Editing Lancaster Castle (section)

==History==

===Foundation===
[[File:Lancaster Castle from the South West 1778.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A watercolour by [[Thomas Hearne (artist)|Thomas Hearne]] from 1778 of the west of Lancaster's [[keep]]. The round tower next to the keep was demolished in 1796.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=4}}</ref>]]

As there are no contemporary documents recording the foundation of the castle, it is uncertain when and by whom it was started, but it is supposed that [[Roger the Poitevin|Roger de Poitou]], the [[Normans|Norman]] lord in control of the Honour of Lancaster, was responsible. If it was Roger who began construction, the structure would have been built of timber, probably incorporating the earthworks of the Roman fort into its defences. The form of the original castle is unknown. There is no trace of a [[motte-and-bailey|motte]], so it may have been a [[ringwork]]<ref>{{harvnb|White|2001|pp=42–44}}</ref>&nbsp;– a circular defended enclosure.<ref>{{harvnb|Friar|2003|p=246}}</ref>

Roger de Poitou fled England in 1102 after participating in a failed rebellion against the new king, [[Henry I of England|Henry&nbsp;I]]. As a result, the king confiscated the Honour of Lancaster, which included the castle. The Honour changed hands several times. Henry granted it to [[Stephen of England|Stephen of Blois]], his nephew and later king. When [[the Anarchy]] erupted in 1139&nbsp;– a civil war between Stephen and [[Empress Matilda]] for the English throne&nbsp;– the area was in turmoil. Stephen secured his northern frontier by allowing [[David I of Scotland|David&nbsp;I of Scotland]] to occupy the Honour in 1141.<ref name="Champness 3">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=3}}</ref> It is possible that David refortified the castle at this time. Due to a lack of investigation, there is little evidence to suggest additions to Lancaster in the mid-12th&nbsp;century. However, the uncertain construction date of the [[keep]] means that the King of Scotland could have been responsible for building it.<ref name="White 44">{{harvnb|White|2001|p=44}}</ref> The war came to an end in 1153. It was agreed that after Stephen died, he would be succeeded by [[Henry II of England|Henry Plantagenet]] (later King Henry&nbsp;II), Matilda's son. Part of the agreement was that the King of Scotland would relinquish the Honour of Lancaster, which would be held by [[William I, Count of Boulogne|William]], Stephen's son. After William's death in 1164, the Honour of Lancaster again came under royal control when Henry&nbsp;II gained possession of the Honour.<ref name="Champness 3"/>

On the death of Henry&nbsp;II, the Honour passed to his son, [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]], who gave it to his brother, [[John of England|Prince John]], in the hope of securing his loyalty.<ref name="Champness 6">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=6}}</ref> One of the functions castles served was as a prison;<ref>{{harvnb|Cathcart King|1983|pp=xvi–xx}}</ref> the first record of the castle being used in this way was in 1196, although the role became much more important after the [[English Civil War]]. Since the 12th&nbsp;century, the monarch appointed a [[Conservator of the peace|sheriff]] to maintain the peace in Lancashire, a role usually filled by the duke and based at the castle.<ref name="Champness 14">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=14}}</ref> In the late 12th and early 13th&nbsp;century, many timber castles founded during the Norman Conquest were rebuilt in stone.<ref name="Allen Brown 109">{{harvnb|Allen Brown|1976|p=109}}</ref> Lancaster was one such castle.<ref name="Champness 6"/> Building in stone was expensive and time-consuming. For example, the late 12th-century stone keep<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=309632 |mname=Peveril Castle |access-date=24 February 2010|mode=cs2}}</ref> at [[Peveril Castle]] in Derbyshire cost around £200, although something on a much larger scale, such as the vast [[Château Gaillard]] cost an estimated £15,000 to £20,000 and took several years to complete.<ref>{{harvnb|McNeill|1992|pp=41–42.}}</ref> For many castles, the expenditure is unknown. However, work on royal castles was often documented in [[Pipe Rolls]], which began in 1155.<ref name="Allen Brown 109"/> The Rolls show that John spent over £630 on digging a ditch outside Lancaster's south and west walls, and for the construction of "the King's lodgings". This probably referred to what is now known as Adrian's Tower.<ref name="Champness 6"/> His successor, [[Henry III of England|Henry&nbsp;III]] also spent large sums on Lancaster: £200 in 1243 and £250 in 1254 for work on the gatehouse and creating a stone [[curtain wall (fortification)|curtain wall]].<ref name="Champness 6"/>

