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| Trematon Castle | |
|---|---|
Kastel Tremen | |
| Saltash,Cornwall | |
 Trematon Castle | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Shell keep withbailey |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Location | |
  Trematon Castle Shown withinCornwall. | |
| Coordinates | 50°24′02″N4°14′16″W / 50.40044°N 4.23774°W /50.40044; -4.23774 |
| Official name | Trematon Castle, a shell keep built on a motte and bailey castle |
| Designated | 20 May 1960 |
| Reference no. | 1004384 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Higher Lodge at Trematon Castle |
| Designated | 22 November 1982 |
| Reference no. | 1140409 |
Trematon Castle (Cornish:Kastel Tremen) is situated nearSaltash inCornwall, England,United Kingdom. It was thecaput of thefeudal barony of Trematon. It is similar in style to the laterRestormel Castle, with a 12th-century keep. Trematon Castle overlooksPlymouth Sound and was built probably byRobert, Count of Mortain on the ruins of an earlierRoman fort: it is amotte-and-bailey castle and dates from soon after theNorman Conquest. It occupies a sentinel position one and a half miles south-east ofTrematon village (grid referenceSX41065801).
Trematon Castle, likeRestormel Castle, has a stoneshell keep raised on an earliermotte. Although in ruins, much of the Norman walls remain standing, so that the original form of the Castle and keep are clear. The keep is oval and has walls 10 feet thick and 30 feet high.[1] The internal diameter is approximately 21 metres. A rectangular gatehouse, built in 1270, has two floors and aportcullis. Both are in good condition.
The military historianSir Charles Oman said of the castle's situation "Trematon is high aloft, on one of the summits of the rather chaotic group of hill-tops which lie behind Saltash and its daring modern bridge."[2]
Within the castle courtyard stands aGeorgian house built in about 1808. This has four reception rooms and six main bedrooms, as well as servants' quarters. Part of the original castle wall was demolished to give this house a view into the surrounding countryside.[1]
The site of Trematon Castle predates the Norman Conquest. James McKenzie writes that an earthwork fortress on the site belonged to theearls of Cornwall, while historian William Woolwater calls it an "ancient palace of the Cornish Kings", built before 959. Cornish historianRichard Polwhele called it one of the residences ofCondor of Cornwall and the "ancient earls of Cornwall", along withLaunceston andTintagel castles, and said that it was built before the Conquest.[3] It was either bestowed byWilliam the Conqueror to his half-brotherRobert, Count of Mortain,[3] or asOman says, was established here by Robert soon after theNorman Conquest.[2]
By the time ofDomesday in 1086, it was owned by Robert, and its lord was Reginald de Vautort.[4] Polwhele said thatCadoc of Cornwall may have been restored to the earldom of Cornwall after Robert's sonWilliam rebelled in 1104, and Cadoc may have lived and died there.[3] In any case, the Vautorts were still lords of Trematon in 1166, and according to theCartae Baronum held 59knight's fees from the Earl of Cornwall, and one feein-chief.[5]
From the Conquest until 1270, the rights for the ferry fromSaltash Passage on thePlymouth side of theRiver Tamar to Saltash also belonged to the Vautorts. When Roger de Vautort sold Trematon Castle and manor toRichard Earl of Cornwall, the rent was paid to the Earl's bailiff. In the thirteenth century, this amounted to nearly sevenpounds sterling.
The Castle has remained the property of the Earls and Dukes of Cornwall without interruption since 1270, when Earl Richard bought it for £300.[1]
Before theDuchy of Cornwall was created as an annex to the English crown in 1337, Trematon was one of four principal residences of theearls of Cornwall, along withLaunceston,Restormel, andLiskeard castles.[3]
In 1542, antiquaryJohn Leland wrote: "The greaunt and auncient Castelle of Tremertoun is upon a Rokky Hille; wherof great peaces yet stond, and especially the Dungeon. The Ruines now serve for a prison. Great Liberties long to this Castelle."[3]
WhenSir Francis Drake returned fromhis circumnavigation voyage in 1580, he came into harbour inPlymouth, then slipped out to anchor behind St Nicholas Island until word came fromQueen Elizabeth's Court for the treasures he had gathered to be stored in Trematon Castle.[6] The hoard consisted of gold, silver, and precious stones, mainly emeralds, the result ofpiracy from Spanish ships along the west coast ofSouth America. Before being moved for storage in theTower of London, the treasure was temporarily stored in theGolden Hinde.
In 1961 the Duchy of Cornwall advertised the Castle to be let on a full repairing lease for 21 years, with breaks, at a rent of £250 a year.[1] It subsequently became the home in Cornwall ofHugh Foot, Lord Caradon, and his sonPaul Foot, a campaigning journalist, spent some of his youth there.[7]
Queen Elizabeth II visited the Castle on 25 July 1962 accompanied by theLord Lieutenant of Cornwall,Sir Edward Bolitho, before driving toFowey and embarking in the royal yachtBritannia.[8]
In 2012 the castle and grounds were leased from the Duchy of Cornwall by thelandscape designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman, who created a garden there.[9] In 2019 the lease was bought byinterior designers Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle, co-founders ofHouse of Hackney, who ran the castle as apop-up hotel[10] and redesigned the interiors.[11]
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