InfoBritain

 

Orford Castle, Suffolk

This image is copyright free

Henry the Second of England is a fascinating illustration of the contradictions that go into making national identity. Henri Fitzempress Plantagenent, the son of the Count of Anjou, laid his claim to the English throne through his mother Mathilda, who was the daughter of Henry the First of England. Plans to press his claim still lay in the future when in 1153 Henri boarded a ship in Normandy intending to sail along the French coast. A sudden storm blew his ship helplessly out to sea and across the channel. Henri found himself landing on an English beach, probably in Dorset. Not wanting to show weakness the pretender to the English throne made out that his landing was all part of a bold plan. Henri hastily gathered forces around him, and a deal was struck where Henri would take over once the unpopular King Stephen died. In this way Henri became Henry the Second in 1154. The flag of the Plantagenets featured three lions, and those lions remain associated with England to this day. It is three French Plantagenet lions that adorn England football shirts.

Henry the Second built Orford Castle in Suffolk between 1165 and 1173. His plans is doing so were fittingly perverse.The castle was built on the coast, and was clearly meant as a strong point for shoreline defences. But the potential invaders were actually a representation of opposition from within the country. Aggressive East Anglican barons such as Hugh Bigod of Framlington were a threat to Henry's authority, and Orford Castle was built to oppose the landing of foreign mercenaries that barons such as Bigod might invite to help in their power struggles.

Orford Castle has survived almost completely intact. It has a unique polygonal shape, with polygonal rooms linked by a maze of passages. If you wanted to get metaphorical then the castle's complex shape, and the tortuous nature of its passage ways would offer much scope. The castle sits so strong on the coast seeming to define the country it protects, and yet all the while behind the facade there are all sorts of twists and turns. The castle sits on the coast, but in its shape it seems to be looking in all directions at once. The castle actually has eighteen sides, and it's as if Orford castle doesn't know which way to turn. Orford Castle symbolises identity and the lack of it. You can take what you want from the castle. It can offer reassuring permanence, or the sense of a castle in the air.

Opening Times: from April 1st to September 30th 10am - 6pm daily, from October 1st to March 20th 10am -4pm Thursday to Monday. Closed 24th - 26th December and 1st January.

Directions: Take the B1084 to Orford in Suffolk. Click here for an interactive map centred on Orford Castle.

Access: there is no wheelchair access to the castle. For someone with mobility problems the castle can only be viewed from the outside

Contact:

telephone: 01394 450472

web site: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConProperty.38/chosenImageId/3