Merdon Castle
Located on the high ground overlooking Standon, hidden behind trees and the Hursley Park estate wall, lies the remains of a castle built by Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, during reign of his brother, Stephen, the last Norman king of England.
First published in "Hursley Living", The Hursley Parish Magazine, Jul y/August 2016
Stephen’s reign was not a peaceful one. He had grabbed the throne from under the very nose of the dead King’s intended heir, the Empress Matilda, an act which was, ultimately, to lead to civil war. With a deteriorating political situation Henry was not alone in seeking to protect his interests by fortifying his estates. Throughout England the nobility had reacted to the instability by building castles as Stephen and the Empress Matilda each vied to gain control and armed conflict flared. Such was the disorder that the author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wrote that...
“... the land was all laid waste by such deeds; and they said openly, that Christ slept, and his saints. Such things, and more than we can say, suffered we nineteen winters for our sins.”
Winchester was at the very heart of this conflict. It was at Winchester that Stephen first claimed the crown, and treasury, in 1135. Then in 1141, following the capture of the King at Lincoln, the Empress Matilda brought him with her to the royal castle in Winchester as she tried to force Henry to accept her rule. Henry's importance was great. Not only was he the King's brother and supporter but he was one of the richest and most powerful clerics in the country, having been appointed Papal Legate and narrowly failing to have Winchester made an archbishopric.
Unfortunately for the Empress, Henry hid in his castle at Wolvesey and in the ensuing conflict much of Winchester was burned to the ground! Then, caught between Henry and Stephen’s Queen, who had arrived with an army to free her husband, the Empress was forced to flee for her life. In the ensuing rout Robert of Gloucester, the Empress's commander, was captured in Stockbridge and Stephen set free.
Whether Henry had predicted the disputed succession would cause 'The Anarchy' (as the reign was to become known) is impossible to say. Dynastic squabbles between William the Conqueror's heirs was nothing new but when in 1138, three years into Stephen's reign, Robert of Gloucester, rebelled in the name of the Empress, Henry prepared for the worst as the “Annales of the Bishops of Winchester” for 1138 record:
“Bishop Henry built a palatial house in Winchester with a very strong Tower; and also the castles at Merdon, Fareham, Waltham, Downton, and Taunton”
Although the castle itself was new, Merdon was already, to some degree, fortified. The castle incorporating existing, iron age, ramparts into the outer defences. These old earthworks ran around the north of the castle, wrapping around and screening the defences on both east and west. Otherwise the castle followed the classic Norman “Motte and Bailey” pattern. To the south a ditch and rampart enclosed the outer bailey with the main gateway at the south. North of the outer bailey was a second rampart enclosing the raised 'motte' of the inner bailey. At the northern end of the inner bailey is a ruined stone tower, or gatehouse which may have led to a northern entrance but cannot be dated to the original castle with certainty. The ramparts were also probably once surmounted with a wooden palisade, however, precisely what the original castle looked like is hard to judge owing to the short life it was to experience as a military site.
Indeed it is unclear why Henry chose Merdon for his castle in the first place. Its strategic value seems to have been limited and despite the tumultuous events only a few miles away there is no evidence that it was ever used “in anger” during its short lifetime. In 1154 Henry II succeeded Stephen as King and within a year he ordered the castles of his 'over mighty subjects' to be ‘slighted’ so they could never be made defensible again.
Evidence of this ‘slighting’ can, probably, be seen in the large cuttings through the east and west ramparts of the outer bailey and removal of much of the inner bailey's southern rampart. From the mid twelfth century the castle reverted to its primary role as the Manor of Merdon's manorial court and occasional palace for the bishop and his guests to enjoy hunting in the deer park.
Note: The site is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and is closed to members of the public.
