Inside Arundel and Rockingham Castle

Another busy weekend for me in which I told at the all new Festival of Arts & Literature for the Children of Norfolk and also two castles!

The first marked a return to Arundel Castle and because of the foul wind and weather I was lucky enough to be telling inside - In perhaps the most unusual space I've told in in a long time!

I was telling in this beautiful vaulted room (A vestibule even!) where I was surrounded by ancient weapons and many a stuffed and mounted deer's head looking down with dead eyes, so it was hard to tell if they liked my tales or not! It was a room just off this long hallway...

 

Also a space packed full of  stuffed animals including some very rare American Eagle Owls that were bred on the estate long ago. What you are looking at here though is not the original castle, rather it is a nineteenth century rebuild, but beautifully done using ancient techniques and i'm sure that are many who walk along this passageway think they are walking along a 900 year old room. It does contain some fragments of the original castle keep though, including a medieval doorway that leads into the remains of the early undercroft.

From Arundel I came back to Norfolk for the Children's Festival before heading off to Rockingham Castle, in the midlands. It was unusually for this year a lovely sunny day when I arrived. There is not much of the early castle still standing except for the medieval drum towers and gate through which I passed to set up my tent in the inner courtyard. Another beautiful space surrounded by what looked to me to be Tudor and /or Jacobean buildings. It is a serene space even when full of people and the views over the low walls provide stunning views for miles around. I was told by one member of staff that you can actually see five counties!

 Views from the inner courtyard wall

I really warmed to the castle not least because of the lovely colours and textures of its old stone walls like these....

In the inner courtyard

I also enjoyed the clever historical interpretation on site - All the castles I visit have had their fair share of sieges and involvement in the ups and downs of long ago and Rockingham is no different. Indeed, Prince John is said to have hunted here often and the castle became a hunting lodge for him and other English Kings. Some say that he stored his treasure in the great hall and that it is buried somewhere at Rockingham rather than being lost in the Wash after all!
What stood out though at Rockingham was the clever use of modern day news reports on a video presentation in one of the drum towers. The presentation went from the news reader in the studio to a reporter reporting live at important events from the castles history, including the two civil wars of the 12th and 17th centuries. The reporter  interviewed both important figures and everyday soldiers at each siege thereby giving a very unique and local spin on national events. It really kept me hooked and other sites that fixate on dates and building chronologies should take note!

Thanks to Andrew Norman for the Invite to Rockinham and also to his very warm and friendly staff.