Tattershall Castle

Tattershall Castle

Castle, now a monument owned by the National Trust. Built around 1440 for Ralph Cromwell, Lord High Treasurer, on the site of an earlier castle constructed by Robert Tateshale in 1231. The structure was restored between 1911 and 1925 by Lord Curzon.

The castle is a red brick tower built in English bond, with darker brick lattice lozenge decorations to the upper parts and ashlar dressings. It has leaded roofs and follows a rectangular plan with faceted angle towers. It originally had an attached hall on the courtyard side.

The tower rises five storeys above an undercroft. The front elevation features an irregular three-bay arrangement with a plinth, chamfered ashlar string course, and an embattled parapet with machicolated base. At ground floor level are three four-centred arched doorways. The plinth contains a small arched opening to the undercroft with a small rectangular light above it. The first floor has two two-light windows, one with a moulded rectangular surround. The second and third floors each have three two-light windows with cusped heads to the lights, central mullions, and four-centred arched surrounds. Above the machicolations are eight cusped-headed openings in moulded rectangular surrounds. The angle towers have single cross-shaped arrow loops at their tops, and the embattled parapets feature arcaded brick corbels. The roof carries a bank of three tall circular stacks with embattled tops.

On either side of the tower can be seen sections of curtain wall with an upper gallery containing small rectangular loops and a wall walk above. The left-hand side wall has three large two-light windows on each floor with cusped heads to the lights, panel traceried tops, and concave moulded surrounds. The right-hand side wall has two large windows matching those to the left. The rear wall has two two-light windows on each floor, with cusped heads to the lights, panel tracery, and four-centred arched heads.

Interior

The undercroft has a wide brick segmental tunnel vault with chambers off it. The ground floor parlour contains a fine chimney piece of Ancaster stone bearing the shields of Lord Cromwell and his ancestors. The chimney has a shallow four-centred moulded opening with a crocketed ogee above it. A rectangular shield-bearing panel is flanked by half-round columns with foliate capitals and has a brattished top with a frieze of fleurons. Four-centred arched openings lead to chambers off the parlour.

The first floor principal state room is accessed by a turning stair in the north-east turret with a restored inset moulded ashlar handrail. The chimney piece is elaborately carved with grotesque heads on the capitals at either end. The spandrels contain representative carvings, and the panel across the lintel bears armorial shields with a brattished top and frieze of fleurons. Corbels on the north wall were intended to support a baldequin over the high table. Four-centred brick openings lead to chambers off this room.

The second floor features a long passage on the east side with a fine quadripartite brick vault having moulded ribs and ashlar shield bosses, which has been restored. The Audience Chamber also contains a fine chimney piece bearing shields of arms. Corbels on the south wall supported a canopy over Lord Cromwell's dais. A garderobe chamber on the south side has been converted to a dovecote with side walls lined with mud and lath construction containing circular nesting boxes.

The third floor withdrawing room or privy chamber also contains a fine chimney piece. The window recesses in the west wall are elaborately brick vaulted with decorated bosses and triskeles in the spandrels made of shaped bricks. Above is a roof gallery with a covered walkway giving access to the machicolations and an upper walkway behind the embattled parapet, supported on chamfered brick piers with segmental arches.

Historical Context

Cromwell employed a German named Baldwin Docheman to superintend the brickmaking, and the work was undertaken to foreign, possibly French, designs. The castle was last occupied in the 17th century. After 1912, restoration was undertaken by Lord Curzon under the direction of architect William Weir.

The site is a scheduled ancient monument (No. 2).