Lancaster Castle (England)

Lancaster Castle is one of the best preserved castles in the country. Imposing stone fortress, it played a central role in the Palatine County, as a stronghold and as the seat of justice and government. A castle was founded on this hilly site in Roman times. The first structure standing today is the Norman keep around 1150.

The honor, county, town and castle of Lancaster were bestowed by Henry III to his youngest son Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster, in 1267. Lancaster Castle became a place of senior administration in the Duchy of Lancaster, with courts, a prison and offices.

Over the centuries, the castle has held thousands of prisoners, including criminals of all kinds, political prisoners and individuals persecuted for their faith. In 1612, during the reign of King James I, the castle was at the center of a notorious trial when ten people from the Pendle area of ​​Lancashire and nine other people from the area were charged with witchcraft. The defendants were imprisoned and tried in the castle. Ten people were found guilty and hanged on the nearby moor.

At the end of the eighteenth century the castle was substantially modified to be used as a court and prison. Around the same time, the castle's medieval hall was demolished and a new building was built to house the Crown Court and Shire Hall. The last major extension of the Georgian County Prison was a women's penitentiary built in 1821.

By 1800, defendants sentenced to death in court would have been hanged at the castle instead of on the moor. More prisoners are said to have been sentenced to death at Lancaster Castle than at any other court in the country. Lancaster became known as "the hanging city".

Today, the Crown Court and Shire Hall are leased by the Duchy to Lancashire County Council. The castle was permanently closed as a prison in 2011 and since May 2013 the castle has been open to the public as a tourist attraction.

In 1999 the Queen attended a service at the adjacent Priory Church to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the link between the Crown and the Duchy of Lancaster. As the Duke of Lancaster, her Majesty the Queen also celebrated the 750th anniversary of the creation of the Ancient Legacy that is the Duchy of Lancaster with a further visit to the Castle in May this year. In the presence of hundreds of supporters, cadets, auctioneers and the Duke of Lancaster's Yeomanry, as well as invited guests, the Constable of Lancaster Castle formally offered the Queen the keys to her castle opposite the historic John of Gaunt's Gate. The keys, of course, were returned to the agent for her to keep safe.