Editing Framlingham Castle (section)

===15th–16th centuries===
[[Image:Ornate chimney - geograph.org.uk - 947403.jpg|thumb|175px|[[Tudor period|Tudor]] brickwork in the Inner Court, including a carved brick chimney]]
In 1476 the castle passed to [[John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk|John Howard]], the Duke of Norfolk, who probably began the sequence of improvements to the castle during the [[Tudor period]].<ref name=RidgardP6/> Under the Howards the castle was extensively modernised; fashionable [[brick]] was used to improve parts of the castle; ornamental chimneys were added; the battlements were reduced in size to exaggerate the apparent height of the walls, and the Howard coat of arms was added to the gatehouse.<ref name=JohnsonP45/> The Great Chamber was probably built across the Inner Court at this time, linking the Great Hall with the [[castle chapel|chapel]] and chambers on the east side of the castle, and by 1524 there were at least 29 different rooms in the castle.<ref>Alexander, p.21; Stacey, p.21; Ridgard, p.130.</ref> [[Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk]] commissioned a hanging or tapestry depicting Hercules for the Great Chamber.<ref>Nicholas Harris Nicolas, ''Testamenta Vetusta'', vol. 2 (London, 1826), p. 603.</ref>

The drawbridge outside the gatehouse was replaced with the current permanent bridge between 1524 and 1547; by this time a half-moon defensive structure had been built in stone to defend it.<ref>Alexander, p.21; Raby and Reynolds, p.18.</ref> A pleasure garden had been built in the Lower Court by the 16th century, with several ornamental ponds and terraced walkways – the garden would probably have also had fruit trees, herb gardens and fountains.<ref>Taylor, p.40l; Stacey, p.17.</ref> Another pleasure garden was built in the Bailey, and a second bridge built across the moat to allow access to it directly from the Inner Court.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> The Prison Tower was redesigned to become a viewing gallery for the new formal gardens below.<ref name=StaceyP11/>

The [[Wars of the Roses]] during the 15th century saw prolonged fighting between the [[House of York|Yorkists]] and [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrians]] for the control of the English throne. John Howard, a Yorkist supporter, was killed at [[Battle of Bosworth Field|Bosworth Field]] in 1485 and in the aftermath his son [[Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk|Thomas]], the 2nd Duke, was [[Attainder|attainted]], forfeiting his and his heirs' rights to his properties and titles, and placed in the [[Tower of London]].<ref name=RidgardP6>Ridgard, p.6.</ref> The Lancastrian victor at Bosworth, [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], granted Framlingham Castle to [[John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford|John de Vere]], but Thomas finally regained the favour of [[Henry VIII]] after fighting at the [[battle of Flodden|victory of Flodden]] in 1513.<ref name=RidgardP6/> Framlingham was returned to Thomas and the Duke spent his retirement there; he decorated his table at the castle with gold and silver [[Silver (household)|plate]] that he had seized from the Scots at Flodden.<ref name=RidgardP6/> The castle was expensively decorated in a lavish style during this period, including [[tapestry|tapestries]], velvet and silver chapel fittings and luxury [[bedding|bedlinen]].<ref>Stacey, pp.7–8, 19.</ref> A hundred suits of armour were stored in the castle and over thirty horses kept in the stables.<ref>Stacey, p.21.</ref>

The 3rd Duke of Norfolk, also called [[Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk|Thomas]], made far less use of the castle, using first [[Stoke-by-Nayland]] and then [[Kenninghall]] as his principal residence.<ref name=RidgardP6/> Thomas was attainted in 1547 out of fears, misplaced but promoted by his rivals led by [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset|Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford]], that the Howards aspired to the throne; Henry VIII died the day before Thomas was due to be executed at the Tower, and his successor, [[Mary I of England|Mary]]'s half-brother [[Edward VI]] kept him in the Tower, giving Framlingham to Mary.<ref>Ridgard, pp.6–7; Stacey, p.33.</ref> When Mary contested for the throne against [[Lady Jane Grey]] in 1553, she collected her forces at Framlingham Castle before successfully marching on London.<ref name=RidgardP7>Ridgard, p.7.</ref> Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife [[Catherine of Aragon]], was proclaimed the Queen of England here on 19 July 1553. Thomas was released from the Tower by Mary as a reward for his loyalty, but retired to Kenninghall rather than Framlingham.<ref>Raby and Reynolds, p.13; Stacey, p.34.</ref> The castle was leased out but when the 4th Duke, another [[Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk|Thomas]], was executed for treason by [[Elizabeth I]] in 1572 the castle passed back to the Crown.<ref>Raby and Reynolds, pp.13–4.</ref>

Repairs to the castle appear to have been minimal from the 1540s onwards, and after Mary left Framlingham the castle went into a fast decline.<ref>Ridgard, pp.6–7.</ref> A survey in 1589 noted that the stonework, timber and brickwork all needed urgent maintenance, at a potential cost of £100.<ref name=RidgardP7/> The Great Park was disparked and turned into fields in 1580.<ref>Hoppitt, pp.161–2; Alexander, p.44.</ref> As religious laws against Catholics increased, the castle became used as a prison from 1580 onwards; by 1600 the castle prison contained 40 prisoners, [[Roman Catholic]] priests and [[recusants]].<ref>Alexander, p.44; Ridgard, p.7; Stacey, p.36.</ref>