===14th and 15th centuries===
[[File:Prisoners at lancaster castle.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The castle's 15th-century gatehouse, in a 19th-century depiction by an unknown artist, with new inmates arriving at the castle when it was used as a prison.]]
For the next 150&nbsp;years, there is no record of building work, although accounts are incomplete. The Well Tower is thought to date from the early 14th century. If there was no work on the castle, this may indicate that it was not important enough to warrant expenditure beyond upkeep, as Lancaster was not near a border. Though the region was generally peaceful, the Scots invaded in [[The Great Raid of 1322|1322]] and 1389, reaching Lancaster and damaging the castle.<ref name="Champness 6"/> The holdings of the Duchy of Lancaster extended beyond the county, and Lancaster was not especially important. However, when Henry Duke of Lancaster ascended the throne as King [[Henry IV of England|Henry&nbsp;IV]] in 1399, he almost immediately began adding the monumental gatehouse.<ref name="Champness 7-9">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|pp=7–9}}</ref> A further devastation of the town, as had been inflicted in 1389, would have been an embarrassment for the new king; his expensive programme of building at the castle helped protect against this. The gatehouse Henry replaced was probably a simple structure, no more than a passage between two towers, but the rebuilt structure rivalled the keep as the strongest part of the castle.<ref name="Champness 7-9"/> Records show that between 1402 and 1422, the year [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] died, over £2,500 was spent on building work. While most of this sum would have been spent on the gatehouse, some may have been used to make alterations to the top storey of the keep.<ref name="Champness 10">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=10}}</ref> Since then, the castle has remained in the ownership of the Crown.<ref name="Champness 11">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=11}}</ref>

[[File:Nance Redferne & Chattox.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Two of the [[Pendle witches]], tried at Lancaster in 1612, in an illustration from [[William Harrison Ainsworth]]'s 1849 novel ''[[The Lancashire Witches]]'']]
After the Scottish invasion of 1389, Lancaster saw no further military action until the [[English Civil War]]. A survey in 1578 led to repairs to the keep costing £235. With the threat of a [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|Spanish invasion]], the castle was strengthened in 1585.<ref name="Champness 10"/> After [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth&nbsp;I]] was excommunicated in 1570, she retaliated by declaring Roman Catholic priests guilty of [[high treason]]. Any discovered in Lancashire were taken to Lancaster Castle for trial.<ref name="Champness 17">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=17}}</ref> During the period 1584-1646 fifteen Catholics were executed in Lancaster for their faith.<ref>'LANCASTER'S CATHOLIC MARTYRS' BY CHRISTINE GOODIER MA</ref> The notorious [[Pendle witches]] trial took place at Lancaster Castle in 1612.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=15}}</ref>

===Civil War===
At the outbreak of the Civil War Lancaster was lightly garrisoned. A small [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] force captured the castle in February 1643, established a garrison and set about building earthworks around the approaches to the town. In response, the [[Cavalier|Royalists]] dispatched an army to retake Lancaster. The outer defences fell in March; a siege of the castle lasted just two days as Parliamentarian reinforcements were heading to Lancaster from [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]]. The Royalists unsuccessfully tried to recapture Lancaster in April and again in June; the town and castle remained under Parliament's control until the end of the war. Orders were given that "all the walls about [Lancaster Castle] should be thrown down".<ref name="Champness 11"/> The instruction was not followed, and in August 1648 the town withstood a siege from the Royalist [[James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton]] who led an army south from Scotland. [[Charles I of England|King Charles]] was executed in January 1649 and shortly after Parliament again ordered the [[slighting]] of the castle, apart from buildings necessary for administration and use as a county gaol. The monarchy was [[Restoration (England)|restored in 1660]], and [[Charles II of England|Charles&nbsp;II]] visited Lancaster on 12 August and released all the prisoners held in the castle. Lancashire's High Sheriff and Justices of the Peace petitioned the king to repair the castle. The buildings were surveyed and repair work estimated at £1,957.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|pp=11–13}}</ref> After the slighting of the castle, including the demolition of the Well Tower, it was militarily redundant.<ref name="Champness 14"/>

===Gaol===
[[File:Shire Hall, Lancaster Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1600008.jpg|thumb|right|The Shire Hall]]
In 1554, the martyr [[George Marsh (martyr)|George Marsh]] was held at the castle before standing trial at [[Chester Cathedral]].<ref>Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe</ref> Some [[Quakers]], including in 1660 [[George Fox]], were held at the castle for being politically dangerous.<ref name="Champness 17"/> County gaols, such as this one, were intended to hold prisoners for short periods immediately before trial. The castle also served as a [[debtors' prison]]. In the 18th&nbsp;century it became more common for county gaols to hold longer-term prisoners; as a result they began to suffer from overcrowding.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=22}}</ref>

