Baynard's Castle - Fitzwalter and The Barons' Revolt

Fitzwalter and The Barons' Revolt

Fitzwalter was the leader of the barons' revolt against King John which culminated in the Magna Carta of 1215. The Chronicle of Dunmow relates that King John desired Fitzwalter's daughter, Matilda the Fair, and Fitzwalter was forced to take up arms to defend the honour of his daughter. This romantic tale may well be propaganda giving legitimacy to a rebellion prompted by Fitzwalter's reluctance to pay tax or some other dispute. He plotted with the Welsh prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth and Eustace de Vesci of Alnwick Castle in 1212. John got wind of the plot and exiled Fitzwalter and de Vesci, who fled to France and Scotland respectively. On 14 January 1213 the king destroyed Castle Baynard.

Fitzwalter was forgiven under the terms of the king's submission to Pope Innocent III in May 1213. His estates were restored on 19 July 1213 and according to Stow he was given licence to repair Castle Baynard and his other castles.

It is not clear to what extent the castle was rebuilt, but in 1275 Fitzwalter's grandson, also called Robert, was given licence to sell the site to Robert Kilwardby, the Archbishop of Canterbury for the precinct of the great Dominican Priory at Blackfriars built in 1276. Montfichet's Tower was included in the sale, having also been destroyed by King John in 1213. The building of the priory required the Roman walls to be rerouted, and the military functions of the castle were taken up by a new "tower" in the river at the end of the walls. Started under the great castle-builder Edward I, it was completed during the reign of Edward II (1307–1327) and demolished in 1502. This was probably the tower of Legate's Inn given by Edward III to William de Ros.