Rufus Castle, also known as Bow and Arrow Castle, is a partially ruined castle overlooking Church Ope Cove on Portland, England. Its name derives from King William II, known as William Rufus, for whom the original castle was built.
The existing structure dates largely from the late 15th century, making it Portland's oldest castle. Built on a pinnacle of rock, some of the original structure has been lost to erosion and collapse over the years.
The remaining castle appears to have been the keep of a stronghold, the foundation of which was much above the top of the church tower of St Andrews which lay in the valley below. The pentagonal tower of the castle has late Medieval gun holes, but rests on an earlier foundation to the north and stepped plinth to the west which may have been a 12th-century keep.[1][2] Remains include parts of the keep, sections of wall with gun ports and a 19th-century round-arched bridge across Church Ope Road.
The castle, including its bridge, has been a Grade I listed building since January 1951. It is one of three buildings on Portland to be Grade I listed.[3] In addition to this, the castle has become a scheduled monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.[4]
Rufus Castle looks out over the Shambles sandbank, approximately 3 miles (5 km) out to sea, one of the most feared navigational hazards in the area. It was here in 1805 that the East Indianman, the Earl of Abergavenny, foundered and eventually sank, killing 263. Among the dead was the captain of the ship, John Wordsworth, brother of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth. The poet immortalised the catastrophe and death of his brother in his poem: To the Daisy. [5]
It was beyond the Shambles that the Battle of Portland took place in 1653 between the English navy led by General at Sea Robert Blake fighting the Dutch Navy led by Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp.
There is no public access to the castle as it is privately owned, though it can be seen well from public footpaths along the coast.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
gatehouse-gazetteer1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1280727)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1280727)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1002698)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ To the Daisy. Wikisource. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.