Longthorpe Tower

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the village of Longthorpe, on the edge of Peterborough, a square crenellated tower some 13 metres high is grafted onto the corner of a 13th-century manor house. Built around 1300 by Robert Thorpe, lay steward of Peterborough Abbey, it was as much a statement of social standing as a means of defence: in the flat landscape of the Fens, it signalled from afar the success of a family of the abbey's tenants. Its exceptional interest lies in the vaulted chamber on the first floor, which preserves the most complete set of medieval domestic wall paintings of northern Europe known in England. Painted around 1330, the decoration combines religious scenes (the Nativity, the apostles, the life of Saint Anthony), moral allegories such as the Wheel of the Five Senses and the Ages of Man, coats of arms and a bestiary of precisely observed birds. A seated king, probably Edward II or Edward III, faces Edmund, Earl of Kent. Covered with whitewash for centuries, the paintings were rediscovered in 1945 after the tower had been occupied by the Home Guard. Given to the State in 1947 by the future 10th Earl Fitzwilliam, the tower is now in the guardianship of English Heritage and managed by the Nene Park Trust, which runs seasonal guided tours.