Prison reformer [[John Howard (prison reformer)|John Howard]] (1726–1790) visited Lancaster in 1776 and noted the conditions in the prison. His efforts to instigate reform led to prisoners in gaols throughout the country being separated by gender and category of their crime. Improvements were also made to sanitation; in the 18th&nbsp;century more people died from [[gaol fever]] than by hanging. In the last two decades of the century, around £30,000 was spent rebuilding Lancaster's county gaol.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|pp=23–25}}</ref> Architect [[Thomas Harrison (architect)|Thomas Harrison]] was commissioned to complete the work. Under his auspices, the Gaoler's House was built in 1788 in a [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic style]]. Separate prisons were built for men and women.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=27}}</ref> The Shire Hall and Crown Court were complete by 1798. Harrison had to divide his time between Lancaster and designing and building [[Chester Castle]]'s Shire Hall and Courts; work at Lancaster slowed, partly because of dwindling funds due to [[War of the Second Coalition|war with France]], and Harrison was released from the work as the Justices of the Peace felt it was taking too long. The artist [[Robert Freebairn]] was paid £500 to paint twelve watercolours of the work in 1800 to be presented to the Duke of Lancaster, King [[George III|George&nbsp;III]].<ref name="Champness 29">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=29}}</ref> In 1802 the castle received more funding and [[Joseph Gandy]] was commissioned to complete the interiors of the Shire Hall and Crown Court.<ref name="Champness 30">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=30}}</ref>

[[File:HangingCorner.JPG|right|thumb|"Hanging Corner" – the site of public executions until 1865. The double doors on the right led to the [[gallows]] situated in front of the sealed archway.]]
[[File:Lancaster Castle (Courtyard).jpg|thumb|The courtyard of Lancaster Castle (2021)]]
Those sentenced to death before c. 1800 at the castle were usually taken to Lancaster Moor, near where the [[Ashton Memorial]] now stands, to be hanged. After the Georgian remodelling of the castle, it was decided it would be more convenient to perform executions nearer the castle. The spot chosen became known as Hanging Corner. Lancaster has a reputation as the court that sentenced more people to death than any other in England. This is partly because until 1835 Lancaster Castle was the only [[Assizes (England and Wales)|Assize Court]] in the entire county and covered rapidly growing industrial centres including [[Manchester]] and [[Liverpool]].<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=34}}</ref> Between 1782 and 1865, around 265&nbsp;people were hanged at Lancaster; the executions were frequently attended by thousands of people crowded into the churchyard. The [[Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868]] ended public executions, requiring that criminals be put to death in private, after which 6 executions were performed inside the castle, at first from the Chapel steps, then later in a purpose-built execution shed, on the inside wall of Hanging Corner. This shed remained until the mid-20th Century, allegedly still containing the Gallows. The last execution (of Thomas Rawcliffe, murderer) at Lancaster took place in 1910.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=35}}</ref> The prison closed in 1916 due to a national decrease in the number of prisoners, although for part of the [[First World War]] it held German civilians and military [[prisoners of war]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVgrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT57 |title=Great War Britain Lancaster: Remembering 1914-18|first1= Ian|last1= Gregory|first2=Corinna |last2=Peniston-Bird|first3=Peter |last3=Donnelly|first4=Michael|last4= Hughes|publisher= The History Press|year=2017|isbn= 978-0750968256}}</ref>

[[Image:Lancaster castle and priory.jpg|left|thumb|230x230px| The rear of the castle and the adjacent Priory]]Between 1931 and 1937 the castle was used by the [[Lancashire County Council|county council]] to train police officers. Lancaster was once again designated for use as a prison from 1954 onwards when the council leased the castle to the [[Home Office]]. The last Assizes were held at Lancaster in 1972. As the court and prison were so close, and contained within the castle walls, Lancaster was used for high-security trials.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=40}}</ref>

The castle formally opened as [[HM Prison Lancaster]] in 1955, becoming a [[Prison security categories in the United Kingdom|Category C]] prison for male inmates, and a venue for the [[Crown Court]]. In July 2010 the [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]] announced it was intending to close it, stating it was outdated and costly.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-10786851 |title=Lancaster Castle prison 'may become tourist spot' |publisher=BBC News |date=28 July 2010 |access-date=19 August 2010}}</ref> The prison closure was confirmed for March 2011.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12178498 |title=Prisons shutdown unveiled by government |publisher=BBC News |date=13 January 2011 |access-date=13 January 2011}}</ref>