What happened to Duffield Castle?
Drive along the A6 through Duffield, a small town in Derbyshire, and you will pass the site of one of the largest castle keeps in England. But despite its size, there’s not much left of Duffield Castle today. And there's much we still don’t know about the fortress - including its fate.
The Norman Conquest heralded the advent of castle-building in England and it was the new Norman magnates in town, the Ferrers, who raised the castle at Duffield. Initially a ‘motte and bailey’, the stone keep – or main tower - was added later, probably by the first earl of Derby, Robert de Ferrers I or his successor sometime after 1138.
Measuring 98 by 95 feet, the keep at Duffield was fractionally smaller than the donjon at Dover castle and the Tower of London, making it the third largest keep in the realm during its heyday.
One might expect, then, that the final demise of such a mighty fortress would have been well recorded. Alas it wasn’t, and the castle’s disappearance remains shrouded in mystery.
Even the history books don’t agree. The popular view, including that of the National Trust, is that the fortress was destroyed in 1266 following the rebellion of its owner, Robert de Ferrers III, the sixth earl of Derby. Other historians reckon it was long gone before Robert was even born.
There are clues, however, that enable us to piece together the castle’s story.
Rebellion
One theory is that Duffield castle did not survive the twelfth century. In 1173, Earl William de Ferrers joined King Henry II’s sons in rebellion. When the king emerged triumphant from this elaborate family squabble, William’s castles at Duffield and Tutbury were earmarked for demolition. Some historians believe Duffield was torn down then - a view strengthened by a subsequent earl, William II, asking King John for the use of nearby Horsely castle in 1215.
Archaeology, however, suggests the castle endured long after William’s rebellion. In 1957, an excavation of the outer defences in nearby Chadfield Road found evidence indicating the creation of a moat sometime after 1250. These defensive enhancements point to one man - Robert de Ferrers III - who took part in the great rebellion against Henry III during the 1260s. He was eventually captured at the battle of Chesterfield in 1266 and his lands passed to the king’s son, Edmund ‘Crouchback’. A theory has since developed that this was when the Crown destroyed Robert’s castle at Duffield.
The problem, though, is that there's no evidence at all to suggest this ever happened.
'The prince laid waste with fire and sword'
There is, however, evidence of a potentially earlier demise in spring, 1264. England at this time was in the grip of civil war, and Robert was fiercely involved, storming Worcester with the rebels before marching on Gloucester. The royalist response to these adventures was merciless. The thirteenth-century chronicle, Flores Historiarum, says the king, while celebrating Easter at Nottingham:
‘sent his eldest son, Edward, with a very gallant army, into Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and the prince laid waste with fire and sword the lands of Robert de Ferrers, earl of Derby, and overthrew his castle of Tutbury, and committed miserable destruction there. And in every direction, wherever the army of the king and prince Edward advanced, three companions attended it; rapine, fire and slaughter.’
We also know from the Dunstable Annals that Edward took the opportunity, whilst in this neck of the woods, to pay a visit to Wirksworth, where he extorted £200 from the presumably terrified populace. The prior of Dunstable, which held lands in the area, even coughed up £10 himself to help raise the sum.
We have here, then, a powerful royal army on record as levelling Tutbury castle, carrying out destruction through Robert’s lands, and popping up just nine miles away in Wirksworth. If Duffield castle met a violent end, the smart money’s on 1264.
"My castle of Duffield"
As is often the case with historical research, though, the story is not quite so simple. In 1273, Robert issued a charter to the earl of Gloucester, in which he granted lands – which he still claimed despite his downfall after Chesterfield - including his castles at Tutbury, Chartley, Liverpool and his ‘castle of Duffield.’ It is possible, then, that, like Tutbury, the castle was severely damaged, but still standing. Unlike Tutbury, which was repaired by its new owners, Duffield seems to have been ignored and presumably left to rot. Robert’s 1273 grant is the last mention of the castle that we have.
Today, Duffield Castle lives on only through local references. Nearby Castle Hill offers something of a hint, while two of the village’s schools bear a keep on their crests. Visitors to the site - known to locals as ‘Castle Grounds’ - are treated to a spot of tranquility and pleasant views across the Derwent. But other than a capped well and some Victorian stonework, there’s no trace of the castle.
A version of this article was originally published in the Derby Telegraph, 4 August 2015.
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