Bolingbroke Castle Remains

Bolingbroke Castle, Spilsby, Lincolnshire The remains of a 13th-century hexagonal castle, famous as the birthplace in 1367 of Henry of Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV. A Civil War Royalist base, it was besieged and taken by Parliamentarian forces in 1643. Bolingbroke Castle was one of three castles built by Ranulf de Blondeville, Earl of Chester and Lincoln, in the 1220s after his return from the Crusades (the others being Beeston Castle, Cheshire, and Chartley, Staffordshire). After Blondeville’s death, the castle remained in the ownership of the Earls of Lincoln and was later inherited through marriage by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. An extremely powerful member of the royal court, John of Gaunt became the guardian of Richard II when the young king succeeded to the throne at the age of 10. John of Gaunt and his first wife, Blanche, lived at the castle during the 1360s. Their son Henry of Bolingbroke was born there in 1367. Henry had a tempestuous relationship with Richard II and was exiled in 1397. He returned to England after the death of his father in 1399, enraged that the king had seized the estates he had inherited. Richard was in Ireland, attempting to quell a rising, when he heard of Henry’s return. These events marked the end of Richard II’s reign. Henry of Bolingbroke was encouraged to claim the throne of England from his unpopular rival, and Richard was imprisoned. Soon afterwards, Henry was crowned king as Henry IV. There is no documentary evidence to suggest that Henry IV ever returned to his birthplace. The main function of the castle during the 15th and 16th centuries was as an administrative centre for the estates of the Duchy of Lancaster. The current names of the towers, for example the Auditor’s Tower and Receiver’s Tower, refer to their use during this period. Surveys undertaken at the castle in the 17th century show that only a few of the towers then remained in use and that the enclosing walls were extremely dilapidated. During the Civil War (1642–8), Bolingbroke Castle became a defensible base for a Royalist garrison. In early October 1643, it was ordered to surrender by a Parliamentarian officer representing the Earl of Manchester. When the garrison refused, Parliamentarian forces surrounded the castle. Its garrison held out until 14 November before surrendering. In 1652 the castle was slighted (made indefensible) and in the early 19th century the last remaining part of the stonework fell down.