More information : (SE 26528842) Bedale Castle (NR) (Site of) (1)
The castle is supposed to have been built by Brian Fitz Alan,
Earl of Arundel who died in 1301, and was the younger brother of the Earl of Richmond. Extensive foundations lie beneath the surface in the gardens of Bedale Hall where the castle is said to have stood. (2)
The park at Bedale was in the possession of Brian Fitz Alan in King John's time when a free warren was granted,& in 1251 his son Alan obtained the grant of a market. No mention is made of a castle, but these facts tend to support the existence of one which must have gone out of commission before 1340, when the church tower was fortified. However, during the 13th and part of the 14th centuries; the period when Whellan would have Brian Fitz Alan build the castle, the Fitz Alan family were in residence at Melsonby. The proven existence of a park and a warren at Bedale might suggest that the "castle" was then no more than a hunting lodge, though it may have had a more important role in the mid-12th century when the Fitz Alans first acquired the manor. (3)
A modern road now overlies the published site. No foundations however were encountered during its construction. (4)
Site of castle rejected by Cathcart King. (5) |