#5 & #62 The Keep of Castle Rising
Norfolk, England
1138-40
This is NOT an official Lego site

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. 
This agreement effectively gave Queen Isabella and her consort, Roger Mortimer, control of Castle Rising.  Isabella, daughter of King Philip IV of France, had recently teamed with Mortimer and others to overthrow and likely murder her unpopular husband, King Edward II.  She acted as England's Regent for her 14 year old son, King Edward III, but when he came of age, Edward placed his mother under 'house arrest' for her actions.  She was sent to Castle Rising in 1331, but had the freedom to travel to her other estates/castles and essentially lived in luxury until her death in 1358. Castle Rising was maintained in good condition in the 14th and 15th centuries, changing hands several times, and more and more being used as a hunting lodge, rather than a full-time residence, for its prominent owners, mostly the Duchy of Cornwall.
Despite its periodic use, Castle Rising gradually deteriorated through the end of the 15th, and 16th centuries.  In 1544 King Henry VIII bequeathed to castle to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and the castle has been in the prominent Howard family since then.  It is currently owned by the 81 year old Baron Howard of Rising, the great great grandson of the 17th Earl of Suffolk.  Due to its fame but continued deterioration, the Ministry of Public Works took legal custody in 1958, with stabilization, conservation and archaeological work continuing throughout the 196os and 1970s.  English Heritage took over control of the castle as a ancient monument and tourist attraction in 1983.  The blind-arch decoration high on this wall was fun to design and build in Lego bricks.

 

Earthworks Plan Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan
and Key

 

Photos of the Lego Model
Built September 1996
Pictures and plans for the 1986 model can be
seen on the Early Castles page.
South View
Northeast View
Northwest View
West View
Detail View
Entrance View
Early Model #5
Built October 1986

 

Build Your Own
Lego Plan
Roof/Battlement Plan
South Elevation
East Elevation
North Elevation
West Elevation
Cross Section



Other Castle Rising pages:
http://www.castlerising.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Rising_Castle
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/jun/24/inside-the-lair-of-the-she-wolf-of-france-why-you-should-visit-castle-rising
http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/east/castle_rising_castle.html

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Castles created by Robert Carney
Page created & maintained by
Robert Carney