Farnham Castle, Surrey

On the north edge of Farnham in west Surrey, Farnham Castle was built in 1138 by Henry de Blois, the third Norman Bishop of Winchester, and it served as one of the residences of the powerful Winchester bishops for over 800 years, along with Wolvesey Castle and Bishop's Waltham Palace.

The castle has been modified and augmented over the centuries, until the 1800s, and today it exists in two states, a medieval ruin, based around the original shell keep, with motte, curtain walls and gatehouse, adjoining a suite of intact buildings, mostly 17th century, currently used as a wedding venue and for business meetings.

The ruined keep is managed by English Heritage, and entry is free, while the other buildings are only open to paying guests, as are most of the surrounding grounds - the circular keep, the English Heritage-owned section, makes up only ten percent of the site; the reminder comprises the more recent buildings, of the inner bailey, and extensive lawns, of the outer bailey, enclosed by a stone wall with several corner turrets. Beyond this was a moat and ditch, now just an overgrown strip of land, merging with Farnham Park, established in the 1300s as a deer hunting range, and extending almost a mile to the north.

Farnham is considered to be amongst the best examples of a Norman motte and bailey castle in the country, even though it was never used as a fortification, only as a residence. Part was deliberately destroyed after the Civil War, in 1648, and the majority of the extant buildings were added after this time.

History

The initial version of Farnham Castle, from 1138, consisted of a tower keep; a tall, square-based tower at the centre of an artificial mound. Despite its large size and commanding presence, this endured for less than two decades, seemingly demolished around 1155, during 'The Anarchy', by order of Henry II. A replacement structure, erected shortly after, utilised the lower level of the shell of the tower, below ground level, as a well, now surrounded by a curtain wall with various buildings at the south side, centred around the gatehouse, below and beyond which was another walled enclosure, the triangular-shaped inner bailey, where a number of other buildings were located, including a chapel and great hall. The outer bailey was also added, protected by a second wall, 1,800 feet in length, and all was largely complete by the early 1200s. In the 14th century the great hall was extended, while in the 15th century an ornate entrance tower was added, by Bishop William Waynflete. The castle was used as a garrison for parliamentary troops during the Civil War, after which the keep was slighted, though the site was restored to the bishops soon after, and remained in their occupancy until 1956.

Access - Blind Bishop's Steps

The approach to the castle from Farnham town is northwards along Castle Street then up the Blind Bishop's Steps, which were constructed in the early 1500s on behalf of Richard Foxe, another of the Winchester bishops; the steps were designed with a sequence of seven stairs followed by a flat section seven paces long, all repeated several times, thus allowing the bishop, who had become blind in later life, to ascend in safety, merely by counting. The top of the steps has a short semi-spiral section leading to the 15th century gatehouse, at the southwest corner of the site.

The Castle

The entrance to the keep is a little way north of the gatehouse, across a carpark, flanked by an 18th century stable block, then along a short walkway between the south wall of the keep and the north wall of the inner court (part of the inner bailey), up some steps, over what used to be a drawbridge and through the gatehouse passageway, where the medieval stonework is mixed with red bricks from later additions. Ahead is a grassy area, enclosed by the inner curtain wall, which rises just a few feet above the interior though is much taller and more substantial when seen from outside, since the inner ground level is significantly raised. Along the wall are foundations of four towers - the west, northwest, north and east turrets, plus a few other features including plinths and a garderobe chute. At the centre is a square shaft, the well, formerly the base of the original tower, sheltered by a modern wooden roof. The shaft was filled in and buried around the time of the Civil War, and existence of the central tower was lost to history, until covered by excavations in the 1950s. One interesting observation is that the (buried) outer walls of the tower are plastered, indicating that all once stood above ground level and so was covered after construction, probably to provide support as the height of the tower was increased, most likely in several phases.