page_title: Restormel Castle
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Restormel Castle / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The gatehouse of Restormel Castle, from outside the castle.
context_page_description: Restormel Castle lies by the River Fowey near Lostwithiel in Cornwall, England, UK. It is one of the four chief Norman castles of Cornwall, the others being Launceston, Tintagel and Trematon. The castle is notable for its perfectly circular design. Although once a luxurious residence of the Earl of Cornwall, the castle was all but ruined by the 16th century. It was briefly reoccupied and fought over during the English Civil War but was subsequently abandoned. It is now under the supervision of the English Heritage and open to the public.
context_section_description: Restormel was part of the fiefdom of the Norman magnate Robert, Count of Mortain, located within the manor of Bodardle in the parish of Lanlivery. Restormel Castle was probably originally built after the Norman conquest of England as a motte and bailey castle around 1100 by Baldwin Fitz Turstin, the local sheriff. Baldwin's descendants continued to hold the manor as vassals and tenants of the Earls of Cornwall for nearly 200 years.
  Constructed in the middle of a large deer park, the castle overlooked the primary crossing point over the River Fowey, a key tactical location; it may have been originally intended for use as a hunting lodge as well as a fortification, however.
  Robert de Cardinham, lord of the manor between 1192–1225, then built up the inner curtain walls and converted the gatehouse completely to stone, giving the castle its current design. The village of Lostwithiel was established close to the castle at around the same time. The castle belonged to the Cardinhams for several years, who used it in preference to their older castle at Old Cardinham. Andrew de Cardinham's daughter, Isolda de Cardinham, finally married Thomas de Tracey, who then owned the castle until 1264.
  The castle was seized in 1264 without fighting by Simon de Montfort during the civil conflicts in the reign of Henry III, and was seized back in turn by the former High Sheriff of Cornwall, Sir Ralph Arundell, in 1265. After some persuasion, Isolda de Cardinham granted the castle to Henry III's brother, Richard of Cornwall in 1270. Richard died in 1271, and his son Edmund took over Restormel as his main administrative base, building the inner chambers to the castle during his residence there and titling it his "duchy palace". The castle in this period resembled a "miniature palace", with luxurious quarters and piped water. It was home to stannary administration and oversaw the local, profitable tin-mines in the village.
caption: The gatehouse of Restormel Castle
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