Sheffield Castle was a castle in Sheffield, England, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been constructed on the site at some time in the century following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. This was destroyed in the Second Barons' War, and construction of a second stone castle began four years later in 1270. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner in this castle and its associated estates for 14 years between 1570 and 1584. The castle was held by Royalist forces for part of the English Civil War, but was surrendered to the Parliamentarians in 1644 following a short siege; its demolition was ordered soon after, and the castle was razed. There are no known surviving drawings or plans of the castle, but excavations in the 1920s revealed stone foundations from the castle begun in 1270 as well as evidence of earlier structures.
Read more about Sheffield Castle: Background, William De Lovetot's Castle, Thomas De Furnival's Castle, Destruction of The Castle, Archaeological Investigations and Remains
Famous quotes containing the word castle:
“If, in looking at the lives of princes, courtiers, men of rank and fashion, we must perforce depict them as idle, profligate, and criminal, we must make allowances for the rich men’s failings, and recollect that we, too, were very likely indolent and voluptuous, had we no motive for work, a mortal’s natural taste for pleasure, and the daily temptation of a large income. What could a great peer, with a great castle and park, and a great fortune, do but be splendid and idle?”
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863)