Editing Castle Rising Castle (section)

===15th&nbsp;– 18th centuries===
[[File:Mural Passage - geograph.org.uk - 542862.jpg|thumb|Mural passage, dug out of the walls after the keep had become largely derelict in the 16th century]]
In the 15th and early 16th centuries, Castle Rising continued to be owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.<ref name=Brown1988P22/> Although the castle's military defences were mobilised by [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] in 1461 during the [[Wars of the Roses]], it became increasingly more prominent as a hunting facility.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=22, 24}}.</ref> The role of the [[constable]] of the castle was often combined with that of the surveyor or ranger of Rising Chase, the parkland around the castle.<ref name=Brown1988P24>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=24}}.</ref> The castle may have been a prestigious location during this period, although its facilities were not as extensive as those of other castles and manors known for their hunting.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=24}}; {{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=138}}.</ref> Senior visitors to the castle included [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France|Mary Tudor]], [[Queen of France]], and [[Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk|Charles Brandon]], the [[Duke of Suffolk]], and its constables included nobles such as [[Ralph de Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell|Lord Ralph de Cromwell]] and [[John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford|John de Vere]], the [[Earl of Oxford]].<ref name=Brown1988P24/>

Minor repairs on the castle were carried out during the period, including to the castle bridge, but the state of the property gradually declined.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=23–25}}.</ref> The old kitchens were removed in the early 15th century, and a new, larger facility constructed in their place.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|pp=70–71}}.</ref> Once built, however, the new kitchens, along with the rest of the buildings in the inner bailey, were left to deteriorate.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|pp=74–75}}.</ref> Reports in 1482 stated that the buildings were no longer weatherproof, and a survey carried around between 1503 and 1506 described the castle as "evyll repayred", and noted that the roof of the keep was rotten.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|pp=83, 187}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=25}}.</ref> This last survey urged that existing repair works on the buildings in the bailey be completed, but suggested that it might not be worth repairing the keep because of the excessive cost.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=25}}.</ref>

[[File:Engraving of Castle Rising.jpg|thumb|left|Engraving of the ruined keep in 1782, by [[William Byrne (engraver)|William Byrne]]]]
Despite these challenges, fresh construction work was carried out around this time.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=24–25}}.</ref> The southern range and the kitchen were pulled down, and replaced with a new set of lodgings for guests, complete with stables, although the resulting buildings were not particularly robust.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=137}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=24–25}}.</ref> Problems reappeared, and a survey between 1542 and 1543 noted that, with the exception of the new lodgings, the castle was in "greate ruin and decaye".<ref name="Brown 1988 26">{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=26}}.</ref> The roof of the keep had by now collapsed, as probably had the floors of the great hall and chamber.<ref name=MorleyGurneyP83>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=83}}.</ref> The survey costed the necessary repairs to the crumbling walls around the inner bailey at £100.<ref name="Brown 1988 26"/> At around this time, the forebuilding of the keep was adapted to form a separate, smaller, set of chambers, and at some point after this a passageway was dug out of the walls to link these to the kitchens in the keep, by-passing the now floor-less rooms of the keep.<ref name=MorleyGurneyP83/>

In 1544 [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] bequeathed the castle to [[Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk|Thomas Howard]], the [[Duke of Norfolk]], but the property continued to decline.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=26–27}}.</ref> By the 1570s the castle and its earthworks had been allowed to become infested with rabbits, whose warrens caused extensive damage; a survey suggested that fully renovating the castle would cost £2,000, and that even if it were pulled down and sold for the value of its materials, it would only realise £66.<ref name=Brown1988P27>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|p=27}}.</ref> At the end of the century, the inner bailey was finally cleared of most of its buildings; the new lodgings were pulled down, along with most of the west range and the old Norman chapel, leaving only the ruined keep, alongside the latrines and the newer chapel, although what these last two were then used for is uncertain.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=82}}; {{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=14, 26}}.</ref> The foundations of the old chapel were slowly covered up by the earth defences.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1988|pp=14, 26}}.</ref>

During the 17th century, the ground floor of the keep&nbsp;– made of hardened gravel&nbsp;– was dug up, probably to reuse for surfacing roads or pathways.<ref name=MorleyGurneyP83/> The apartments in the forebuilding were abandoned and this part of the keep fell into decay as well.<ref name=MorleyGurneyP83/> In 1644, the lands surrounding the castle were disparked, bringing an end to Castle Rising Chase.<ref>{{harvnb|Morley|Gurney|1997|p=128}}.</ref> In 1705 stone was stripped from the castle to help repair a nearby [[sluice gate]].<ref name=Brown1988P27/>