Leicester Castle and St Mary de Castro

Today after many weeks of hectic schedules and procrastination I finally went to see Leicester Castle, or what's left of it.  To be completely honest there isn't really anything to see of the castle, nothing to go inside and marvel at.  I think the only things I actually saw were the Great Hall, or the modern building that's on the place where it would have once been, and a part of the wall.

Leicester castle used to be a royal residence and it was built shortly after the Norman Conquest of England and housed Kings Edward I, Edward II, and of course from my previous three posts about John of Gaunt he and his second wife Constance of Castile both died here.

What's left of the Great Hall

What I did end up waiting 15 minutes to see was St Mary de Castro church which is as old as the castle, if not older.  I like churches, when they're intact from this period at least, because they're so peaceful and although others may disagree there is just something atmospheric inside; I don't know if it's the silence or just the sheer length of time these buildings have been standing observing humanity around them, but just like with castles of any kind, these places have a personality of their own.

I'm not going to lie here, I thought this church was dedicated to an actual Saint Mary from a place called Castro.  There are so many saints in the Roman-Catholic church and since I'm not Catholic I don't know any of them, and they're always appearing in one place or another.  I was promptly corrected by the very helpful signs they have outside.  St Mary de Castro is possibly Norman French or some variation of French since it was built during Norman times and the main language of those with enough money to build it spoke French, translated as St Mary of the Castle.  I felt particularly stupid at this point.  Seeing as the modern French word for castle is chateu and there are profound similarities between Norman French and modern french I just thought Castro was a place.  Apparently from what I read on Wikipedia the extended name, St Mary de Castro, is because Phillippa of Lancaster, who was born in the castle, married the King of Portugal.  No citation on that one though so I'd take it with a pinch of salt, I like my Norman French idea better.

So before I begin; I am doing this from memory from the very helpful guide book that the church hands you when you go in, but you have to put back before you leave, and of course some confirmation from Wikipedia, but I am doing a Masters, my memory is the only thing that got me this far.  I'm also going to apologise for the pictures, I left my camera back in Glasgow thinking I wouldn't need it and so everything here is taken with my phone.

Built in about 1107 by the first Earl of Leicester, Robert de Beaumont, it is thought that there was an earlier church on the site before, an Anglo-Saxon one.  The Normans truly brought stone fortifications and churches to England during the conquest and before that everything was usually built from wood and timber.  Although the Normans did come over and literally take over everything, building castles left, right, and centre, when it came to churches they usually just built in stone the ones that were already there.  Unfortunately there isn't any solid evidence apart from an Anglo-Saxon piece of a tomb lodged in the original wall inside the church, or at least what they think is an Anglo-Saxon tomb.  As with every important church St Mary de Castro's has been extensively built since its founding up until the reformation, even in the Victorian era it was built onto.

It was quite a small church until the 1160s when it was expanded.  I think I read in the booklet that one of the original outside walls is actually inside the church now.  Something I find fascinating now that I know more about historic architecture is how you can sometimes spot the different masonry.  It is very obvious in Kenilworth castle between Coventry and Warwick (I've been there three times before but I'm going again after this semester is finished so I'll probably write a post then).  Kenilworth has a Norman part built in the 12th Century, a 14th Century part built by, you guessed it, John of Gaunt, and finally a 16th Century part built by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.  The Normans were a practical lot, their castles are very square, rigid and imposing, bulky and solid; they are also known for their round arches.  Pointed arches are a thing gradually introduced in the following centuries and is a tell-tale sign of the time period they were built in.

Inside this church there are what is called a "Sedilla". This is my new word for today.  Pictured on the right these are little niches in the wall created for "important clergyman and their helpers" from what I can remember on the guide.  I never knew that they even existed until I walked into this church.  These three are Norman in construction, why?  The chevrons carved on the round arches are Norman in design and so this is from the original part of the church.

