Venue Type & Location
Performance Spaces
Overview
Located in flat countryside with a commanding view of the surrounding fenlands, the red brick castle was defended by 2 concentric outer and circular inner moats, the outer one on the N and W sides, linking with River Bain on the S and N.
The inner moated enclosure dates from the 13th c. castle. The imposing 4-storey great-tower house stands in the NE corner of the inner bailey. The foundations of 2 13th c. round towers to the N and S of the 15th c. great tower and parts of the curtain wall also survive.
The 15th c. gatehouse remains on the E side of the site.
Performance History
Possible performance venue. Although relevant household accounts for Tattershall have not been found, entertainers patronized by Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Henry Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, performed elsewhere in the country in the 16th and 17th c.
Current Status
History of the Venue
1231 Robert de Tateshale granted licence to crenellate.
1305 Inherited by Joan, aunt of Robert, 2nd Baron de Tateshall. Joan married Robert de Dribey.
early 14th c. Acquired by Sir William de Barnack via marriage with Alice de Dribey.
1398 Acquired by Sir Ralph Cromwell via marriage to the heiress, Maud de Bernack.
1434--46 Rebuilt as a fortified residence on the site of the earlier stone castle by Ralph, 3rd Baron Cromwell. Great Tower and brick hall block built.
1456 Inherited by Lord Cromwell's niece Joan, married to Sir Humphrey Bourchier.
1471 Confiscated by the Crown on Bourchier's death in battle.
1487 Granted to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, by Henry VII.
1537 Granted to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, by Henry VIII in thanks for his role in suppressing the Lincolnshire Pilgrimage of Grace.
1545 Reverted to the Crown on the death of Suffolk.
mid-16th c. Acquired by Sir Henry Sidney.
1573--4 Sold to Edward, 9th Lord Clinton.
1640s Damaged during the Civil War. Garrisoned by parliament in 1648.
1692 Edward Clinton died, leaving the estate to his cousin Bridget, wife of Hugh Fortescue.
1693 No longer occupied and left to decay by the Fortescue family.
1910 Sold by Hugh Fortescue to a speculator who subsequently declared bankruptcy. Mortgaged and sold to other speculators. Bought by an American syndicate. Fireplaces sold and removed for transport to the U.S.A.
1911 Purchased by Lord Curzon of Kedleston and restored by the architect William Weir. The fireplaces were rescued from the docks before departure to the States.
1912--14 Moats excavated and Tower restored, including the roof, the floors of the 3 upper storeys and the lower window tracery.
1914 Castle reopened.
1925 Bequeathed to the National Trust by Lord Curzon.
Record Source
REED Bristol 114; Cambridge 1.115--16; Cheshire including Chester 1.817; Coventry 282, 355, 358, 360, 362, 364; Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire 70, 181; Lincolnshire 1.238; Newcastle upon Tyne 133; Norwich 1540--1642 119, 132; Shropshire 1.77; Sussex 18, 107--8, 114; York 1.269, 488, 501
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon, Charles | 1484-1545 | Viscount Lisle |
| Brandon, Charles | 1484-1545 | Duke of Suffolk |
| Brandon, Charles | 1484-1545 | Knight |
| Brandon, Charles | 1484-1545 | Knight of the Garter |
| Clinton, Edward | 1512-1585 | Baron Clinton and Say |
| Clinton, Edward | 1512-1585 | Earl of Lincoln |
| Clinton, Henry | 1540-1616 | Baron Clinton |
| Clinton, Henry | 1540-1616 | Earl of Lincoln |
| Clinton, Henry | 1540-1616 | Baron Clinton |
Bibliographic Sources
- Allen, Thomas. The History of the County of Lincoln, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. London & Lincoln: John Saunders, Junior, 1834
- ‘Annual Meeting at Lincoln.'. Archaeological Journal 66 (1909): 343--99.
- Avery, Tracey. Tattershall Castle Lincolnshire. Swindon: The National Trust, 1997
- Buck, Samuel, and Nathaniel Buck. [A Collection of Engravings of the Castles, Abbeys, and Towns in England and Wales]. 5 vols. London: The authors, 1726--52
- 'Castles and Country Houses, Monuments, and Collections of Pictures and Sculpture.'. Archaeological Journal 103 (1946): 189--96.
- Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
- Goodall, John. 'Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire: A Property of the National Trust.'. Country Life 192 (10 October 1996): 50--5.
- King, David J. Cathcart. Castellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. 2 vols. Millwood, NY, London and Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus International Publications, 1983
- Lambert, M.R. and R. Walker. Boston, Tattershall & Croyland. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1930
- Mackenzie, James D. The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. 2 vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1896
- Mansel-Sympson, Edward. 'Tattershall Castle and Church.'. Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire 14 (1910): 28--45.
- Musson, Jeremy. 'To Me the Past is Sacred.'. Country Life 192 (8 January 1998): 34--7.
- Pettifer, Adrian. English Castles: A Guide by Counties. Woodbridge: The Boydell P, 1995
- Pevsner, Nikolaus, and John Harris. Lincolnshire. 1964. London: Penguin Books, 1998
- Platts, Graham. Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire. Lincoln: History of Lincolnshire Committee, 1985
- Reed, Fred H. Illustrations of Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire. London: The Author, 1872
- 'Report of the Summer Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute at Lincoln in 1974.'. Archaeological Journal 131 (1974): 268--382.
- Salter, Mike. The Castles of the East Midlands. Malvern: Folly Publications, 2002
- Simpson, W. Douglas. The Building Accounts of Tattershall Castle, 1434--1472. Hereford: Lincolnshire Record Society, 1960
- Somerset Fry, Plantagenet. Castles of the British Isles. New York: Dorset P, 1990
- Sympson, E. Mansell. 'Tattershall Castle and Church.'. London: George Allen & Sons, 1911 Memorials of Old Lincolnshire 179--97.
- Thompson, A. Hamilton. Military Architecture in England during the Middle Ages. London: Oxford UP, 1912
- Thompson, M.W. 'The Architectural Significance of the Building Works of Ralph, Lord Cromwell (1394--1456).'. Maidstone: Kent Archaeological Society, 1981 Collectanea Historica: Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold 155--62.
- Tipping, H. Avray. English Homes: Period I -- Vol. 1 Norman and Plantagenet 1066--1485. 9 vols. London: Country Life, 1921 vol 1:
- Tipping, H. Avray. 'Tattershall Castle. -- II. Lincolnshire, the Property of Earl Curzon of Kedleston.'. Country Life 38 (10 July 1915): 54--60.
- Tipping, H. Avray. 'Tattershall Castle. -- I. Lincolnshire, the Property of Earl Curzon of Kedleston.'. Country Life 38 (3 July 1915): 18--26.
- Turner, Thomas Hudson, and John Henry Parker. Some Account of Domestic Architecture in England, from Richard II. to Henry VIII. 3 vols (vol 3 in 2 pts). Oxford: John Henry and James Parker, 1851--9
- Weir, George. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of the Town and Soke of Horncastle. London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones, 1820