Venue Type & Location
Overview
Thornbury Castle is in the village of Thornbury, situated on 15 acres of land, with distant views of the Severn Estuary and the hills of South Gloucestershire and Wales. Much of the original Tudor stone building remains; much (including the Great Hall) has perished without trace.
The site now consists of an Outer Court to the west, an Inner Court to the east, and an enclosed walled garden to the south of the south range of Inner Court.
Current Status
History of the Venue
14th c. Manor house built, which included a hall, a chapel, a buttery, a pantry, a kitchen, a set of chambers, an inner court, an outer court, a 'hermitage', a prison and a dovecote.
1485 Jasper Tudor, 3rd Duke of Bedford, in possession of Thornbury via marriage to Katharine, widow of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham.
1511--21 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, received licence to crenellate the castle. Much of the existing manor house was incorporated into the rebuilding, which was incomplete at the time of the Duke's execution.
Princess Mary was resident at Thornbury.
1550 Castle no longer used as a residence.
1720 Castle was partially roofed.
1811 Some restoration, including the south tower.
1854 Full restoration by Anthony Salvin.
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford, Edward | 1478-1521 | Baron Stafford |
| Stafford, Edward | 1478-1521 | Earl of Stafford |
| Stafford, Edward | 1478-1521 | Duke of Buckingham |
| Stafford, Edward | 1478-1521 | Earl of Buckingham |
| Stafford, Edward | 1478-1521 | Knight of the Garter |
| Stafford, Edward | 1478-1521 | Knight of the Bath |
| Tudor, Jasper | 1430-1495 | Earl of Pembroke |
| Tudor, Jasper | 1430-1495 | Earl of Pembroke |
| Tudor, Jasper | 1430-1495 | Duke of Bedford |
| Wydevill, Katherine | 1458-1497 | Duchess of Buckingham |
| Wydevill, Katherine | 1458-1497 | Duchess of Bedford |
Bibliographic Sources
- Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
- Harris, Barbara J.. Edward Stafford: Third Duke of Buckingham, 1478 -- 1521. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1986
- Hawkyard, A.D.K. Thornbury Castle. Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 95 (1977): 51--58.
- Kingsley, Nicholas. The Country Houses of Gloucestershire. 3. Cheltenham: Nicholas Kingsley, 1989
- Mackenzie, James D. The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. 2 vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1896
- Orchard, D.R. A Brief History of the Manor and Castle of Thornbury with a Guide to the Grounds. Glastonbury: Orchard Bros., 1989
- Platt, Colin. Medieval Britain from the Air. London: George Philip, 1984
- Rudder, Samuel. A New History of Gloucestershire . Cirencester: Samuel Rudder, 1779
- Thornbury Castle Gloucestershire. Np: Npub, nd
- Verey, David, and Alan Brooks. Gloucestershire. 2 vols. London: Penguin Books, 1999--2002