Whenever I visit the castle and look up at this particular part of the wall, I can almost envisage one of Henry II's soldiers on patrol peering down at me. From a purely medieval point of view, the outer wall is the highlight. The main building now is very modern. The wall itself is, as I've indicated, 12th century in the main but if you look at the image, you'll see red brick sections which were added much later on to support the crumbling wall. It remains in good condition where it extends into some private car parks. The town of Hertford itself it a pleasant enough place. In and around the castle, there are very old looking buildings which, sadly, don't seem to be put to too much use. Nearby, there is a statue to the man who helped found Hartford in Connecticut in the USA. He was born very close by to the castle and also nearby is a churchyard with graves of soldiers killed in World War One.
Back to the history of the castle and the stand out event in it's history was the death there of Queen Isabella, wife of Edward II and mother to Edward III. After being sidelined by Edward II, isabella and her alleged lover Roger Mortimer deposed the king and had him murdered in 1327. Edward III was crowned king at the age of 14 but it was Isabella and Mortimer who ruled. They did a poor job. Leading a farcical campaign against the Scots in 1328 and doing nothing but enrich themselves, it was up to the young Edward to claim real power and in 1330, he and his close allies stormed Nottingham castle and captured Mortimer and Isabella. Mortimer was hanged and Isabella was disgraced for a long period of time though eventually Edward softened his stance towards her. Her initial imprisonment was also in Hertfordshire, at Berkhamstead. By the time of her death at Hertford castle in 1358, she had reconciled with her son somewhat, taking part in royal festivities and i think there's a pretty strong likelihood that during her final days, Edward III may well have paid a visit to Hertford to see his mother. In 1360, Edward granted the castle to his son, John of Gaunt.
The construction of the castle dates back to the Norman invasion and as a part of William the Conqueror's building programme. The Motte and Bailey, like others in Hertfordshire including one in the town where i live, was built on existing fortifications constructed during the reign of Edward the Elder. Within, what is now, a half an hour drive in my immediate local area, there are three major Norman fortifications., Hertford being the most significant. There are other across the county. You can see William I meant business. In the early 13th century, Hertford fell into the hands of another French invasion, led by Prince Louis and the castle was a site of significant enough importance for the future Louis VIII to lay siege to it. After a month or so, the French captured it. Even after the death of the hapless king John, Louis continued to huff and puff but the momentum to capture the English throne fell away as the barons lost their appetite for him becoming king and crowned John's son as Henry III. When Louis was finally defeated in 1217 by William Marshall, he went back to France and Hertford castle return to the English monarchy.
In the 14th century, Hertford was the temporary home of two captured kings, David II of Scotland and John II of France. David was eventually ransomed but John, after being ransomed himself, returned to England when the French reneged on the terms of his release and he died in London. Later in the 14th century, Richard II took possession of the castle after the death of John of Gaunt as part of his disinheritance of Henry Bolingbroke which he paid the price for and he was deposed by Henry the following year and he became Henry IV. Henry took back the castle and seems to have been reasonably fond of it. He is known to have spent Christmases at the castle.
In it's heyday, the castle was clearly a site of reasonable luxury, fit to house kings and queens and important enough for Henry II to spend a vast sum strengthening it's defences. In fact, in the 16th century it even held numerous parliaments but the palace, which would have housed Isabella, David II, John II and Henry IV was demolished in the 17th century. So, the main attraction now is the outer wall. There are, however, other little snippets of history connected with Hertford's surrounding areas. If I were to get a bus to Hertford, I'd pass through a village called Much Hadham. This is the birth place of Edmund Tudor, husband of Margaret Beaufort and father to Henry VII.
The construction of the castle dates back to the Norman invasion and as a part of William the Conqueror's building programme. The Motte and Bailey, like others in Hertfordshire including one in the town where i live, was built on existing fortifications constructed during the reign of Edward the Elder. Within, what is now, a half an hour drive in my immediate local area, there are three major Norman fortifications., Hertford being the most significant. There are other across the county. You can see William I meant business. In the early 13th century, Hertford fell into the hands of another French invasion, led by Prince Louis and the castle was a site of significant enough importance for the future Louis VIII to lay siege to it. After a month or so, the French captured it. Even after the death of the hapless king John, Louis continued to huff and puff but the momentum to capture the English throne fell away as the barons lost their appetite for him becoming king and crowned John's son as Henry III. When Louis was finally defeated in 1217 by William Marshall, he went back to France and Hertford castle return to the English monarchy.
In the 14th century, Hertford was the temporary home of two captured kings, David II of Scotland and John II of France. David was eventually ransomed but John, after being ransomed himself, returned to England when the French reneged on the terms of his release and he died in London. Later in the 14th century, Richard II took possession of the castle after the death of John of Gaunt as part of his disinheritance of Henry Bolingbroke which he paid the price for and he was deposed by Henry the following year and he became Henry IV. Henry took back the castle and seems to have been reasonably fond of it. He is known to have spent Christmases at the castle.
In it's heyday, the castle was clearly a site of reasonable luxury, fit to house kings and queens and important enough for Henry II to spend a vast sum strengthening it's defences. In fact, in the 16th century it even held numerous parliaments but the palace, which would have housed Isabella, David II, John II and Henry IV was demolished in the 17th century. So, the main attraction now is the outer wall. There are, however, other little snippets of history connected with Hertford's surrounding areas. If I were to get a bus to Hertford, I'd pass through a village called Much Hadham. This is the birth place of Edmund Tudor, husband of Margaret Beaufort and father to Henry VII.
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