shame, really.
Pythian Castle, Norfolk, Virginia

Doug Kerr / Wikimedia Commons

What could be more appropriate for the Knights of Pythias than a castle? Built c. 1898 to house
the fraternal order of Pythias in Norfolk, Virginia, the building was sold in 1979, but added to the
National Register of Historic Places a year later. Apparently, the first floor is now a pub. Drinks
in a castle? Yes, please.
When we think of castles, we think of kings and queens, knights and ladies, and most
definitely shadowy dungeons and murky moats. But castles come in all shapes and sizes and
while these 9 castles in Virginia may not have fair maidens trapped in towers or dragons
guarding a treasure, what they do have is character and no shortage of their own Virginia flair.
Please remember that some of these castles are private home and should be respected as such,
but for those that are open to the public, few things could be more fun than walking through a bit
of history and old world style. Just dont forget to pack your tiara.
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Anna Strock
Virginia staff writer for Only in Your State, freelance writer and journalist. Even though Anna
has lived other places, somehow Virginia is where she always seems to land.

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