bed breakfast devizes
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The town of Devizes developed around the Norman castle which was probably built c.1080 by Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury. There is little evidence of prehistoric settlement on the site, but some Roman remains have been found in the Southbroom area of the town.
The castle was built on a promontory on the western edge of the Marlborough Downs with the valley of the Avon to the west and the Pewsey Vale to the east, 9 miles from Calne, 14 miles from Marlborough and 12 miles from Trowbridge. Because Osmund built his castle on the boundaries of the King’s manor of Rowde and his own manors of Cannings and Potterne it became known as ‘ castrum ad divisas’, the castle at the boundaries.
The original castle was probably a motte, or tower, of wood with an outer bailey protected by a ditch, stockade and drawbridge. This structure burnt down in 1113 and was rebuilt in stone by Richard of Caen, Osmund’s successor as Bishop of Salisbury. The castle was described by a contemporary, Henry of Huntingdon, as ‘the finest and most splendid in Europe’, but little now remains of it apart from fragments of the foundations.
On several occasions important prisoners were held in Devizes castle, an indication of how impregnable it was considered to be. In 1106 Robert of Normandy, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was imprisoned here when his younger brother Henry seized the throne during Robert’s absence at the First Crusade. He was to remain a prisoner at Devizes for the next twenty years before being moved to Cardiff where he died in 1134.
The years 1139 to 1141 were full of incident for the inhabitants of the castle and the town that was developing outside its walls. The heir to the throne, following the death of the King Henry I’s only son, was his daughter Matilda, who was also known as the Empress Maud as she was the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. Henry I died in 1135 having extracted an oath from the barons and bishops, including Roger, that they would accept her as queen, but his nephew, Stephen of Blois, invaded England to claim the throne and was supported by many of the barons and bishops.
At this time Roger was one of the most powerful and influential men in England. During Henry’s reign he had been appointed Justiciar of England, as well as being Bishop of Salisbury, and had deputised for the King when Henry was abroad. In addition Roger had appointed his natural son, also called Roger, to the post of Chancellor and two of his nephews to bishoprics.
Roger declared his support for Stephen but he must have been considered a dangerous ally as, in 1139, during an assembly at Oxford, Stephen used a disagreement between his French followers and Roger’s retainers as an excuse to arrest Roger, his son and nephews. Matilda (also called Maud) of Ramsbury, who was Roger’s mistress and the mother of his son, was at this time holding Devizes castle but when Stephen arrived and threatened to hang her son she surrendered the castle to him. Bishop Roger was freed but forced to surrender all his possessions to Stephen and he died later in the year, a broken man.