Bill and Jen's Adventures: Skipton Castle

I can't get over the number of historical landmarks within 30 minutes of our new home!

Last weekend, we drove out to Skipton Castle for the afternoon. The castle played a huge part in both the War of the Roses as well as the British civil war. During the War of the Roses, the Clifford family (the owners of Skipton Castle) were huge supporters of the Lancastrian claim to the throne while everyone around them tended to be Yorkists.

Here's a picture of the castle's gatehouse.

Gatehouse

And inside the castle's courtyard.

Clifford crest in courtyard

Pretty tree in couryard

During the civil war, the Cliffords were staunch royalists and kept Oliver Cromwell and his Parliamentary troops from taking their castle during a three-year siege. Three years!! Can you imagine trying to defend a castle for three solid years? Loyal Skipton citizens would sneak up to the castle and throw provisions over the castle wall to help them during the siege.

A few pictures of arrowslits. Again, it boggles my mind to think of the guys who stood right here

and shot arrows out of these slits.

Arrowslit

Arrowslit towards gatehouse

Life inside the castle was pretty good for the time period. We saw kitchens, garderobes (medieval toilets), bedchambers, and even the wine cellar and beer brewing room. We saw the cooling tub they used after the fermentation of beer. The hot brew would be poured into the lead tub and sit there for hours to cool before being put into barrels for later consumption. Yup, you read that right - the tank was made out of lead!

Lead cooling tub

The castle hasn't been inhabited since the mid 18th century, but I saw a ghost in the more modern kitchen - spooky!!!

Goulish ghostie!

As we left, Bill notices a step (like many inside the castle) that had been worn away over time in just one spot. The docent said the medieval main door used to be kept closed on the left side, which explains why the right step was much more worn. Here's a picture of the picture-taker.