 |
Castle Rising was built by William d'Aubigny, Earl of Sussex, who was Master Butler for the household of King Henry I. When the king died, William married his widow, Queen Adeliza of Louvain, and he built the castle beginning in 1138 for his new wife. The castle comprised the substantial keep, a Norman gatehouse and bridge, a pre-existing Norman chapel, and 12 acres of massive earthworks including a deer park. The donjon is impressively decorated with its gallery and chapel. The original great tower measured 69 by 79 feet in size. It is currently 50 feet tall but was a few feet higher with its original parapet and turrets. The door into the fore-building on the east side is reached by a two-flight staircase behind a stout wall. It is likely William, now also Earl of Lincoln, spent most of his time at Arundel in the south of England, using Castle Rising mostly as a hunting lodge. William and Adeliza had seven children of their own. When William's great grand nephew, Hugh d'Aubigny, died childless in 1243, the castle and estate passed to the Montalt family, who sold the rights to the castle to the Crown for 10,000 marks in 1327. |
 |
|
