Chirk Castle - Chirk, Wales (NT)
Chirk Castle stands on a hill, squat and whole and one of the few castles in the UK to have been continuously inhabited since it's completion. It was begun by Roger Mortimer, who had been granted the lordship of Chirk by Edward I in 1282. Around 1295, he started building his own castle as Edward had been doing in Wales and it resembles those of his king at Beaumaris and Anglesey, probably partially designed by the same master mason. It is a rectangular plan, with rounded drum towers at each corner, providing the latest in defensive capabilities, having strength, a large field of vision and attack, battered bases to the towers and an altogether formidable appearance, which remains today as few external alterations were made after the fourteenth century. Internally many additions are apparent, with a gradual move from functional wooden accommodation to larger, more showy stone apartments within the walls around a central courtyard.
Mortimer's royal patronage came to an end under Edward II, who although he had earlier appointed him Justice of Wales, could not brook Mortimer's defeat of his favourite, Hugh Despenser. He imprisoned Mortimer in the Tower of London, where he died in 1326. Mortimer's nephew, also Roger, had been imprisoned with his uncle, but escaped and came to great power when he joined up with Queen Isabella, eventually deposing and murdering the king and ruling as regents until 1330, when the young king, Edward II threw off the hated yoke of his guardians. In turn, Roger Mortimer himself was executed at Tyburn. In the absence of a strong ruler back in Wales, the local tenants at Chirk stormed the castle and destroyed the records of the rents and taxed they had been burdened by. The castle was now in the king's hands, but despite promises to the contrary, in 1334 it was granted to the Earl of Arundel, Richard Fitzalan II. A distinguished commander under Edward III during the Hundred Years War, the earl bought out the claims of the Mortimer family to Chirk and the castle passed peacefully to his son. Richard Fizalan III rebelled against his ill-fated king, Richard II and was executed. His son, Thomas, joined forces with Henry of Lancaster and when he prevailed against the king to become Henry IV, Thomas regained possession of Chirk. As he died in 1415 without an heir, Chirk once more passed into royal hands. Henry V's widow, Katherine de Valois, received Chirk as part of her dowry.
The rich estate was bought by Cardinal Henry Beaufort in 1439, who left it to his nephew Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, who also fought for the Lancastrians, although with considerably less success than Arundel. He was killed during the first battle of the Wars of the Roses and the estate of Chirk once more passed back to royal ownership after the defeat of his son. By now Chirk was owned by Richard III, but he in turn sold it to Sir William Stanley in 1475. By this time the castle seemed rather dated, but repairs were carried out by Sir William. As a turncoat who betrayed his king, Stanley came to a sticky end in 1495 when he was executed as a conspirator in the Perkin Warbeck affair. Chirk became a Tudor estate and further building work was completed, with the hall being sub-divided into upper and lower chambers and the 'newe lodgynges' built along the south range. It was at this time that the present Servants' Hall was built, with a brewhouse and a kitchen beside it, a great chamber above and gabled bedrooms above that. The marks of the gables can still be seen in the stonework high up on the wall in the courtyard.
Eventually, under Queen Elizabeth I, Chirk was granted to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Although there seems to have been a new roof around this time, Dudley didn't carry out a grand modernisation and building programme here at Chirk, as he did at other possessions, such as Kenilworth Castle. A series of short owners held Chirk, until it was sold for about £5000 to Sir Thomas Myddelton in 1595. the Myddelton family held Chirk for the next three and a half centuries, granting it to the National Trust in 1981. They still maintain an apartment at the castle.
The first Sir Thomas added the north range with a suite of rooms which later became the basis of the state rooms. It was his son, the second Sir Thomas, who settled at Chirk who became a Civil War general. He was M.P. for Denbighshire and opposed King Charles I, although he was a moderating influence. His royalist neighbours at Chirk however seized the castle in 1643 and it remained under royal control for the next three years. Sir Thomas defeated the royalists in a battle at Montgomery, and took nearby Powis castle, but was understandably reluctant to use cannon on his own castle at Chirk. It took bribery to gain Chirk and Sir Thomas' eldest son became governor in 1646. However, by 1651, Sir Thomas' sympathies had altered and he became a royalist, which meant the Parliamentarian garrison at Chirk was rather inconvenient. In 1696 he declared openly for Charles II and the castle was besieged by parliamentary troops, who has no scruples about using ordnance this time. After the Restoration, Sir Thomas set about rebuilding the demolished towers to the north east, the south east and the joining curtain wall. The towers were not rebuilt to their original height and the remaining ones were leveled to produce the characteristic squat appearance of the present castle. High towers were too vulnerable now that cannon had become the siege weapon of choice. The stunning ebony cabinet now in the Long Gallery was a gift to Sir Thomas from the King, in recognition of his loyalty.
Sir Thomas' son had been created a baronet, but died before his father and so when Sir Thomas died in 1666, the estate was managed by his widow, Dame Mary Myddelton until her grandson came of age in 1672. He set about redecorating Chirk, along with his new wife and mother-in-law. The Long Gallery dates from this period of work. He also had a terrace walk built on the east side of the courtyard and the state rooms. All rooms from this time were wainscoted and carved in the classical style which only survives in the Long Gallery. He was succeeded by his brother and Chirk passed through the family in direct and indirect descent.
Further major alterations were made in the 1760's with a neo-classical style based on the popular work of Robert Adam. The Hall, Staircase and Drawing Room provide the best examples of this period of work, being elegant and spacious. The work in the Saloon dates from the 1770's and is a curious application of Adam style decoration covering a coffered ceiling. Although spectacular, it seems heavy and oppressive.
The next major work was under the major Victorian architect and designer A.W. Pugin in the 1840's. The facade of the east range was remodeled in the Gothic style and it has weathered into a very pleasing appearance. Inside, all the classical decoration was covered up in gothic woodwork and colourations, Pugin using his favoured decorator J.G. Crace. Working under commission, Pugin nevertheless knew that Chirk was not really suitable for the Gothic style and found his task rather tiresome. The main parts remaining from this period are the external work, including that of Pugin's son on the stable block and turreted wall above the southern approach and the Cromwell Hall, packed with bizarre historical objects. In 1912, the final work on the Chapel was carried out, adding the oak floor and paneling and the raised walkway (rather vertigo-inducing). After the Second World War, the state rooms were restored to their eighteenth century decoration.
On the approach by road to Chirk, you pass a magnificent set of wrought iron gates, dating from 1719, which once stood at the forecourt to the castle. During the eighteenth century, major landscaping took place, including the sunken wall around the castle to provide protection from the sheep and cattle on the estate, but maintain an unbroken view out over the land. Large classical lead statues of Hercules and Mars also graced the scene, one of which, Hercules, survives and is in the garden. The gardens are wonderfully varied and attractive, with bright rhododendrons, tall trees and unusual combinations of traditional and more trendy plants. The borders are sinuous and many paths lead off from the lawns. Close to the castle are a series of clipped yews and several stunning Art Nouveau bronze statues.