Bodiam Castle is located near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge. Dalyngrigge received the land on which Bodiam Castle was built upon his marriage into a land-owning family. He was a Knight of the Shire from 1379-1388. In 1377 Dalyngrigge built a manor house on his land. In 1383 the manor was granted a charter allowing it to have a weekly market and an annual fair.
In 1385, Dalyngrigge was given permission to fortify the manor at Bodiam. Dalyngrigge chose instead to built a castle. Bodiam Castle was built to defend the surrounding area against the French during the Hundred Years’ War. The castle has a moat for defense and no keep. The chambers are built around the outer walls and inner courts.
It is unknown when Bodiam Castle was completed, but historians believe it was in 1392. Dalyngrigge was not able to enjoy the castle long because he was dead by 1395. The castle was inherited by Edward’s son, John Dalyngrigge.
The Lewknor Family and the Civil War
The castle remained in the Dalyngrigge family for several generations until the family line died out during the 15th century. In 1470, the castle passed to Philippa Dalyngrigge, who was married to Sir Thomas Lewknor. The Lewknor family was a prominent land-owning Sussex family.
During the Wars of the Roses, Richard III planned a castle because the family supported the House of Lancaster, although it is unknown whether or not the siege occurred. The castle was confiscated and Nicholas Rigby was named constable of the castle. Bodiam was returned to the Lewknors after King Henry VII ascended the throne in 1485. The castle remained in the Lewknor family until the 16th century. After Sir Roger Lewknor died in 1543, his estates, including Bodiam Castle, were divided among his descendents.
In 1588 John Levett of Salehurst purchased the castle. Sir Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet bought the Bodiam estate in 1623. Upon his death in 1631, his son, John, inherited the property. During the Civil War, Tufton was a Royalist. In 1643 and 1644 Tutfon was forced to sell the castle to Nathan Powell to help pay fines levied against him by Parliament.
Oliver Cromwell ordered the castle dismantled and it was left to ruin. After Powell’s death in 1674, the castle passed to his son and then his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Clitherow. In 1722, Sir Thomas Webster bought the castle and the family owned the castle for over a century.
Restoration
In 1829 Bodiam Castle was purchased by John Fuller. Fuller began restoration of the castle before it was sold to George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, and later to Lord Curzon. Upon his death in 1925, Lord Curzon donated the castle to the Nation Trust, who has owned it since.
Today Bodiam Castle is open to the public. It was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail as the Swamp Castle in the Tale of Sir Lancelot sequence. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Monument, which protects it from any unauthorized change.
Sources:
National Trust “Bodiam Castle” (accessed August 14, 2010)
Phillips, Charles. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Royal Britain. London: Lorenz Books, 2009.
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