The Siege of Corfe Castle, August 1139
An Assault Upon a Rebel Stronghold During the Reign of King Stephen
Aug 23, 2009
Corfe Castle was built during the reign of William the Conqueror so his troops could control the route through the Purbeck Hills via a road between Swanage and Wareham, and over the centuries it has endured a grim history. King John used the castle as a dungeon for political prisoners, and it was here that that amiable monarch ordered the slow starvation of twenty-four French prisoners of war. Later on it was besieged and slighted by the Roundheads during the Civil War, but Corfe was also the scene of another much earlier siege in the mid-11th century during the civil wars that raged in England in the time of King Stephen.
Beginning of the Civil Wars between Stephen and Matilda
Stephen's troubles stemmed from the fact that he had usurped the throne from its rightful inheritor the Empress Matilda, daughter and heir of King Henry I. Unhappy at the prospect of a woman on the throne, the Norman baronage swore fealty to Stephen when he claimed the throne in 1135 but many soon reneged on their oaths, some out of loyalty to Matilda but others through greed as they gauged Stephen's weakness as a ruler. Matilda herself did not land in England to press her rights until 1139, but before she arrived the country had already been thrown into turmoil by the rebellion of several powerful barons, among them Baldwin de Redvers.
The siege of Corfe was the last act in a rebellion initiated by Baldwin in 1136. Reacting to rumours that King Stephen had died, Baldwin seized Exeter Castle but was driven out by the very much alive Stephen, and then operated out of Carisbrooke as a pirate for a time until he was forced to flee abroad and joined the disinherited Matilda in Anjou. From here Baldwin sent a message to Stephen offering to make peace, but this was rejected and so Baldwin threw in his lot with the Empress.
Return of Baldwin de Redvers
Baldwin returned to England at about the beginning of August 1139 with orders to establish a maritime base for Matilda's planned invasion. He chose to land at Wareham with 'a fine and strong body of troops', but it seems he was unable to utilise Wareham as a base for he quickly moved on to Corfe Castle, where the garrison turned traitor and admitted him and his men. This was the signal for other supporters of Matilda such as William de Mohun at Dunster and the Castellan of Marlborough to declare for her and rise up in revolt.
King Stephen Marches North
Upon recieving the news of Redvers' invasion and seizure of Corfe King Stephen acted with the same decisiveness as he had in 1136, and raced north with an army to retake the castle. The size of the king's army is unknown, but it seems he recognized that the castle's massive fortified strength and superb defensive position made it impossible to take by storm.
The Fortifications of Corfe
Instead of attempting a direct assault upon the castle Stephen prepared for a long siege and ordered his troops to construct a 'counter-castle', the remains of which still stand today on a hill 320 yards west of the ruined castle. These remains are known today as 'The Rings' and consist of the earthworks of a ring and bailey fortress, a timber fortification of the type that were common in England after the Norman invasion. The earthwork was also used as a convenient mounting for a gun battery by the Parliamentarians during the later siege of Corfe Castle in the 1640s, but the view that it was originally built by King Stephen is supported by the features that it shares with other 'siege castles' such as Bentley in Hampshire.
Invasion of England by Robert of Gloucester
While Stephen was distracted at Corfe, the Empress and her brother Robert of Gloucester took the decision to invade England, and landed at Arundel on the last day of September with only one hundred and forty knights. Before marching to Corfe Stephen had taken precautions against their arrival and ordered a careful watch to be made, night and day, on all the approaches to the harbour, but this did not prevent their landing.
King Stephen Abandons the Siege
Upon hearing of the invasion Stephen quickly abandoned the siege of Corfe and marched straight to Arundel, too late to prevent Robert of Gloucester slipping away to raise support at Bristol. This was the beginning of a civil war that lasted for the next 14 years.
Baldwin de Redvers was left to his own devices at Corfe, and there is no record of his immediate action following King Stephen's abandonment of the siege. What is known is that two years later the Empress, by now having temporarily recovered her throne after the defeat and capture of Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, rewarded Baldwin for his loyal service at Corfe by making him the first Earl of Devon. Baldwin continued to support the Empress during the remaining years of war and died peacefully in 1159 during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II.
Since the brief siege of 1139 Corfe Castle has witnessed and endured far greater and more terrible events, its ruins containing the echoes of secret murders and bearing the scars of shot and gunpowder, but still the ancient Norman keep stands on its hilltop and dominates the surrounding landscape. With luck it will endure forever.
Sources:
“Stephen and Matilda: the Civil Wars of 1139-53” by J. Bradbury, published by The History Press (2005)
“The Reign of Stephen: Kingship, Warfare and Government in Twelfth Century England” by Keith J. Stringer, published by Routledge
