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OK, this one is a bit of a gem. Don’t know how I didn’t know about this place but discovered it recently when researching new locations. It’s been covered on here a long time ago so about time Torksey Castle got another report done on it. The day I visited the light was really, really flat but I didn’t let that put me off as I parked up in the village and made my way over to the site. Torksey isn’t a real castle but more of a manor house. It is located in the centre of the village of Torksey on the east bank of the River Trent in Lincolnshire. To be more precise it is a 16th-century Tudor stone-built fortified manor house founded by the Jermyn family of Suffolk. It’s perhaps no surprise that the building is on the Buildings at Risk Register. The site is “strictly private, with no public access” and is only just visible from the A156 road that runs through Torksey. In the hands of English Heritage it would no doubt pull in a steady stream of tourists.
It is not known why Torksey Castle was built. It may have been built as a ‘waypoint’ for the Jermyn family's travels to York or as a gift to one of their sons. The manor was constructed the latest Renaissance fashion. The lower or ground floor level is built of thin limestone blocks and has small mullioned windows. This part of the house was probably used as the domestic area where the servants would have worked. The upper level is built in brick which, at the time, was considered a lavish building material. The hall consisted of a planned series of ranges around a square courtyard.
In 1645 the property fell victim to the English Civil War when the Royalist Jermyn family had the house seized by the Parliamentarians and was in return burned by Royalist soldiers based up the road at Newark. After this very little of the structure remained. The Jermyn family retained control of the estate post- Civil War but the property was not restored and continued to deteriorate. The remains of the buildings were scavenged for building supplies by local residents to reuse. Also due to the hall’s close proximity to the flood-prone River Trent, flooding has contributed to the manor’s demise. In the 1990’s English Heritage undertook the stabilisation of the building (as can be clearly seen from some of the pictures.
Hope you like the pictures and thanks for looking!
Close up of the mullioned windows:
img7509 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Two of the towers:
img7508 by HughieDW, on Flickr
General view of Torksey:
img7504 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A brick and limestone range of the first floor:
img7499 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Rear view clearly showing the stabilisation work English Heritage undertook in the 1990s:
img7498 by HughieDW, on Flickr
On the inside looking out:
img7489bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
Looking up one of the towers:
img7480 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Close up of the manor’s façade:
img7478 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7471 by HughieDW, on Flickr
More general shots:
img7476 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7475 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7472 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Up chimney shot:
img7465 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Another shot up one of the manor’s towers:
img7459 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Close up of the rear elevation:
img7510 by HughieDW, on Flickr
External of one of the towers:
img7457 by HughieDW, on Flickr
It is not known why Torksey Castle was built. It may have been built as a ‘waypoint’ for the Jermyn family's travels to York or as a gift to one of their sons. The manor was constructed the latest Renaissance fashion. The lower or ground floor level is built of thin limestone blocks and has small mullioned windows. This part of the house was probably used as the domestic area where the servants would have worked. The upper level is built in brick which, at the time, was considered a lavish building material. The hall consisted of a planned series of ranges around a square courtyard.
In 1645 the property fell victim to the English Civil War when the Royalist Jermyn family had the house seized by the Parliamentarians and was in return burned by Royalist soldiers based up the road at Newark. After this very little of the structure remained. The Jermyn family retained control of the estate post- Civil War but the property was not restored and continued to deteriorate. The remains of the buildings were scavenged for building supplies by local residents to reuse. Also due to the hall’s close proximity to the flood-prone River Trent, flooding has contributed to the manor’s demise. In the 1990’s English Heritage undertook the stabilisation of the building (as can be clearly seen from some of the pictures.
Hope you like the pictures and thanks for looking!
Close up of the mullioned windows:
img7509 by HughieDW, on FlickrTwo of the towers:
img7508 by HughieDW, on FlickrGeneral view of Torksey:
img7504 by HughieDW, on FlickrA brick and limestone range of the first floor:
img7499 by HughieDW, on FlickrRear view clearly showing the stabilisation work English Heritage undertook in the 1990s:
img7498 by HughieDW, on FlickrOn the inside looking out:
img7489bw by HughieDW, on FlickrLooking up one of the towers:
img7480 by HughieDW, on FlickrClose up of the manor’s façade:
img7478 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg7471 by HughieDW, on FlickrMore general shots:
img7476 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg7475 by HughieDW, on Flickrimg7472 by HughieDW, on FlickrUp chimney shot:
img7465 by HughieDW, on FlickrAnother shot up one of the manor’s towers:
img7459 by HughieDW, on FlickrClose up of the rear elevation:
img7510 by HughieDW, on FlickrExternal of one of the towers:
img7457 by HughieDW, on Flickr
