Bodiam Castle

 In 1825 James Rouse wrote, Bodiam Castle ‘was once a stately pile, and the present ruins give a complete outline of its former extent and magnificence. The whole of this castle was built of the best materials, and will yet stand for ages, although roofless and overgrown with ivy.’

An article in Knight’s Penny Magazine for 1844 describes Bodiam Castle as ‘a noble pile of ruins, and with its massy but crumbling towers, mantled with ivy and reflected in the broad moat, produces an effect highly picturesque, filling the mind with reflections not unpleasing on times of insecurity, violence, and bloodshed which have fortunately long since passed away’.

Both these descriptions, accompanied by a host of architectural terms to describe the various features of the walls and towers, catered for the new breed of hungry sightseers who, with time on their hands and romance in their hearts, had discovered the new pastime of tourism that started during the 18^th century.

That Bodiam Castle was included on the itinerary of any historical ‘must be seen’ and then earnestly entered into diaries using the same strange architectural terms alluded to before, is evident by the prolific graffiti of dates and initials adorning the walls. They range from the mid 1700’s onwards, sometimes in the neatest of artistic scripts putting to shame the more recent scrawls. A multitude of serious young men, tentatively watched by possible conquests, must have laboured intensely to enshrine their name for posterity on the stones. Who they were and how long they laboured we will never know, which is a pity and to some extant negates their efforts.

The Victorian voracious appétit to learn about all things ancient led the Sussex Archaeological Society to visit Bodiam Castle as part of their annual meeting in the eastern division of the county, on the 10th of July 1856 as reported in the Gentleman Magazine. ‘From Haremare the society proceeded to Bodiam Castle, where the formal proceedings took place:-the annual report was read, the Duke of Norfolk was elected President of the society in the place of his late father and 33 new members were elected. The day was fine, and a pleasant meeting was closed by a well-provided dinner in the grounds, at which 280 ladies and gentlemen sat down.

Guidebooks from the Victorian period didn’t only cater for the historian but also the keen amateur naturalist. Mackenzie Edward C. Walcott in 1859 was at pains to point out that ‘Bodiam Castle, built late in the fourteenth century, is 13 miles distant from Hastings; the road lies through Sedlescomb, near which is found the thyme-leaved speedwell,’ and continues ‘the river Rother runs through the village, and supplies the broad moat of the castle. Here are found the narrow-leaved flax, white water-lily, and sweet violet’.

The Victorian’s were always quick to point out the unusual or bizarre and Rouse observed that, ‘on the north side of Bodiham Castle is a very remarkable echo, which is musical; the hearers and singers should be placed at different distances from the castle to enjoy this echo in all its excellence.’ This phenomenon was also referred to by Mark Antony Lower in1870, but in much more flamboyant language: ‘there is, or has been, a remarkable echo on the north side of Bodiam Castle, capable of repeating more than a full hexameter. I once tried to coquet with the talkative nymph, but either the anger of Juno, or some other impediment, prevented a satisfactory response’. A pity about the negative response, perhaps he should have tried harder.

With the growth in the tourist industry it appears certain entrepreneurs took advantage of the visitors and by 1876 John Radford Thomson informs us that ‘tickets for viewing the Castle can be had from the Master of the National School, close by Bodiam Gate’.

Along with the introduction of admission prices, souvenirs would also have been for sale and perhaps one of the most fascinating was a medallion described by Nicholas Carlisle in1837:

Obverse

A view of the ruins of the ancient Castle of Bodiam-

legend “ BODIAM CASTLE, Sussex."

Within a circle is inscribed,

"BODIUM CASTLE BUILT BY THE DALYNGRIG FAMILY IN THE

FOURTEENTH CENTURY, 

NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF JOHN FULLER, ESQ., OF ROSE HILL, MDCCCXXX."

And encircling the whole, " STRUCK IN AID OF THE SEA BATHING INFIRMARY, HASTINGS."

This Medal is sold to the Visitors of the Castle

Today Bodiam Castle resembles a breezeblock film set built for a Robin Hood movie plonked in the middle of a lake, which is full of huge ornamental carp that gawp at visitors in the hope of collecting some of the flotsam thrown to the ducks. The new breed of sightseers lean precariously out of windows millimetres from the surface of the moat, clamber over the few isolated piles of foundations and squeeze through window size openings at the base of walls before climbing wearily to the top of a tower then, finally, descend on the gift shop to buy a cheap plastic souvenir, possibly made in China. I doubt if anything has changed since the first tourist flocked to Bodiam Castle.