At the heart of the town of Skipton, in North Yorkshire, this remarkably preserved castle was, throughout the Tudor and Elizabethan age, the seat of the Cliffords, Earls of Cumberland — a family that gave Elizabeth I one of her most flamboyant champions, a privateer of the seas and a knight of the tournaments.
The seat of the Cliffords
Skipton was the principal residence of the Cliffords, Earls of Cumberland, throughout the period. A robust fortress with six drum towers, it came through the centuries without ever falling into ruin (it would only be 'slighted' after the Civil War siege, in 1645). The Cliffords reigned here as great lords of the North, and several of them rest in the family vault of the neighbouring church. The continuity of this great house makes Skipton a privileged witness of the northern nobility.
George Clifford, the queen's champion
The most dazzling figure of the line is George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland (c. 1558-1605). This great lord led a spectacular double life: an Elizabethan privateer, he financed and commanded maritime expeditions against Spain (including a capture of San Juan de Puerto Rico); and Queen's Champion, he defended the honour of Elizabeth I at the great tournaments of the court, arrayed in a sumptuous armour. His daughter, Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676), born under Elizabeth, was the last of the Cliffords and would become a great figure of the seventeenth century, a restorer of her northern castles. To see: the six drum towers with intact roofing, the Conduit Court and the yew planted by Lady Anne Clifford, the twin Norman gatehouse, the twelfth-century chapel.
Did you know?
George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, wore as Queen's Champion an armour engraved with Elizabethan motifs (stars, Tudor roses) — one of the finest English armours of the Renaissance, today kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. On his hat he bore a glove of Queen Elizabeth herself, a symbol of his function as defender of the royal honour. This privateer who plundered Spanish ships was also the serving knight of his sovereign — two faces of one man of the Renaissance.
Notes
Skipton Castle lies at Skipton, North Yorkshire; a castle (one of the best preserved in England) open to the public. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Which family held Skipton under the Tudors?
- The Cliffords, Earls of Cumberland
- The Percys
- The Nevilles
- Which double role did George Clifford play?
- Privateer and Champion of Queen Elizabeth
- Bishop and judge
- Painter and poet
- Who was the last of the Cliffords, born in 1590?
- Lady Anne Clifford
- Mary Stuart
- Bess of Hardwick