Helmsley Castle

-1120

Walter Espec (“Walter the Woodpecker”), the founder of Kirkham Priory and Rievaulx Abbey, built the first Castle at Helmsley. However, there are assumptions that there was another Castle in the same location after the Norman Invasion between 1066 and 1069.

A firm supporter of King Stephen, Walter Espec built the castle in wood using the double bailey system. Helmsley Castle was his main residence during anarchy and the civil war between King Stephen and Queen Maud.

-1154

Walter Espec was childless. Therefore, upon his death, Helmsley Castle fell into the care of his sister Adeline and her husband, Peter de Roos.

-1186

Robert de Ros and his son Everard de Ros begin rebuilding the castle. They converted Helmsley Castle to a stone building. They also constructed two main towers, two round corner towers, and the gateway on the castle’s southern side.

-1227

Peter de Roos dies, and his son William inherits Helmsley Castle. William constructed a chapel in the courtyard during his stay in the castle from 1227 to 1258.

-1258

After inheriting it from his father, Robert de Roos, William’s son, became the Lord of Helmsley Castle. Between 1258 and 1285, the castle underwent several adjustments. Robert built a hall and kitchen and the magnificent barbican gates. He also strengthened the castle by constructing a wall that split the castle into southern and northern parts.

Robert de Roos’s descendants continued strengthening the castle up to 1334. During the 5-day visit of King Edward III in 1334, they heightened the East Tower.

-1464

Thomas de Roos, a descendant of Robert de Roos, supported the Lancastrian side during the Wars of Roses. He was then captured and beheaded in Newcastle after the Battle of Hexham. Therefore, the castle became part of the Crown ownership.

-1478

Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, becomes the new owner of Helmsley Castle. He also owned other castles, including Middleham Castle, Richmond Castle, Sheriff Hutton Castle, and Barnard Castle. He later became King Richard III.

-1485

The Tudor King Henry VII restored the ownership of Helmsley Castle to Edmund de Roos after the Battle of Bosworth of 1485. Since Edmund was childless, the castle passed on to his cousin, Sir George Manners, after his death in 1508.

-1543

Edward, a descendant of Sir George Manners, remodelled the castle to fit the standards of a comfortable Elizabeth residence. He restructured the middle block into suite rooms with panelling and ornate plasterwork. He also remodelled the old hall into a residence.

Edward Manners reconstructed the old chapel into a kitchen with a closed passage connecting it to the residence. He also restructured the south barbican into a residence.

-1587

Upon Edward’s death, his brother John Manners inherited Helmsley Castle. The castle then passed on to John’s sons Roger and Francis (after Roger’s death).

-1632

George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham and a son-in-law to Francis Manners, inherits the castle. George was the husband of Francis’ daughter, Katherine.

-1644

The Parliamentary troops, under Thomas Fairfax, besieged the castle during the Civil War. Sir Jordan Crosland, the head of the Royalist garrison, held the castle for the king for three months. However, after running out of food, he surrendered the castle.

Parliament ordered slighting of the castle to prevent any further use as a military base. Hence, they destroyed the east tower, some gates, and walls. The Tudor mansion was, however, spared.

-1657

Fairfax received the castle from parliament and handed it over to George Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham. George had married Fairfax’s daughter, Mary.

-1687

After the duke’s death, an affluent banker and politician, Charles Duncombe, purchased Helmsley Castle for £90,000. Duncombe later became the Lord Mayor of London. After he died in 1711, his brother-in-law (husband to Charles’s sister, Mary) Thomas Brown, inherited the castle.

Brown changed his name to Duncombe and instructed architect William Wakefield to build a country house overlooking Helmsley Castle. He then left the decaying castle and lived in the house at Duncombe Park.

Helmsley Castle became a focal point (picturesque backdrop) for the Duncombe Park estate. The abandoned castle became a venue for the local community and All Saints Church events.

-1923

Helmsley Castle fell into the custody of the Office of Works, who cleared trees and debris from the castle’s grounds. English Heritage later became the castle’s manager, though it still legally belongs to the Feversham family of Duncombe Park.