Restormel Castle - Lostwithiel Cornwall (EH)
Restormel Castle now sits in isolation a mile or so from Lostwithiel, where there was once a major crossing point of the river Fowey. On top of impressive earthworks, the shell keep of dark grey stone was built on the site of the earlier Norman wooden keep, surrounded by an enclosed bailey, the work of Baldwin FitzTurstin about 1100. Where Restormel differs from the many other motte and bailey Norman castles, is that the ditch was cut into the rock, rather than the motte built up away from the ditch. The result is an unusually wide and deep ditch with a fairly low motte. Restormel has belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall since 1299, after the death of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall. It was probably Richard, Earl of Cornwall who built the castle as he moved his main administrative centre to Restormel from Launceston, another shell keep. Richard's work resulted in one of the widest diameter of shell keep with innovative use of the interior space. In place of the more common wooden buildings surrounding an earlier stone tower, Restormel has a cart-wheel pattern of stone apartments built up to the outer wall, with the more prestigious lord's residence on the upper floor.
Although not tremendously strong defensively, the shape and design of the building with its large windows and views over the countryside, reflect the high status of its owner. After Edmund's death, stewards looked after the castle, but it is known that the Black Prince, Edward, visited in 1354 and 1365, during his period of ownership, and that the castle was well maintained at that time.
The surrounding deer park was then the largest in Cornwall, but after his death, the castle gradually deteriorated until it was patched up by the Parliamentarian army of Lord Essex during the Civil War. It was captured during the only recorded military action in its history in 1644 by Sir Richard Grenville, but by the Romantic Period, the castle had become overgrown and was a picturesque subject for artists. Although now the
To enter the keep, you cross over the ditch through a strong stone gateway. Although never filled with water as a true moat, the latrines inside the castle lead into the ditch, and rainwater and accumulated rubbish would have made it rather unpleasant. Once inside the keep, you are on the highest part of the hill Restormel was built on, and the beauty of the circular building becomes apparent, even on a wet, grey day. The diameter is about 38 meters, and the stone is a local shillet. Both internally and externally, the stone was rendered and limewashed for protection and appearance. The more sophisticated parts of the castle, such as the door surrounds and windows, were carved from higher quality stone, imported specially. Most of this has been robbed for re-use in other buildings since the castle's decline. The walls are 2.4 meters thick, and the wall walk around the top is still negotiable; the stairs leading up to it are to either side of the entrance.
The gatehouse was constructed during two periods, the inner side built when the enclosure was still wooden, and the outer part built with the rest of the stone structure. On the outside you can still see the recess where the drawbridge would have fitted. Inside the main castle, most of the stone buildings would have been used for sleeping-quarters, storage and workshops. Apart from the kitchen, to the right of the gatehouse, the important rooms were all on first floor level, as in a traditional tower keep. The kitchen originally had an earth floor, and was open to the sky for ventilation. Nearby is one of the mysterious pits in Restormel. Opinions differ as to their use, but the three rectangular pits could have stored water or food, or been part of the construction of an earlier tower. From the kitchen, the buttery and pantry lead off to the store room below the great hall.
The great hall had two big windows in the curtain wall - not suitable for defence, but very suitable for impressing your guests. Access was by a wooden staircase from the courtyard, and there were probably two more windows on the courtyard side. A door leads from the great hall to the solar, the lord's private quarters. Again, this had fine windows, with day seats, and to the right, there are stairs leading up to the wall walk, an unusual feature, perhaps to grant a better view of the deer hunt. In the courtyard below the solar is the well, some 8 meters deep. From the solar, another door leads to the chapel, which, like the great hall, had wooden stairs up from the courtyard.
The chapel juts out from the outside circular wall of the keep, and you can see where the curtain wall was opened during the thirteenth century for the insertion of the chapel. Below the chapel was an undercroft, perhaps reached by a now blocked door. The walls of the chapel show evidence of much alteration during the castle's history, and it seems likely that a gun emplacement was put here during the Civil War. The placement of artillery in a once Catholic chapel would no doubt have appealed to the occupying forces.
Further round, there was an ante chapel and then the principal bed chamber. Although there are several latrines on the other side of the castle, there are none within the lord's apartments. The guest chamber was on left of the gatehouse as you enter, with the guard room below. As you explore the remains of the castle, you may notice that many of the walls do not seem to connect with the circular outer wall. It had been thought that perhaps the curtain wall first circled wooden buildings, with the stone buildings added later, but it is now thought that the whole castle was constructed at the same time, just that time and movement has separated the walls abutting the curtain.