ON the red shield of the heraldic coat of arms of the city of Bristol a medieval ship is shown emerging from the battlements of a great castle and Bristol Castle, built in the 12th century by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, was indeed a great castle. Built of sandstone, it was twice the size of Caernarvon and had a keep larger than the Tower of London.
The outer walls were 25 feet thick at the base and nine feet thick at the top and within those impregnable walls were living quarters, a chapel, stables, a parade ground and a grand banqueting hall. When the future King of England, John, married Hawisia, daughter and heiress of the Earl of Gloucester, it was agreed in the marriage contract that he should inherit the estate on the Earl's death. So when the Earl died, John became Lord of Bristol. When he also became King of England he divorced Hawisia but kept the castle, estates and title.
Bristol Castle became one of the principal castles in England and during the earlier reign of John's brother Richard the Lionheart, who was frequently away on Crusades, Prince John had made it his headquarters from where he ruled the country in his brother's name. After his divorce John married the 14 year old Isabelle of Angouleme. The fact that she was already betrothed to one of his Norman nobles did not bother him. John was a man who took what he wanted and one thing he had wanted more than anything else was the throne of England, even though his nephew, Prince Arthur of Brittany had a greater claim to it. Arthur was the son of Geoffrey, John's elder brother who had died in 1186. However, on his deathbed Richard the Lionheart declared John to be his heir and their mother Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine supported her son against her grandson. But after his coronation John always feared that Arthur would try to usurp him and his nephew did in fact make an attempt to try and win the support of the French territories. For this Arthur was imprisoned by John's men in the castle at Rouen where he mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again. Rumours abounded, but although John was accused of having him murdered, nothing was ever proved.
But John's reign was still not secure. Arthur had a sister, Princess Eleanor, and although at the time the English people would not readily have accepted a woman on the throne she was still a threat to the King, for if she were to have a son, that child would also have a prior claim to the throne. To make sure that this never happened the princess was brought over from France by her Uncle John and `kept' in his castle at Bristol. After crossing the moat and entering the great gates the unfortunate princess was never to leave the castle. She was closely confined within the keep for a total of 40 years, guarded day and night by four trusty knights lest she should have an opportunity of engaging in a clandestine marriage and producing an heir. It is difficult to imaginewhat her life must have been like imprisoned within those mighty walls for all those years - and this in the glorious Age of Chivalry. However, the inhabitants of Bristol did not forget the ill-fated Princess Eleanor; after all she was a hereditary heiress to the crown of England. So the King considered it prudent for the Governor of the Castle to show his royal `guest' to the public every year to prevent any suspicion of foul play, for after the disappearance of her brother her captivity must have caused some public concern. Each year for the next 40 years Eleanor was allowed to walk around the battlements to be exhibited before the people of Bristol.
When the Barons rebelled against King John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta, Bristol was one of the few places that remained loyal to him. It was from the safety of his great castle in 1216 that he left on that fateful march which would ultimately take him to his death in the Wash. Eleanor outlived her Uncle John by 24 years. But despite that his son and successor Henry III showed no mercy what so ever to his cousin imprisoned in Bristol Castle, for even in middle age she was still considered a threat to the throne. After a life spent largely in captivity Eleanor finally died in 1241. At last she was free of the great stone walls of King John's castle.
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