England's best kept secret? Inside Hedingham Castle in Photos

Imagine an undiscovered gem, tucked away in private grounds above a tiny medieval village. You arrive on a summer Sunday morning in the heart-stoppingly quaint streets and only two or three cars are here. Castle Hedingham is only an hour from London but as you walk up the silent, long drive, you could be several centuries away.

An old manor house greets you, a slice of rural England at its finest – low gables, a lake and an old stone bridge. Turn left across the bridge and the secret is slowly uncovered. For above a perfectly manicured lawn and shaded by high trees, looms the long shadow of Hedingham Castle itself.

Hedingham Castle is no crumbling ruin but a fully preserved Norman keep, with one of the finest medieval interiors anywhere in the world. The tower looms like a monolith, 110 feet tall and nine hundred years old. Beneath this supremely tranquil garden lies a history of bloody warfare, treachery and lust.

History

The castle was the ancestral seat of the de Veres, Earl of Oxford. Any student of English history will know the pivotal, sometimes bloody, role, this family played in centuries of factional warfare. They have a still more controversial claim to fame, for some speculate that the 17^th Earl of Oxford was the true author of Shakespeare’s plays. The mystery will never be solved.

Inside the Castle

If you want to see a fully preserved Norman keep, you have come to the right place. Start with the Dungeon, the roofless chamber outside the main entrance where prisoners would have been lowered to their doom. As a great military fortress, the walls are 12 foot thick at the base and a guardroom (now transformed into a tea room) guards the entrance.

The castle was also a private home for the Earl and the very top floor shows the bed where his Lordship would have slept, an unheard of luxury in medieval times. Descend to the Minstrels Gallery, where jesters and minstrels would have entertained the Earl during the vast medieval banquets.

The Banqueting Hall itself is the finest example of its kind in Europe. You can see the grand trestle tables placed lengthways down the hall, where the Earl would have dined on venison from the forests. This spectacular venue is now available for wedding ceremonies. Also note the medieval garderobe, or lavatory, which consists of little more than a stone seat and a chute.

Siege!

The great castle was constructed in 1104 and King John besieged Hedingham Castle in 1216 when the barons rebelled against his tyranny. During this long and bitter siege the defenders hurled fresh fish from the battlements, to prove to the besiegers that they had plenty to eat! (There was a secret tunnel leading to the fish ponds). Alas in the end the great keep fell and the Earl’s land was declared forfeit. Another brutal, bloody siege ensued in 1217 but on the death of King John, the good King Henry II restored the land to its rightful owners, the de Vere family. Today their descendants, the Lindsays, still own the land.

Hedingham Castle lies on the borders of the counties of Essex and Suffolk, at the height of Castle Hedingham, the village that grew up around it. Incidentally, this village is well worth exploring in its own right. This is deep, quintessentially English countryside, an hour’s drive from the urbanised fringe of south Essex. Take the M11 motorway up to London Stansted Airport, then strike east to find the castle. The full address is:

Castle Hedingham, Halstead, Essex CO9 3DJ, England

Opening times may be found at www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk Medieval jousts and special themed events are regularly held at the castle. However thehe castle is closed from November until Easter. 

Author’s note: I am not connected with the owners or management of the castle in any way, but merely appreciate a high quality slice of English history when I see it. Hedingham Castle is undoubtedly one of the best days out in Essex.