Editing Castle Rising Castle (section)

===12th&nbsp;– 13th centuries===
[[File:Castle Rising Castle 18.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The earthworks of Castle Rising]]
Castle Rising was built soon after 1138 by [[William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel|William d'Aubigny II]], an upwardly mobile Anglo-Norman noble who owned the surrounding manor of Snettisham.<ref name=HulmeP222BrownP80>{{harvnb|Hulme|2007–2008|p=222}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1989|p=80}}.</ref> William married [[Adeliza of Louvain]], the widow of King [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] in that year, and became the [[Earl of Arundel]] in 1139.<ref name=HulmeP222BrownP80/> This transformed his social position, and one [[chronicler]] at [[Waltham Holy Cross]] complained how he "became intolerably puffed up&nbsp;... and looked down upon every other eminence in the world except the King".<ref>{{harvnb|Stalley|1999|p=86}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=12}}.</ref> With his new wealth, William built Castle Rising and [[New Buckenham Castle]] in [[Norfolk]], and expanded [[Arundel Castle]] in West Sussex.<ref>{{harvnb|Liddiard|2005|p=139}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1989|p=80}}.</ref>

The castle was located {{convert|5|mi}} from the port of [[King's Lynn]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=4}}.</ref> In the 12th century it would have typically have been reached by boat, through a channel in the marshy [[Babingley River]] that ran nearby.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=1}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=4}}.</ref>{{efn|name=SeaPort|There is a local tradition in Norfolk that Castle Rising was a sea-port in the early medieval period, but modern research has shown this to be incorrect.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=1}}.</ref>}} Following the [[Norman Conquest]] of England, the land had been granted to [[Odo, Earl of Kent|Bishop Odo]], the [[Earl of Kent]], who may have used it as an administrative centre; there were many [[Saxo-Norman]] buildings on the site of the later castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Pounds|1994|p=61}}; {{harvnb|Hulme|2007–2008|p=222}}; {{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=11}}.</ref>{{efn|Archaeological evidence shows that there was [[Iron Age]] and [[Roman Britain|Roman]] occupation of the surrounding area, with a [[Roman villa]] situated at nearby [[South Wootton]], but there is no firm evidence of pre-Saxo-Norman occupation of the castle site itself.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|pp=8–9}}.</ref>}} Although Norfolk was a prosperous region during this period, the location of the castle was not strategically important: its only militarily significance would have been as a regional [[Muster (military)|muster point]], and the surrounding lands were thinly populated, with poor, [[Acidic soil|acidic]] agricultural soil.<ref>{{harvnb|Liddiard|2000|p=174}}; {{harvnb|Hulme|2007–2008|p=222}}; {{harvnb|Pounds|1994|p=61}}; {{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=3}}.</ref> The attraction of the site to William is believed to have been that it was a relatively cheap and easy place in which to build a substantial new building and establish a large [[medieval deer park|hunting park]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hulme|2007–2008|p=222}}; {{harvnb|Liddiard|2000|p=175}}.</ref> Historian Richard Hulme argues that William essentially built "a palatial hunting lodge" on the site.<ref>{{harvnb|Liddiard|2000|p=175}}.</ref>

Massive resources were required to construct Castle Rising, which included three [[Bailey (fortification)|baileys]] with large earthwork defences and a stone [[keep]], with an adjacent deer park just behind the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Creighton|2005|p=193}}; {{harvnb|Garnett|2000|p=85}}.</ref> As part of the project, the existing settlement was moved away to the north, where it became a [[planned town|planned settlement]] adjacent to the new castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1989|p=90}}.</ref> A pre-existing Norman [[chapel]] on the site, built around 1100, was encircled by the castle defences, and the new parish church of St Lawrence was built in the town instead, although it is possible that this church also pre-dates the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=8}}; {{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|pp=1–2}}.</ref> William received permission from King [[Stephen of England|Stephen]] to open a [[Mint (coin)|mint]] at the castle in 1145 and, probably linked to this development, settled a community of [[History of the Jews in England|Jews]] in the town.<ref>{{harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|p=87}}; {{harvnb|Garnett|2000|p=85}}.</ref>{{efn|England's Jews during the first half of the 11th century often settled near castles, particularly those operating mints; the castles provided protection from anti-Semitism, and they were heavily involved in both money-lending and often the operation of the mints themselves.<ref>{{harvnb|Hillaby|2003|pp=20–25}}.</ref>}}

