Launceston Castle
Launceston Castle stands on a prominent hilltop in the centre of Launceston in north Cornwall, its circular keep and defensive walls providing sweeping views across the surrounding countryside and the Tamar Valley marking the boundary with Devon. For much of the medieval period Launceston served as the effective capital of Cornwall, and the castle was the administrative and judicial centre from which the Earldom and later the Duchy of Cornwall was governed. The castle began as an earth motte and bailey fortification built shortly after the Norman Conquest by Robert of Mortain, William the Conqueror's half-brother who was granted the Earldom of Cornwall. The distinctive round keep that rises from the top of the motte was added in the thirteenth century and is unusual in having a circular shell keep surrounding a further circular tower built within it, creating a double-cylindrical arrangement that is almost unique in English castle architecture. The resulting structure, though small in comparison to some of the great English castles, is exceptionally well preserved and retains most of its thirteenth-century fabric. The castle served as the main prison for Cornwall throughout the medieval and later periods, and its judicial history includes several grim episodes. George Fox, the founder of the Quaker movement, was imprisoned here in 1656 for blasphemy and later wrote a powerful account of the conditions he experienced. The castle continued as a gaol until the early nineteenth century when a new County Gaol was built in the town. The steep motte provides the principal attraction for most visitors: climbing to the keep allows the panoramic views that made this site so strategically valuable in the first place. On clear days the view extends north to Bodmin Moor, east across the Tamar to the Devon hills and south toward the Cornish coast. The town below preserves several other medieval features including the remarkable carved stonework of the town gate, considered some of the finest decorative Norman carving in southwest England. The castle is managed by English Heritage and a modest admission fee applies. Launceston town itself is worth exploring for its independent shops, Georgian architecture and the Launceston Steam Railway, a narrow-gauge heritage line that operates through the scenic Kensey Valley.