Harewood Castle

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Harewood Castle is a 14th century stone hall house and courtyard fortress, it is situated near on the Harewood Estate on the outskirts of Leeds in England (Grid Reference SE 322457). Harewood Castle is a grade I listed building.

[edit] History

The castle was founded by Sir William De Aldeburgh, he was granted a licence to crenellate, in 1366. He built the rectangular tower house, on a steep slope where it is visible for miles around. The main block of two storeys, is flanked by four angle towers, one being a plain entrance tower, the chapel is situated over the portcullis chamber. The lower kitchen wing is of four storeys, with a barrel-vaulted basement containing the well.

When De Aldeburgh died in 1388 the castle transferred to the Ryther and the Redmayne (Redman) families, into which his two daughters had married.

In 1574, James Ryther and partner William Plompton bought out the Redman family, although Ryther's financial situation must have worsened because he died in London's Fleet Prison in 1595. His son and two daughters sold the castle to Sir William Wentworth of Gawthorpe Hall in 1600 to clear debts, this is probably when Harewood Castle ceased to be a main residence.

The castle was last occupied in the 1630s and in 1656 it was put up for sale as an 'upstanding source of stone and timber'. The Wentworths sold Harewood and Gawthorpe to Sir John Cutler, by which time the castle had probably already been partly dismantled. At Cutler's death in 1693, it passed to his daughter and then to another relative, John Boulter, who died in 1738, his estates were sold to pay debts.

Centuries after it had been abandoned, Harewood Castle remained a landmark, the subject of several paintings in the late 1790s by William Turner.

[edit] Present

Recent times saw decay and weathering take their toll, and the unstable, castle was placed on the Buildings at Risk Register by English Heritage.

Then, around in the year 2000 a £1m rescue plan was drawn up, funded partly through English Heritage and partly by the Harewood Estate. The restoration project, which has involved architects, geologists, structural engineers, ecologists and staff of the Harewood Estate, Historic Property Restoration and English Heritage, is nearing completion.

The castle was taken off the 'Buildings at Risk' register earlier this month.^[when?] The next stage will be to decide how the castle might be visited by the public.