| Where | Great Broughton Village Hall | Type of Event | Talk |
| When | Monday 15th June 2026 at 7.30 pm | Tutor | Erik Matthews |
The lecture was delivered by Erik Matthews, who is a regular speaker in this area and often consulted as an expert on castles by the Castle Studies Trust. Erik has a well-deserved reputation as a scholar in this field. We had a good sized audience on a pleasant evening in early summer. Erik’s lecture was clear, lively and well organised, which was particularly impressive as the projector failed and he had to show his slides on the much smaller computer screen. This was a well-researched and mastered subject.
The talk commenced with sight of a Flemish tapestry showing a castle with a busy and elite hunting scene. This was a theme of the presentation. Castles had developed from military fortifications designed for defensive activity. Whorlton Castle was built on the site of a Norman castle by the Meynells in the 13th century. It was intended to be the centre of a newly charted borough with a large community surrounding it. The most impressive remnant of the castle is the Gatehouse which dates from the 14th century.
The layout of Whorlton gives the best indication of its purpose. Not designed for defence but for expressing luxury and boasting about it. There was a dam with a large domestic water supply. The gardens were set out to convey a sense of elite luxury. There was a feel of the exotic suggesting connection with the Near East and the Byzantine Empire. The gardens were laid in compartments for shrubs, flowers, vegetables and fruit.
The Gatehouse displays the heraldic shields of Bruce, Darcy and Meynell. It had a licence for crenelated walls. It had windows following an elite French design. There was even provision for a bath. But there was no drawbridge or portcullis. No defence!
The castle, like many others, was influenced by chivalry and the Arthurian legend. Ostentation and pageantry were in evidence. To that extent there were many associations with Edward III.
The Whorlton community was driven by the presence of the castle. The borough, however, was not a success. It failed in the 16thand 17th centuries. Stokesley became the more important centre. Whorlton Fair did continue until the 18th century.
There is not much known about Sigston Castle. It was quite small and designed against a watery landscape in keeping with the Arthurian legend. It, too, had the holiday feel about it. It has/had a moat and is a scheduled site.
The material was absorbing and the audience was attentive. The time passed easily and the audience was informed and entertained. There were questions at the end of the presentation and some continued into the later evening. An enjoyable evening.