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Helmsley Castle
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122_helmsley-castle.jpg
Helmsley Castle

122_helmsley castle.jpg
View from the road

Area: Helmsley
Region: Ryedale
County: Yorkshire
Website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=conProperty.367
Attractions:
Castles


Details: Surrounded by spectacular banks and ditches, the great medieval castle's impressive ruins stand beside the attractive market town of Helmsley. The fortress was probably begun after 1120 by Walter Espec - 'Walter the Woodpecker'. Renowned for piety as well as soldiering, this Norman baron of 'gigantic stature' also founded nearby Rievaulx Abbey and Kirkham Priory, both English Heritage properties.

Most of Helmsley's surviving stonework defences were raised during the late 12th and 13th centuries, by the crusader Robert de Roos and his descendants. They include a pair of immensely strong 'barbican' entrances and the high, keep-like east tower, unusually D-shaped in plan, which still dominates the town.



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