This month the Society’s talk was on “Oxfordshire Castles”, given by Trevor Rowley. He gave us a comprehensive and often witty survey of their history.

Castles in the usual sense did not exist in England much before the Norman Conquest. Prehistoric ‘castles’ were defensive areas which were centres of population rather than castles.

After the Conquest William the Conqueror set about consolidating his power. In many county towns, he established ‘Mottes” (earth mounds with wooden fortifications on the top) as centres of control. Later on these Mottes acquired ‘Baileys’, enclosures where followers of the new lords were housed. Power was distributed mainly to those who were allies of William in his invasion of England, and it was they who now owned the castles and hence the power.

By 1250 the whole of England and Wales was covered with ‘Motte and Bailey’ castles. Trevor Rowley then described Oxford Castle. The Motte was built within 5 years of the Conquest, and sited in a position to control the town and areas to the west. It was a ‘motte and bailey’ type of castle, and on the top of the Motte it had a Keep with a stairway down to a well, but there was an anomaly, which still exists – St George’s Tower. Its date is not known. It could be Saxon, and might have been built in about 1050. It was used as a church, and it has a crypt built in the Norman style. During the time of the civil war between Stephen and Matilda it was first held by Matilda, but seized by Stephen, and Matilda had to escape across the frozen river in disguise, and retreat to Wallingford. Medieval kings did not like Oxford Castle. They much preferred “Beaumont Palace”, which had been built just outside the town boundary (near present-day Beaumont Street). Later, Woodstock Palace was preferred. During the Middle Ages not much drama occurred at Oxford Castle until the Civil War, when Charles I had his HQ at Christchurch. After his defeat, the Castle was ‘reduced’, much of its defences were destroyed, and it lay derelict until being converted to a prison, which it remained until recent times. Excavations in the Bailey area have turned up much of interest, including many skeletons. Some of these were the decapitated bodies of executed prisoners.

Wallingford Castle had been an extremely important castle built in a strategically vital stretch of the river Thames. William had failed in his first attempt to take London (after a battle on London Bridge). So he rode west along the river as far as Wallingford. Here he consolidated his political power, negotiating the surrender of Winchester. It was a royal castle until the Civil War, when it saw action and was besieged by Fairfax’s forces. Later, like Oxford Castle it was ‘reduced’. It was a very grand castle, but little now survives. Less well-known castles included Deddington Castle. This castle in the north of the county saw action during the Conquest. It was owned by Bishop Odo, nephew of William. He was the second richest man in the country, and features in the Bayeux Tapestry. The castle was Odo’s HQ, a secure base for Normans in hostile surroundings.

Chipping Norton Castle. This castle was owned by the Fitzalans, and was a centre of defence in the area. The Fitzalans held property on the Welsh border, and in Arundel. Middleton Stoney Castle. There is not much visible here, but in the middle of the park there is a Motte. It went out of use in the 1200’s. Excavations show that there was a Roman farmstead on the site.

Boarstall Tower. Now in the hands of the National Trust. it was built at a time when castles had ceased to be purely military structures, but this was deliberately given defensive-like features, like castellations. All that is left now is the gatehouse.

Broughton Castle. Mainly Tudor. Owned by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, it was built to look as if it was well fortified. The owners were on the Parliamentary side in the Civil War, so it was not ‘reduced’, and continued in the same family’s hands. It is often used in Films and TV series.

Shirburn Castle. Contemporary with Broughton Castle. It was owned by the Lords of Macclesfield, but is now empty due to a dispute. Blenheim Palace and Woodstock Castle. The latter had been a major royal residence, and was used by Henry II to conduct his affair with “Fair Rosamund”. It was situated in the grounds of Blenheim Palace near the bridge over the lake, and was removed when the Palace was built. The stone was used in the building of the Palace.

Trevor Rowley finished with a picture of Highclere Castle, built in the 19th century by the Caernarvon family and partly designed by Charles Barry who designed the Houses of Parliament. It is not in Oxfordshire, but it has many features that may recall the design of medieval castles like Oxford and Wallingford.

