Nottingham Castle

You enter: Nottingham Castle

Presiding Ghost, The Ghost of Nottingham Castle

***

"the last letter of the
Name has been written"

Ah, we are here on the grounds of Nottingham Castle! Although the actual Castle is now a mansion, the site was a stronghold for centuries - since Roman times at least, when it was known as Caesar's Tower.

A gust of breeze chills the back of your neck as you ascend the path to the entrance. Do we sense the presence of the ghost, curious as to who is about? And who IS the Ghost of Nottingham Castle, anyway? Is it the unfortunate "Lackland" King John? His mother, the captive Eleanor of Aquitaine? Or the spirits of the many noble and common souls who have expired in the dungeon? Some of our players have insisted that the ghost is really Henry II, who built onto William the Conqueror's motte-and-bailey castle - adding the 'King's bed chamber', a 'house for the King's falcons', and a great hall with aisles in the centre of the Middle Bailey which would hold parliaments and entertainments. At times Henry II also "held" his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, in confinement at Nottingham Castle.

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About the Castle

An extract from the Sherwood Times (1194)

'To attack the Castle is an awesome task and you can only admire King Richard's valiant, almost reckless, attempt to storm it. Since the south and west cliffs are 130 feet high, the defenders only have to defend the north and east and if you look closely at the Castle's fortifications on these two sides you will find that the walls are very strong.

And the watch towers are regularly spaced ahead of the Castle wall putting any assailant well within range of the defenders' deadly arrows and missiles. This outer wall is 40 feet high and 15 feet thick at the bottom stretching 100 yards either side of the Castle gate and surmounted with battlements reinforced with six bastions at regular intervals. It would need a big siege engine to break through these walls.

Alternatively, you could storm the Castle gate but you would need to first cross the outer stone bridge over the ravine and overcome the drawbridge, not forgetting that the Castle gate is flanked by two drum towers with slit windows for firing arrows at you as you attack.

Forcing your way through the Castle gate is only the first step. At the top of the hill you will have to cross another bridge, followed by a moat with a drawbridge that has another gate for you to fight through, before you reach the main stronghold.

If by some miracle you have breached this gate you will face the impregnable keep. Built of squared stone 15 feet thick and cemented with mortar that sets like stone, the rectangular keep is four stories high with a tower at each corner and pilaster buttresses. There are no windows, only loop-holes through which defenders fire arrows at you.

You can only enter the keep from one direction - up an outside staircase at the top of which you'll find the first of three doors. The passage above the first door holds arrow-loops to enable defenders to snipe at you. Having battled past that, more arrows will come at you from a slit above the middle door before a flight of steps takes you up to the first floor. Confronting you now is a portcullis where boiling lead will pour down on your head from holes above the door.

Narrow steps take you up to the top floor and final stronghold usually occupied by the Governor who will fight to hold the Castle till his dying breath. Unless your name is Richard the Lionheart is advisable not to try and storm this formiddable [sic] Castle.'

From the Archives of the Sherwood Times.

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