Historic Description of Shirburn Castle

Shirburn Castle

Oxfordshire is fortunate enough to boast of two lake-castles, both of great beauty, though Broughton by the diversity of its architecture and the pleasant undulating country above it, and the breadth of its water-protection, has somewhat the advantage of Shirburn in general effect. The latter nevertheless, is a most comely and interesting building, and has preserved all its original shape, while Broughton lost in architectural symmetry, though it gained much in picturesqueness, by the additions made in Tudor and Stuart times. The dates of their building were much the same, Sir Thomas Wykeham’s “licence to crenellate” for Broughton being only a few years later than Sir Warren de Lisle’s similar warrant for Shirburn (1378). And both were originally square castles with corner-towers, on an island in an artificial lake. But there are considerable differences – Shirburn is built on a much smaller island, and all its walls rise straight from the water – there is no external space not covered by buildings in the isle. Secondly, we note that the corner-towers of Shirburn are round, and not square like those of Broughton. Thirdly, it has no outlying barbican or gate-tower like the more northern castle, but simply a drawbridge, made of a scale sufficient to allow it to span the narrowest point of the lake. And fourthly (though the eye does not at first detect the fact) Shirburn is a brick castle, like some of those of Kent and Sussex, with the red carefully dissembled under a thick coating of grey rough-cast. It is only in the few places where the surface has flaked away that the inner material is visible.

Of course, Shirburn, though never added to in the course of the ages, could not escape internal and external changes in the comfort-loving sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Very nearly every one of the external windows has been cut out and replaced by much broader seventeenth century windows of the round-topped Charles II type. This had made a good light from the outside for rooms which were previously furnished with windows on the inside only, looking into the court, and had nothing much better than arrow-slits on the front that looked outward. The sixteenth or seventeenth century improver of amenity has also been at work in constructing large and imposing long galleries in the second story, where previously there were only many small chambers opening into each other. He has also blocked up the lower story of the small quadrangular court of the castle with modern offices, not leaving any open space within. But the internal alterations make little difference to the general aspect of the place, which is just as Warren de Lisle left it, save that his small and narrow windows have everywhere been replaced by much larger openings, which give it a false air of seventeenth century rather than fourteenth century construction. The surroundings are flat, a well-wooded park lies all round the lake, and there are no natural features of any prominence to distract the eye from the trim and symmetrical castle.

The existing Shirburn dates, as we have already said, entirely from Warren de Lisle’s activities in 1378. There was an earlier building, some part of which were said to go back even to Robert D’Oilly – but no single stone of it is visible. The history of the castle since its building consists of three centuries of constant change from owner to owner – no house held it long. Warren de Lisle left no son, and the castle was, soon after his death, in the hands of the Quartermaynes – an Oxfordshire family of some note in the fifteenth century.

In the time of Henry VI, Richard – the last Quatermayne – left Shirburn to the son of his favourite clerk, Thomas Fowler, who afterwards became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. But Richard Fowler was “a very unthrift,” and sold all his lands in the reign of Henry VII, “leaving his own children full small living.” The buyer was one John Chamberlain, whose descendants held the manor till late Stuart days – they were lucky enough not to see it destroyed at the general “slighting” of castles in 1645-46, because the Chamberlain of that day was a loyal supporter of the Parliament, and “begged off” his house. After other transferences of proprietorship Shirburn was purchased by the Whig Lord Chancellor, Thomas Parker, in the reign of George I, and has remained with his descendants, the Earls of Macclesfield, ever since. The archaeologist owes them thanks for having preserved the outward aspect of the castle almost unchanged till this day.

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