Speaker: Tim Healey

On Thursday 13th September, the Society heard a talk by Tim Healey on “Sex, Drink and Death in 17th Century Oxfordshire”. The talk amply lived up to the entertaining title, since Tim Healey had an arsenal of facts which he distributed with evident pleasure to the audience.

He started with a description of the ways in which alcohol was consumed in the 17th century. Water was so heavily polluted that it was extremely dangerous to drink it, so everyone, including children, drank ale. For the youngest children, there was ‘small ale’, which was a weaker version of the ‘real thing’. Taverns were a popular place for people to meet and socialise. Games were played, like Skittles, and Cudgels; young men indulged in Prize Fighting, plays were staged, showmen brought sights like ‘bearded ladies’ and presented their menageries. Present day pubs with names like “The Bear”, or “The Cock” were probably venues for bear baiting and cock fighting.

At about this time, beer was introduced to England from Holland, and so hops began to be grown in Kent. Beer could be stored more easily, kept longer and was cheaper, so it soon became more popular than ale. At about this time, Taverns which sold wine and sack (a kind of sherry) became popular, and Inns which offered lodging, especially to stage coach passengers were established in many places. ‘Flying coaches’, which could reach London from Oxford in less than a day, became very popular. At this time highwaymen began to appear. Many of them were veterans of the Civil War, having fought , and lost, on the Royalist side. There were
stories of female ‘highwaymen’ such as one called “The Wicked Lady”.

As regards Sex, Tim Healey produced some very interesting figures which illustrated very well the attitudes prevalent at that time. More than 30% (perhaps 50%) of women seem to have been pregnant before they were married – although this was not thought to be as shameful as it became later on. There was a custom called ‘hand-clasping’ which took place before marriage, and was a test of the compatibility of the couple for marriage. There was even a tradition, known as ‘bundling’ and approved of by the Puritans, whereby the young couple were put to
bed together, albeit separated by a ‘bundling board’. The biggest cause of shame was illegitimate birth.

The May festivities were a prime source of enjoyable sexual activity, though the Puritans disapproved. It was common practice for men to dress up in women’s attire when taking part in the celebrations.Christmas was celebrated with enthusiasm and lustily. After the Civil War, when many young men had been killed, there were a lot of ‘frisky’ young ladies, many of whom made themselves available in taverns. They became known as ‘light housewives’. Dons from the University, and students, would go out to the villages round Oxford looking for ‘bawds’. After
the Restoration, the mood became even freer. Charles II had at least 12 illegitimate children, and several mistresses, including Lady Castlemaine and the famous Nell Gwynne. It was also the time when the notorious Earl of Rochester flourished. Many people caught ‘The Pox”, and were sometimes treated for it in a bath of mercury.

Tim Healey’s last theme was Death. There was a great awareness of the subject at the time. The life expectancy was approximately 35, though this was distorted greatly by the very high child and young person mortality. The commemoration of death in churches and churchyards became much more common to every level of society, and when the Bible was printed in English, especially when the King James Bible became available, this had a very important effect on people’s view of the world. The execution of Charles I had a deep and very strong effect on the people. Death was very much ‘in your face’. There were many gibbets, where executed
criminals were displayed as a lesson to the people. Witchcraft was a very common concern.Witches were not burnt, but hanged, and there were probably many fewer
of them than is usually thought. There were parts of the country where witches were
pursued very vigorously, and often the witch-hunt was a result of ordinary local disputes.

The Great Plague probably killed about 100,000 people. It had been brought over in ships, and may have come from the Netherlands. People thought that it was the ‘noxious vapours’ in the air that brought it on. It was followed, and it seems finally banished, by the Great Fire of London, which destroyed a very large number of buildings, but killed many fewer people than might have been expected. But Death was omnipresent in people’s thoughts, and was written about and explored by writers such as John Donne, since Death was considered to be the soul’s way to eternal life.