Bolton Castle - Castle Bolton, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire (Pvt) Orde-Powlett Family
The construction of a castle on the edge of what was then the Forest of Wensleydale was started by Sir Richard Scrope in 1379. He had been given the required permission to crenellate by the King, Richard II and rather than simply fortify his existing manor house, he decided to completely rebuild. Stone was quarried from behind the village but the local wood was not of sufficient length to provide timber for the great oak beams, so it was brought in from the Forest of Engleby in the Lake District. An extensive conservation project has recently been completed with the assistance of the English Heritage. As well as structural repairs, the grounds have also been improved to include a walled herb garden, vineyard, a formal rose garden and privet maze looking as they would have done at the time of the castle's use.
The castle was lavishly constructed over a 20 year period at a cost of £12,000. It was very sophisticated for its time, having private apartments with large fire-places and chimneys, en-suite garde-robes and plumbing which was still in use in Victorian times. Sir Richard Scrope was MP for the county of York and Lord Chancellor of England. His grandfather, Sir Henry Scrope, had been Chief Baron of the Exchequer under Edward III.
For over 250 years Bolton Castle was used as a luxurious dwelling and saw little military action until it served as a garrison for the Royalist army during the English Civil War. In 1645 it was besieged and bombarded by Parliamentary forces until the Royalist defenders surrendered. In 1761 the north-east tower, having been weakened by artillery fire a century earlier, collapsed during a great storm but the other three towers and curtain wall survive almost to their original height.
The Scrope family history stretches back for more than 900 years to Richard Scrope, a Norman land owner and a favourite of King Edward the Confessor. The family's first recorded involvement in Wensleydale was in 1149, since when they continued to play a significant role at the heart of national politics. Their political career during the early days of the castle would not have been easy; Sir Richard's eldest son, Sir William, bought the kingdom of the Isle of Man in 1393 and was created Earl of Wilts. He was created Treasurer of England in 1398 but lost his head a year later for treason. He even received a mention in Shakespeare's play Richard II, as does his brother, Sir Steven, who served as Justice of Munster from 1401 under Henry IV.
The Archbishop of York, another of the Scrope family, officiated at the Coronation of Henry IV. He was executed for his part in Harry Hotspur's plot against Henry IV, as was his nephew, Sir Henry, for his part in the Earl of Cambridge's revolt against Henry V. Sir Richard, the third Lord Scrope, fought at Agincourt and also gets a mention by Shakespeare in Henry V and the 5th Lord Scrope, Sir John, fought on the losing side at the Battle of Bosworth but unlike his ancestor he escaped with a pardon. The 8th Baron Scrope, John Scrope, fell from favour by supporting the Pilgrimage of Grace, giving refuge to Adam Sedbar, Abbot of Jervaulx, who was subsequently caught and executed. As a consequence, John had to flee to Skipton being pursued by Henry VIII's King's Commissioners and Bolton Castle was fired.
Despite these periodic calamities the Scrope family managed to retain their estates and by the reign of Elizabeth were once again in royal favour. On 15th July 1568, Bolton Castle, like so many others, took custody of Mary Queen of Scots. She remained in the area until January 1569 when she was moved on to Tutbury in Staffordshire and a weary 18 years of incarceration before her execution at Fotheringay in 1587.
The eleventh and last Baron Scrope, Sir Emanuel, died in 1636 leaving his entire estate to his illegitimate son John, who defended Bolton for King Charles during the Civil War. Three of the garrison at that time were members of the Powlett family and it was via Charles Powlett who married John's sister Mary on his return to Bolton after his release from the Tower of London in 1653 that the Castle passed into the hands of the present family.