Wallingford Castle — Attraction in South Oxfordshire

Before arriving to Wallingford, we have done little research and found out that it is settled on the banks of the river Thames in very picturesque countryside in Oxfordshire and wanted to check it out.

We didn't regret visiting it and spent really great time there.

Wallingford is famous for location of fictional murders in the much-loved classic Midsomer Murders, the former home of Agatha Christie and of course, Wallingford castle.

Wallingford Castle was built by William the Conqueror and demolished by Oliver Cromwell in 1652.

The castle grounds, including the remains of St. Nicholas College, the remaining two sections of castle wall ( unfortunately, all is left from castle) and the motte hill, are now open to the public.

Not very big garden, but great place for picnic.

Access through Castle Gardens gate is limited:

From Apr to Sept from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays and from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm during the weekends.

From Oct to Mar from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

There is limited parking on Cemetery Lane (nearest postcode OX10 8LG).

Also, you can park across the bridge at reasonable size car park or on the side of the road ( free).

There are public toilets in the other end of the town which were closed on the day we visited, which happened to be a Sunday, so we used toilets inside of the Waitrose.

So, if you are passing by this beautiful town and looking where to have a rest from driving or just relax for a little bit, like we much needed, you can pop in to castle grounds too and enjoy your time accompanied by...

Wallingford was an Anglo-Saxon bugh held by Wigod, a thegn and kinsman of the king Edward the Confessor who supported William I after his invasion in 1066. The castle was most probably built by Robert D'Oyly who married Wigods daughter Ealdgyth between 1067-71. In the 1130's the castle was in the hands of Brien FitzCount who was an important supporter of Henry I and he refortified the castle in stone. A shell keep and curtain wall were added in stone along with extensive earthworks making it one of the most important castles in the area. When Henry I died and Stephen took the throne instead of Matilda (Henrys daughter) the kingdom entered a 30 year civil war ( 1135-1154) known as the Anarchy or Cousins War. Brien was at first a supporter of Stephen but announced his allegiance to Matilda in 1139 when she returned to England. Stephen at first attempted to besiege the castle but it's defences were to great so he set up number of smaller siege castles to contain the garrison while he continued the war elsewhere. In the end the war ended when Stephen declared the young Henry FitzEmpress, the future king Henry II and eldest son of Matilda as his heir. The castle fell into disrepair in the 16th century but was reused in the English Civil war by the Royalist forces, it fell to Parliament in July 1646 and was slighted (dismantled) to stop it being reused as a defensive fortification again. A large house was built in the bailey in 1700 which was rebuilt into a Gothic mansion in 1837, it was demolished in 1972 due to...

Fantastic place - about a quarter is maintained gardens, with the rest meadows. Plenty of space for the kids to run around and you can actually access almost everything, no ropes or barriers.

It's really worth picking up a leaflet or looking at the information boards though as there is little of the castle left. Of course this is part of the charm, in the C11th onwards it was seen as such a strong castle there was no way of attacking it, the only way to conquer it was to lay siege, and that could take several years due to the size of the castle.

It started to fall into disrepair from C14th but in the C16th civil war King Charles I , based in Oxford, ordered it to be rebuilt as a defence against the London-based Parliamentarians.

Of course a massive battle ensued across the Thames Valley. When the Parliamentarians took Reading and Abingdon King Charles ordered Wallingford Castle to be slighted (destroyed) to prevent the Parliamentarians being able to use it. So it wasn't destroyed by Cromwell, it was destroyed to stop Cromwell ever being able to get the keys.

tl;dr The fact so little of the castle remains is a fascinating relic of a civil war so bitter that a King would order one of the largest castles in the country to be destroyed simply as a tactic. Luckily the artist's interpretations and landscape still betray what a behemoth it must have been...