Our World Tuesday - Pickering, North Yorkshire - Part 3

Both Pickering town and the railway station are getting ready for several upcoming events, one is the forthcoming 'War Weekend' in which a lot of people descend upon the town, most of them wearing WWII clothes or Service uniforms.  There will be all sorts of things going on, plus a Military Parade, a local man takes the part of Monty, General Montgomery every year, and there are visitors from several countries including the USA, Germany and Italy, some of whom were actually P.O.W's here, they will probably visit Eden Camp in Malton too, the old P.O.W. camp that is now a War Museum.  

One other very special event which takes place in December is the running of the Santa Special trains by NYMR, when Santa and I, (Mistress Holly Claus, Santa's wife) will travel on the trains from Pickering to Levisham, and back again, talking to the children (of all ages) and giving out presents.  You can see our poster in the top left hand corner of the Notice Board.  

A few more photo's from Pickering Castle now, with a little information.  Last week I posted photo's of Mill Tower, it is not certain whether it was a horse mill, where a horse-powered crushing wheel would have been used for grinding coarse flour, but by 1537 the tower was in a state of disrepair so there was no longer a horse mill at the castle. By 1621 it was put back into good order and the ground floor was probably used as a prison, the upper chamber with its fireplace and latrine could have housed the gaoler.   

The well is located in the ditch at the foot of the Kings Tower Keep, and is 75 ft or 23m deep, in medieval measurements that is 20 ells.  It was dug through the limestone very early in the castle's history.  The depth is known because there is a record of a cord having been purchased for the well bucket during King Edward II's time.

The Chapel is the only building that still has a roof.  It is believed the chapel was built around 1226-27 as there is a record of a chaplain being appointed in 1238 and he was supported by royal income.  The chaplain's income came from two sources, the revenue from the Hospital of St. Nicholas, granted by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, on condition that the chaplain maintained its fabric.  Then Edward IV established a chantry of Our Lady within the castle in 1460, giving the chaplain additional income.  The castle had a resident chaplain up until 1547 when Henry VIII closed all chantry chapels and confiscated their income.  Bad old King Hal.

Rosamunds Tower is the northernmost tower and stands astride the inner ditch, this allowed a small gate to be placed in the ditch bottom, (a postern).  The postern had a small drawbridge and was built on the instruction of Edward II, but it is not known when or why the name Rosamund was given to the tower.  'Fair Rosamund' was the mistress of Henry II, but she had died more than a century earlier.   The gate is also referred to as a Sallyport.

Lastly, the main entrance in the outer ward of the castle is the Gatehouse, it was a two-storey tower with entrance passage below, a drawbridge and portcullis which was operated by a mechanism in a well defended room above.  The portcullis is no longer to be seen and the tall gateway has been filled in with stone, leaving just a small entrance now but the outline of the original gate can still be seen.  Click on any photo to enlarge.

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