[[File:Castle Rising Gatehouse bridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Earthworks of the inner bailey, with the remaining 14th-century brick wall and 12th-century gatehouse (left) and the stone bridge (centre)]]
It is uncertain how often William actually stayed at his new castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=10–11}}.</ref> He and his wife probably preferred to reside in their estates around Arundel in the south of England, and both William and his descendants chose New Buckenham Castle, rather than Castle Rising, to serve as the ''[[caput]]'', or main castle, for their Norfolk landholdings.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=10–11}}; {{harvnb|Liddiard|2000|p=185}}; {{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=13}}.</ref>

A prolonged civil war known as [[the Anarchy]] broke out in England from 1138 until 1154, between the followers of King Stephen and the [[Empress Matilda]], only ending when Matilda's son, [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], finally inherited the kingdom. Despite William having backed Stephen during the war, after the end of the conflict he proved a loyal supporter of Henry and was allowed to retain his possessions. Henry clamped down on the operation of the regional mints, however, and closed the facility at Castle Rising; the local Jews resettled in King's Lynn.<ref>{{harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|p=87}}; {{harvnb|Hillaby|2003|p=25}}.</ref> A second, rapid phase of construction work on the castle then occurred, probably in the 1170s in response to a [[Revolt of 1173–74|major rebellion]] against Henry II.<ref name="Liddiard 2000 172">{{harvnb|Liddiard|2000|p=172}}.</ref>{{efn|Historians Beric Morley and David Gurney prefer a slightly date for the work on the earthworks, potentially pushing the date forward into the early 13th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=135}}.</ref>}} William supported the King, and fought against the rebels at the [[Battle of Fornham]] in neighbouring [[Suffolk]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=15}}.</ref> Around this time the height of the earth defences was doubled and the internal level of the west bailey raised to form a platform.<ref name="Liddiard 2000 172"/>

The castle was inherited by [[William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel|William d'Albini III]], and in turn by his son, [[William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel|William IV]], and grandson, [[William d'Aubigny, 4th Earl of Arundel|William V]].<ref name="Brown 1988 15–16">{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=15–16}}.</ref> William V died in 1224, leaving it to his brother [[Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel|Hugh]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=16}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1989|p=81}}.</ref> Probably by this time the chapel inside the castle walls had fallen out of use as a religious building, and was instead employed for secular purposes.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=34}}.</ref> The top {{convert|3.7|m}} of the keep's walls are distinctively different from the rest of the building, and one theory to explain this is that the castle keep was not in fact completed during William II's lifetime, and that the final work on walls was carried out between 1200 and 1230 by his descendants.<ref name="Morley 1997 3">{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=3}}.</ref>{{efn|There is agreement among historians that the top {{convert|3.7|m}} of the keep's walls are different from the remainder of the building: a line of flints in the stonework mark the division between the two, with differences in the carved stonework and evidence of older stonework having been covered up by later additions or reused for new purposes. R. Allen Brown concludes that this is probably the result of renovations to decaying stonework in the early 14th century. He suggests that such a change of style would not be consistent with an attempt to finish an existing building, and that any decay of stonework would begin on the upper layers. He also draws links between this work and the work known to have occurred in the early 14th century in the forebuilding. Beric Morley and David Gurney argue that the dramatic change of style is evidence that the work was not intended to repair an existing building, but rather to complete a previously unfinished one, probably between 1200 and 1230. They also point to the relatively paucity of Norman finds in the excavation of the castle bailey, potentially an indicator that the building was not completed during its initial build.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=40–42}}; {{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|pp=33, 42}}.</ref>}} Hugh died childless in 1243, and the castle then passed to [[Roger de Montalt, 1st Baron Montalt|Roger de Montalt]].<ref name=Brown1988P16>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=16}}.</ref>