From the Bexhill Observer, 3rd July 2008

 

New exhibition at Bodiam Castle

 

A new exhibition and display room at Bodiam Castle will be officially opened on Wednesday. The Story of Bodiam room allows visitors to discover for themselves the hidden history of the site: the 8,000 years of people coming to and settling in the area, from stone-age hunters, through the Romans, the heyday of the castle in middle ages, to the present day.

 

Many people are familiar with the classic view of Bodiam Castle set in its broad moat. What many visitors do not know as they walk up towards it are the fascinating secrets that lie just below their feet.

 

Where the car park now lies was once a huge medieval harbour for ships to load or unload cargo. The grass banks are clues to where peasants of Sir Edward Dallingridge's estate farmed narrow strips of land to feed their families in the 1300s. The large sunken area was at one time a vast mill pond, powering a watermill to grind peasants' corn.

 

Last year the National Trust asked visitors to Bodiam Castle what they would like to know more about.

Most said "the ordinary people, the servants, and how they lived."

 

The staff at the property researched this over the winter and brought in a top design company to create a new exhibition telling the story of the people of Bodiam through the ages, using original artefacts, medieval illustrations, a 3D model, artist's impressions and photographs. The old ticket office and museum room were converted to house this display and a new visitor reception.

 

Visitors have been using them already this summer and children particularly like opening the drawers and finding inside strange objects belonging to people who lived there hundreds of years ago. The new display room is one of a number of new improvements the Trust has made at the property over the last two years. In 2006 a new introductory film was produced, in 2007 an audio commentary was provided for the WWII pillbox, and earlier this year new information panels about the river area were installed near the tearoom.

In post 18 I believe its mentioned the license was to fortified and crenelate an existing manner house. So I take it that the castles was all ready occupied by buildings.

 

Trying to find the source, but I recently read that while he had the license to crenelate his existing manor at Bodyham, he chose instead to build a new castle from scratch nearby. Thus there were no prior structures at the site.

 

And that strange round construction, has any one found a well or the cisterns needed to withstand a lengthy siege?

The moat for drinking water would be a bad idea.

 

Bottom of southwest tower, adjacent to the main kitchen.

 

Just noticed Bodiam is used by Enya in her "Celts" video.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRyJPLUUQCw

Interesting 1871 century work describing Bodiam, the history of the Lords who built it, later owners, and some of what was necessary to reconstruct and repair the ruins in modern times. I find this text most useful in that it has many measurements of the place.

 

Bodiam, and its Lords - Mark Antony Lower

An engraving of Bodiam Castle dated 1816, and recently added to my collection.

Another old postcard of Bodiam Castle, purchased today, and postmarked 1908.

From the BBC website, 14th April 2009

 

Harbour site excavated at castle

 

An archaeological dig at a medieval castle in East Sussex is expected to reveal evidence of the harbour and trading post on the site. Experts from Archaeology South East are beginning a three-day dig at Bodiam, a moated castle near Robertsbridge.

 

The archaeologists are also expected to discover evidence of the leat, or stream, which fed the mill pond. The dig is taking place in an area of the grounds that has never before been fully researched. A series of exploratory boreholes will be sunk, with associated trenches.

 

"Bodiam Castle is a scheduled ancient monument and we have to take care whenever we are undertaking works to the castle itself or in the grounds," said property manager George Bailey. "Every time we undertake such work we find out a bit more about the castle's past."

 

The archaeologists, who are based at University College London, will give twice-daily talks to visitors about their work and the significance of their finds. Also, on Wednesday, East Sussex County Council's local antiquities officer Laura Burnett will be on site to discuss visitors' own archaeological finds.

I purchased another two old postcards of Bodiam Castle yesterday.

 

 

More cards bought at a recent postcard fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've had an old book in my possession for many years, called "Old England" by Charles Knight. It has many engravings of various castles, but due to its size and age, well nigh impossible to scan any pictures from. So I've now managed to obtain a few pages independently, and have started to scan some of the engravings. Here is one of Bodiam Castle - from around 1850.