CASTLE
The castle, not mentioned in Domesday
Book, is traditionally said to have been first
built by William the Conqueror after the
submission of Hereward. (fn. 27) It may have been granted
to the see of Ely at its formation, but the original
headquarters of the episcopal estate in Wisbech, from
which the manor ultimately took its name, must have
been on the site of Barton Farm on the opposite side of
the river. The earliest dated evidence of episcopal
tenure of the castle is in the vacancy of 1215-19, when
it was entrusted in turn to Ralph de Normanville and
Robert de Cantia, and to Richard (Poore), Bishop of
Salisbury. (fn. 28) King John stopped there on 12 October
1216 on his last journey. (fn. 29)
Edward I visited it in 1292, 1298, 1300, and 1305. (fn. 30)
From the late 13th century the building was mainly
used as a prison and as a place for holding the bishop's
courts. John de Lacy, a clerk, was pardoned after
breaking out of the prison in 1291, and in 1315
Richard Lambert of Lynn, illegally imprisoned in
Wisbech Castle, was so inhumanly gnawed by toads
and other venomous vermin that his life was despaired
of. (fn. 31) In 1350 a commission of oyer and terminer was
issued when a prisoner, John de Wilton, was rescued
by Christine and John de Wilton, his mother and son,
and others; as a result of this the older John was outlawed. He was stated to have assaulted the bishop's
bailiffs, threatened the constable and besieged the
castle, so that a large garrison had to be maintained
and the business of rent collecting and management of
the bishop's property was at a standstill. (fn. 32) Another
commission was issued in 1360 when many evildoers
escaped to Walsoken and took sanctuary in the church
there, from which they were rescued by other felons. (fn. 33)
The duties of the constable included the custody of
the castle and its prisoners, the conduct of the courts,
and in some cases at least the stewardship of Barton
manor. (fn. 34) In the latter half of the 14th century the
constable was entitled to perquisites as follows: a hall
by the gates, chambers on both sides of the hall and
over the gates, the easement of a kitchen and stabling
for three horses. He had a salary of 20 marks yearly
and robes for himself and his deputy, or 40s. in lieu,
40,000 turves, 12 cartloads of hay, and straw and a
bushel of oats daily for the three horses. (fn. 35) The 20
marks had been paid as early as 1298-9, when the
robes were valued at 53s. 4d. (fn. 36)
A long series of account rolls of the castle bailiff
exists side by side with those of Wisbech Barton manor.
The division of duties between the two officials seems
to have been one of function, the castle bailiff being
responsible for the legal, as the Barton bailiff was for
the economic side of the manor. The castle accounts
show the profits from manorial perquisites-assized
rents (over £100 a year to the end of Henry VI's
reign, then reduced to a fixed sum of £68 11s. 11d.),
fisheries (which produced £10 to £15 a year), mills,
markets, and fees of court. These last, serving as the
court did for the whole of Wisbech hundred, were a
valuable source of revenue at about £30 a year on
average. The profits of the castle bailiff were considerably greater than on the Barton manor, rarely less
than £100 a year and sometimes more than double
that amount. (fn. 37) In the 15th century the castle fell into
ruin, and was rebuilt during the episcopate of Bishop
Morton (1479-86). (fn. 38)
During the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, Robert
Dudley, later Earl of Leicester, seems to have made
Wisbech his headquarters, while attempting to win
over the town of Lynn to her cause. (fn. 39) On 14 (fn. 40) and
24 (fn. 41) July 1553, however, Thomas Carwell, Edmund
Beaupre of Outwell, and John Dethick were ordered to
take possession of the castle for Queen Mary and make
an inventory of its contents. The neighbourhood
seems to have been somewhat disturbed at this time,
for on 22 July 1553 the Privy Council dispatched a
letter to 'Mr. Repps' 'for the staye and appeasynge of
the inhabitants of the Ile of Elye' (fn. 42) and ten days later
Beaupre warned the Council of a proposed assembly of
5,000 persons on Tilney Smeeth (Norf.), who intended to 'take all gentelmen into their rule and custody
until redress were had of their wrongs done at the
Queen's Majesty's hands'. (fn. 43)
During the reign of Elizabeth the castle was used as
a prison for Roman Catholic recusants (see below),
after which it again fell into disrepair. Bishop Andrewes
(1609-19) spent £2,000 on it, (fn. 44) and Bishop White
(1631-8) a smaller sum, (fn. 45) and it was used as a residence
by most bishops until the Civil War. In return for
£550 Andrewes made an agreement with Matthias
Taylor and Rowland Bradford, constables of the castle,
to accept a fixed salary of 40 marks a year, without any
perquisites in kind. Bradford later claimed the full
fees and perquisites, amounting to £94 a year, but got
no satisfaction from Bishop White and only £10 a
year from Bishop Wren his successor. Bradford alleged
that Wren had failed to keep the castle in good repair,
thereby enabling four prisoners to escape. (fn. 46)