Stafford Castle

Stafford Castle

 Before Norman time’s motte and bailey castles in England were unheard of. Stafford was a thriving town, centred around the church and market. Stafford had small villages that were probably poor although it had a few large landowners such as the Saxon Earl Edwin, who had a large manor in Bradley. Earl Edwin supported William the Conqueror after Harold was killed, but later rebelled against him. Lands belonging to Earl Edwin were seized by the King and given to the Norman followers. Lands west of Stafford were given to Robert De Toeni a younger son of Ralph De Toeni the king’s bearer. In 1070 it is said that Robert De Toeni (who later called himself Robert De Stafford) built the castle to provide a safe base for him and a few Norman followers. Stafford is a motte and bailey castle and was built by digging a ditch and using all the earth to form a mound (motte), and it overlooks two enclosures (baileys). Recent work in the field between the castle and the Newport Road has also revealed the site of a deserted medieval village. The buildings would have been of timber when the castle was first built and could have consisted of a chapel (dedicated to St Nicholas) a granary, a barn, a kitchen, a bake house, a brew house, stables and a black smith shop. Somewhere in the bailey there would have been a well. The top of the motte was originally defended by a stockade with a fighting platform around its edge. Within, there would have been timber buildings such as towers and a large hall. There was little change over the next 200 years and it remained in the De Stafford family and probably stayed in its original timber state until 1348. In February 1348 Edward III granted Ralph De Stafford permission to build a large stone residential keep on top of the existing motte, this was rectangular and had octagonal towers at each corner.

Ralph was born in 1299 Son of the 1^st baron of Stafford Edmund and his wife Margaret Bassett and in 1327 he was knighted and served with the army in Scotland.

Ralph De Stafford made contact with a stone mason John of Burcestre and made an agreement with him. When Ralph planned his new castle at Stafford he was concerned to make it more comfortable to live in stronger than the earlier castles have been.

In 1332-1336 He served in several Scottish campaigns

1337 Appointed steward of the king’s household

1338-1343 served in Flanders and France

1344 Founded Augustinian Friary in Forebridge, Stafford

1345-1347 was appointed seneschal of Aquitaine, served in France, fought at the battle of Crecy, one of the king’s Marshalls to receive the surrender of Calais

1348 chosen as one of the founders of the order of the garter

1348 Stafford Castle begun to be built in stone

1351 created Earl of Stafford

1352-1365 Served in France, Scotland and Ireland

1372 died at Tunbridge of old age, worn out by constant military service

 In 1444 Humphrey Stafford great grandson of King Edward III of England owned Stafford castle. He was born at Stafford and was the son of Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and Anne of Gloucester, daughter of Edward III's youngest son Thomas of Woodstock.

When Humphrey was a child his father Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford died and he became 6th Earl of Stafford, inheriting a large estate with lands in more than a dozen counties. He was knighted in 1421 and became a Privy Councilor in 1424. He was made a knight of the Order of the Garter in 1429.

He married into the wealthy and influential Buckingham family, where he was created Duke of Buckingham.

The Staffordshire Knot

Today this is often used as a county badge but it was originally the badge of the Stafford Family. The first duke of Buckingham began to use it about 1450. It was used on cushions and furniture and would have been worn on the livery of the lords Stafford’s servants.

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) restored the castle and it remained in the family until 1643. He played a major role in Richard III of England's rise and fall. He is one of the suspects in the disappearance and murder of the Princes in the Tower. Buckingham was related to the royal family of England.

The Stafford’s were a family of soldiers and were rarely at Stafford because they had many greater castles in which to live in.

In 1643 during the civil war the castle was held for the King by old lady Isobel Stafford. After a minor skirmish in May, the castle lay besieged for eight weeks, and though relieved by the cavaliers in July, was immediately evacuated on the unexpected arrival of a large parliamentary force under Sir William Brereton. In December, the castle was demolished by the order of the parliamentary committee in Stafford.

In 1800 the castle remained a ruin until the Jerningham family of Norfolk who succeeded to the Stafford barony, cleared and rebuilt the keep in the new gothic style on the surviving medieval walls. Only the east wing was completed, possibly due to the instability of the mound.

In 1950 The Castle which was still owned by the descendants of the Jerningham Family was abandoned due to its deterioration which hastened by subsequent neglect and vandalism.

Lord Stafford granted the castle and the keep and part of the inner bailey, as deed of gift to Stafford borough council in 1961

In 1978 Consolidation and archaeological work began at Stafford castle and Was opened to the public in 1980.

In 1991, Stafford Festival Shakespeare was established. It is one of the UK’s leading Open Air Productions, which is held annually between June and July at Stafford Castle. They reenact the writings of Shakespeare at this historic venue completely open to the elements but all seating for the production is under cover.

Previous performances and actors have covered these plays:-

·         1991 - Henry V - Robert Hardy (Chorus)                                                                                              

·         1992 -  A War of the Roses - Tom Watt (Richard III)

·         1993 -  A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Kristian Schmid (Puck), Julia Sawalha (Hermia)

·         1994 - Hamlet - Jason Riddington (Hamlet), Hildegard Neil (Gertrude)

·         1995 - As You like It - Russell Porter (Orlando), Richard Norton (Silvius) Nicholas Pinnock (Hymen)

·         1996 - Macbeth - Rula Lenska (Lady Macbeth), Robert Beck (Macbeth) and Michelle Swinnerton (A Partner of Measure for Measure)

·         1997 - Romeo & Juliet - Judy Cornwell (Nurse), John Pickard (Romeo), Kellie Bright (Juliet)

·         1998 - The Tempest - Barry Foster (Prospero), Kellie Bright (Miranda), Benjamin McNair (Ferdinand)

·         1999 - Richard III - Ian Reddington (Richard), Maria Charles (Queen Margaret)

·         2000 - Twelfth Night - Jean Boht (Maria), John Challis (Malvolio), Chloe Newsome (Viola)

·         2001 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Toyah Willcox (Titania), Paul Henry (Bottom), Paul Fox (Lysander)

·         2002 - The Taming of the Shrew - Matthew Kelly (Petruchio), Julie-Kate Olivier (Katherina), Leila Birch (Bianca), Nick Conway (Grumio)

·         2003 - Macbeth - Russell Boulter (Macbeth), Glynis Barber (Lady Macbeth)

·         2004 - The Comedy of Errors - Rene Zagger (Antipholus of Syracuse), Julie-Kate Olivier (Adriana), Garfield Morgan (Egeon), Hildegard Neil (Abbess), Richard Elis (Balthazar)

·         2005 - Romeo & Juliet - Bruno Langley (Romeo), Scarlett Johnson (Juliet), Rachel Bell (Nurse), Freya Copeland (Lady Capulet)

·         2006 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Emma Atkins (Hippolyta/Titania), Mark Little (Bottom)

·         2007 - Much Ado about Nothing - Stephen Beckett (Benedict), Siobhan Hayes (Margaret), Sally Lindsay (Beatrice)

·         2008 - Hamlet - Louise Jameson (Gertrude), Joseph Milson (Hamlet), Kellie Shirley (Ophelia)

·         2009 - Twelfth Night – Actors to be announced.

The Partners of Measure for Measure started out at the gatehouse theatre and were a part of the production and wardrobe team.