Wressle visit

Members and friends of my WEA local history classes visited Wressle this week. We met at the brick church, built in 1799  to replace the chapel within the castle which had been destroyed by fire in 1796.

We then went on to visit Wressle Castle which is very visible from the Howden/ Selby rail line. What remains of the Percy family's magnificent castle however is now only a fraction of the original. It is on private property and our visit was specially arranged with the owners.

What remains is the south range which contained the hall and lord's tower. The rest was demolished in the mid-seventeenth century on the orders of parliament in case the Royalists occupied it. This was despite the fact that the Percy family were then supporters of Parliament.

The south range survived and was occupied as a farm house until it was destroyed by a fire. We walked around the outside first and I had a good audience of both people and cattle as I talked about the castle.

We then looked inside the castle which is open to the elements - no floors or windows are left and the stonework is badly cracked. But it was still possible to imagine what it had been like when there were over 200 servants and Henry VII visited.

We then enjoyed tea and scones at the farmhouse and were lucky enough to avoid this week's rain.

Wressle Castle around 1905

Not much to say about the rain except that I wish it would stop. Yesterday was a deluge and my garden pond which takes the water from the house roof is over its banks and overflowing into the woodland. Molly has enjoyed jumping in and swimming in it, coming out covered with duckweed.