Horsley Castle – a Hidden Remnant of UK History
Ruins of a Medieval Military Defence Previously Owned By Byron’s Anc
Castle’s were a common sight in Medieval Britain. A stronghold for troops and a place of relative security for valuables, they were a key status symbol for noblemen of the times. But there were surprisingly few of prominence in Derbyshire - in An Archaeological Resource Assessment of Medieval Derbyshire, Dave Barrett states that “Only seven castles in Derbyshire developed into substantial stone-built structures.” Horsley, (or Horston/Horeston) was one of these, significant others being nearby Duffield Castle (some 3 miles west), Castleton and Bolsover.
Location
Horsley Castle is situated some six miles north of Derby in some woodland between Horsley and Little Eaton villages. The castle itself is now but a small ruin, perched atop a large block of pale sandstone rock, covered in ivy and surrounded by woodland. A deep ditch partly surrounding the ruins would once have been a defensive moat.
Norman Origins and Byron Ancestry
Its origins go back to Norman times when according to Castle UK.net, it was an "earthwork motte and bailey fortress” and from other sources, likely dates back to the reign of William the Conqeuror. According to picturethepast.org.uk, one Ralph de Burun was the Lord of the Castle between 1135 and 1154, and also has the distinction of being an ancestor of the poet Byron.
King John
In the early 13th Century King John is known to have made extensive modifications to the castle, including its transformation from earthwork to stone stronghold. A keep, a chapel, a gatehouse and a barbican are all listed by several sources as being additions at this point in time. King John is reputed to have made frequent visits to this and other castles in the area in the early 1200’s.
Military Strongholds
This castle, like others such as Duffield and Castleton would have formed part of a web of military strongholds across the region. C Pritchard in the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal indicates that some mounds at nearby Morley are the remnants of signalling stations connected with the castle. The last record of habitation seems to have been in the early 16th Century, when Henry VIII apparently granted the castle to the Duke of Norfolk.
Quarrying and The Kedleston Connection
It is not clear when quarrying started, but given the castle was apparently already a ruin in 1555, that suggests quarrying was not the original cause of its demise, but merely a large factor in reducing its ruins to the current state. However, the sandstone is known to have been of exceptionally fine building quality.
There is some conjecture that it was used to build parts of nearby Kedleston Hall. How true this is remains unclear, but the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, has a collection of “fine white sandstone” from Horsley Castle Quarry. This they acquired in 1883, and apparently sandstone from this quarry was “extensively used in the County of Derby for many public buildings”; perhaps rumours about its use in part of Kedleston Hall are not entirely unbelievable.
Scheduled monument
Horsley Castle is a scheduled monument. That means it has protection in law that places its preservation ahead of other land uses. In particular (according to English Heritage) it is forbidden by law to:
- Cause reckless or deliberate damage
- Use a metal detector or remove an object found with one without a licence
The castle is visible from a public footpath, but although people have clearly walked around it (there is a geocache site nearby), there is no right of way over the castle itself.
The Ruins Of Horsley Castle
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