There are a few quirks in the architecture in this place.  There is a carving in between two arches just above the post that separates them that looks like a doll.  It's actually thought to be a likeness of a mason's apprentice and although I didn't take a picture of it, I must admit it does look like a young boy.  There are the more mundane faces peeking out from corners and between arches, probably the people who worked as masons, in the nearby castle, or even those who donated money to the construction of the church itself.
To prove my point about Norman and 13th Century architecture is the picture on the left.  These are another three Sedilla situated in the relatively newer section of the church, just outside the original outer wall.  These have pointed arches, a signature design of later medieval architecture.  For me there is such a difference between these ones and the Norman ones above.  As I said before, the Normans were imposing people, fearsome warriors and practical by nature, and everything they build is a reflection of that practicality, as can be seen by the thick posts that seperate these Sedillas from one another, the stark chevrons that almost seem to point to those sititng inside.  Looking at the ones built later the posts between them are thin, delicate, the pointed arches elegant and decorative.  It's amazing the change in 200 years.

This is the best picture of the original outer wall of the Norman church built in the 1170s.

The two pictures here are the insides of the original church.
The one pictured on the right used to be the back wall, as you can see the Norman architecture in the round archways at the back.  According to the guidebook there was a door in the middle leading, I can't remember where, but it was bricked up during Queen Victoria's reign when there was more building done inside.  I don't know if you can see clearly but in the second archway from the left there is a sort of red brick rectangle near the ground; that's apparently the remnants of the Anglo-Saxon tomb that I spoke about earlier.

The picture to the left is of the knave, if I have it correctly.  I don't know how many books I read about church parts, or how many I go into, I can never remember what the knave, the chancery, the sacristy are; they're just words to me.  On the plus side I know what a chapel is.

This door led to what used to be
the Sacristy

Don't be fooled by these pictures.  The back wall on the right is the only visible stone left from the original Norman architecture.  As you can see from the picture on the left there are pointed archways along the walls, not Norman.

Getting back to the history of the place, there are local legends about the people who had connections with this church, and either fortunately or unfortuantely for Richard III he is of course linked with everything Leicester ever since his body was found in the car park a few years ago.  I'm not going to debate whether he should have been buried at York, to be perfectly honest Leicester needs his burial more than York does to bring in the fans.  According to the guidebook and the city council cultural sign outside, Richard III may have gone to st Mary de Castro's to pray, since people then were still Roman Catholic.

The one I find the most interesting is Geoffrey Chaucer.  The famous 14th century writer linked to the most important royals of the 14th century, it is rumoured that Geoffrey was married to Katherine de roet-Swynford's sister, Phillippa, at this church.  What I will take time here to correct is that the sign outside of the church that says Geoffrey married his second wife here; he only had one wife, and that was Phillippa.

Needless to say, as a royal residence, this little church would have been the place of worship for many important people connected with, or a part of, the royal family of the 11th to 15th centuries.

These pictures to the left and right are the newest pieces of the church, built outside the original walls and then they were all combined at some point.

The picture on the left is the tower, thought to be unsafe until just recently.  You can actually see the space between the tower and the two walls surrounding it.

This would be a great picture if it was in focus but taking pictures with my phone is difficult.  This is the place where you can see a piece of the original Norman outside wall.  You know by now, the chevrons near the top right corner on the round arch.

I would definitely recommend St Mary de Castro's to anyone visiting Leicester.  I went to the Cathedral a few weeks ago and wasn't impressed but I think that's because everything is hidden behind building boards because they're getting ready for the burial of King Richard III next year.  It's been around longer than Leicester Cathedral and definitely has more obvious personality, a typical mashing together of different periods; it feels a bit like a patchwork blanket or quilt.

I lit candles at one of the chapels, just because it has become a tradition for me when I enter a church that does that, ever since I visited Carcassonne in France earlier this year.  I also donated because boy does this little church take a lot to run.  It's only open from 12-2pm on weekdays and of course over the weekend for sermons, and it's about a five minute walk from the city centre, easily found without using GPS on your phone.  If you go please do donate, this is a treasure trove of history and needs to be protected.