The History of Hedingham Castle from Construction to Present Day
The History of Hedingham castle begins in the late 11thto the early 12th century, when the castle was built by Aubrey de Vere the first. Aubrey was a Norman baron and the brother in law to William the Conqueror. Not only was thereat stone fort built, but there was an awful lot of work put into making the castle better defended, this can bee seen by the large crevasse dug into the hill. To this day the castle remains one of the largest Norman forts in Britain.
In 1133 Aubrey de Vere II was made Maser Chamberlain of England by Henry I, King of England, the son of William the Conqueror. The role of Master Chamberlain made de Vere a powerful member of Henry I’s court. Today the role entails control over the palace of Westminster. The de Vere’s held this title hereditarily until 1625.
In 1141 Empress Matilda, daughter of King Henry I of England, made Aubrey de Vere III the Earl of Oxford. This shows the continued relationship between the households of William the Conqueror and the de Vere’s. The de Vere’s held this title of Earl of Oxford for almost six centuries until the death of the 20thEarl in 1703. Empress Matilda later died at Hedingham castle.
In 1215 Robert de Vere, the third Earl of Oxford, was part of a group of barons who revolted against King John and pushed for the signing of the Magana Carta. This is the inspiration behind the famous legend of Robin Hood. King John later fought back in 1216 and 1217 two short sieges were made on Hedingham castle. Both of these were successful for King John.
In 1485 Henry VII made The 13th Earl of Oxford John de Vere wealthy after his victory in the War of the Roses. However it is believed that the new King took much of this wealth away when he saw how rich John de Vere had become. John de Vere was hugely important in the battle of Bosworth Field and led the vanguard.
In 1509 Henry VIII became King of England and visits Hedingham castle and is thought to have composed Greensleves by the beautiful lake. This, similar to other legends could well be false, yet it is nice for the people in the community to believe in this event.
In 1533 the 15th Earl of Oxford carries the crown at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. This was a high honour and shows that the De Vere family was powerful from the Norman invasion of 1066 till the Tudor almost 500 years later.
In 1561 Elizabeth I visited Hedingham castle, walking over the Tudor bridge that was constructed to commemorate the visit of Henry VII and to bridge the gap over the ditch that was constructed when the Castle was first built. The Bridge still stands to this day, and often goes unnoticed as anything other than a bridge.
In 1591 William Shakespeare gave his first performance. Shakespeare has been theorised to have been a disguise for the literary works of the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere a view taken by the author of the book “The De Vere’s of Hedingham Castle”. This has however, been widely disclaimed by many historians. But it still remains a fun legend especially for the people of Hedingham.
In 1713, Sir William Ashhurst bought Hedingham castle. He died 7 years later and left the castle to his great granddaughter Margaret Elizabeth Lindsey, the wife of Lewis Majendie. The Majendie owned Hedingham for 250 years until Musette Majendie left the castle to her cousin Thomas Lindsey who was a descendent of the de Vere’s on both his mother and fathers side.
In 1968 Jason Lindsey is born, son of Thomas Lindsey. Jason Lindsey is the current owner of Hedingham Castle with his wife Demetra Lindsey. To this day Thomas, his wife, and his three kids live in the mannor house on the grounds of the Castle, assuring to the upkeep of the fantastic landmark.
Further reading:
Horrible History Timeline of Hedingham
Verily Anderson, ‘The De Vere’s of Castle Hedingham’, (05, November, 1993), Terence Dalton.
Alex's Public History Website 