Baginton's Bagots Castle saved from the brink

[dutchman]

The ruins of a forgotten medieval castle on the edge of Coventry may have been saved after a desperate fundraising effort.



A handful of determined volunteers have managed to raise almost £26,000 in just five months to restore the 14th century Bagots Castle, in Baginton.

Parish councillor David Hewer and his band of budding historians are hoping to have raised the last £1,600 this week to unlock £104,000 in grant funding from English Heritage.

The money will pay for vital preservation work on the ancient stone ruins and help the 64-year-old grandfather fulfil his dream of developing the forgotten castle into a thriving tourist attraction.

“These are very exciting times,” said David, who has already poured in around £30,000 of his own life savings to restore the site.

“The monument was just disintegrating, that was the problem. It had been vandalised so much.

“You look at Warwick and Kenilworth castles – and I know they are more grand – but it’s the same thing; these places should be preserved. It’s our history.”

David’s partner, Marguerite Russell, owns a farm bordering the castle. They, along with neighbours Duncan and Delia Whittle, have organised the campaign and are now within touching distance of saving the historic site for future generations.

They had already cleared the site of 30 tonnes of scrap metal – including 8,000 beer cans – after it became a favourite hangout for youths. Excavation work this month uncovered more of the castle walls.

Vital preservation work would now include excavating and ‘soft capping’ the ancient stonework with a special English Heritage-approved technique using lime mortar.

“We’ve worked really hard and had some fantastic sponsorship,” David added.

“It’s a scheduled monument. If something wasn’t done to preserve the remains it would have been lost to future generations forever.”

A local historian has even received a donation of a host of artefacts found during excavation work there in 1937.

Items including medieval clay pots, needles and glass thimbles are being studied by archeologists with a view to use in a future exhibition.

The foursome will be selling the final £600 worth of raffle tickets in Leamington at Royal Priors Shopping Centre tomorrow, from 10am to 4pm. West End actor and Baginton resident David Willetts will make the raffle draw at 4pm.

Visit http://www.bagotscastle.org.uk to donate towards the restoration or to find out more about the historic site.

[dutchman]

The amateur historians saving Bagots Castle



THE TALE of Bagots Castle is wrapped up in the turbulent life of its founder, Sir William Bagot.

The powerful Warwickshire nobleman played a significant role in the reign of two kings and was a hugely influential aristocrat in medieval England.

When discovering the amazing ruins of his unique castle in Baginton, a team of volunteers led by former parish councillor David Hewer were fascinated by why such a well-defended castle would be built in the relatively-peaceful Midlands.

A local historian researching the castle insists the answer lies in Bagot’s need for a strong defence against his many enemies – making it unique in central England.

Mentioned in Shakespeare’s play Richard II as “one of the agents” of the king, Sir William Bagot played a crucial role in his demise more than 600 years ago.

It is also believed Bagots Castle played host to the king before a legendary duel at Gosford Green in Coventry.

But until recently Bagots Castle was being eroded by the elements and would have been lost forever before a mammoth fundraising effort this year was matched by a £104,000 grant from English Heritage to carry out vital preservation work.

The team behind the restoration of the castle uncovered the fascinating history of kings and intrigue, and discovered what made the castle so special.

David Fry is a teacher at Ernesford Grange School and co-author of The Coventry We Have Lost.

“Bagot was an amazing character,” he said.

“He was the political Peter Mandelson of his age. He managed to dodge between the various people in power while everyone else was getting their heads chopped off.

“It is a rather peculiar castle because of the fortified tower. These sorts of castles were normally seen in the more unstable parts of the UK, like Wales or the northern borders of England.

“Bagots Castle was, and is, really quite unusual.”

Sir William Bagot began his political career working for the Earl Of Warwick and used this contact to join the trusted inner circle of King Richard II. He had his moated castle built off Church Road in Baginton in the early 1380s.

Bagot went on to become the High Sheriff Of Leicestershire And Warwickshire and attended Parliament as the Knight of the Shire for Warwickshire during a tumultuous period.

The perilous nature of life at the royal court is shown in the story of Coventry’s famous Gosford Green ‘duel’.

It followed a falling out between Henry Bolingbroke – who would later succeed the king as Henry IV – and the Duke of Norfolk, who lived at Caludon Castle.

The noblemen challenged each other to a fight to the death in September 1398 at Gosford Green after a furious row.

“They were all friends at one time then they all started falling out,” David said.

“Richard II had this massive royal entourage come to Coventry and everyone came to see the duel on Gosford Green. Then the King just called it all off.”

It is believed King Richard II travelled all the way up and stayed in Bagots Castle tower before calling the duel off and banishing both noblemen from the country.

A young pretender to Richard’s throne, Henry Bolingbroke would later invade England and take the crown.

“Bagot was known as Richard II’s spy in Warwickshire. He managed to get on with the Earl Of Warwick and he used that as a springboard to get himself in to the good books of Richard II.

“At the same time he managed to keep in with Henry Bolingbroke.”

Bagot’s power surged during Richard II’s reign, making him the dominant figure in the region. Bagots Castle would have played host to glorious feasts and entertained a host of political kingpins.

He eventually became one of England’s three most powerful noblemen, known as the “continual councillors”.

In 1399 the continual councillors and the king’s treasurer were left to protect the realm while the monarch left for a military expedition in Ireland.

While Richard II was fighting abroad, Henry Bolingbroke seized the opportunity to return from exile.

Henry’s small army landed in the south of England. It gathered support and quickly grew into a large force.

Bolingbroke’s army captured the two other continual councillors and Richard’s treasurer when Bristol Castle surrendered. They were summarily tried and executed.

Sir William Bagot managed to escape to Ireland but was eventually captured and brought to London to face trial.

Despite his pivotal role under the previous king, the newly-crowned Henry IV took mercy on the Bagot – imprisoning him for just a year.

“Eventually he was given his land back and his pension,” David added.

“He just seemed able to dodge from one person to another. He just spent the last part of his life peacefully in his castle.”

After his death, Bagots Castle was bought by the Earl Of Warwick before it passed to St Mary Collegiate Church at Warwick.

Little is known about it after this point but by 1530 it was in ruins.

A brass engraving of Sir William Bagot dating back to the year 1400 lies in Baginton’s St John the Baptist Church, near the ruins of his old castle.