WISBECH CASTLE
Cambridgeshire
Although this looks like just a small Georgian House (as it indeed is!), Wisbech Castle was for many centuries the most important Castle in the Eastern Counties.
When it was founded by William I Wisbech was a remote tiny community hidden amongst the wetlands of the Fens. But it was a useful place to defend against the dread Vikings. Also Hereward the Wake had led his Fen Tigers in attack against the Norman invaders, so the Castle was placed at the heart of their land.
It seems the Castle was built in stone from the beginning. It seems to have had a motte and bailey shape as the current street that encircles the "Castle" (known as The Crescent) follows the outline of the old Castle moat (approximately). In 1577 a building was referred to which sounds very much like a square Norman keep.
The Castle passed to the Bishops of Ely at a very early date and seems to have never been involved in any fighting. However, it was always an important place in Royal terms. Edward I visited 4 times and it was Wisbech that King John was heading for when he lost his crown in The Wash.
The Castle was used as a particularly foul jail. One report talks about a prisoner who "was so inhumanly gnawed by toads and other venomous vermin that his life was despaired of".
In the late 15th century the Castle was a ruin and it was completely rebuilt, probably with a prison in mind as much as Castle. All Roman Catholic prisoners across England were imprisoned here at one stage...and it was still a residence for the Bishops of Ely.
That Castle is also long gone, although bits turn up in the garden of the current Castle from time to time.
The Castle is not open to the public, but can be seen from the Castle Yard and the Crescent, both of which contain a superb collection of Georgian buildings.
Back to Castles of Cambridgeshire Page
© Text copyright - Raving Loony Productions, Andrew J. Müller and
Roy Barton
© Photos and Artwork - Andrew J. Müller and Roy Barton
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2001
