The History of Lancaster Castle Pt2

Written by Stuart Bazga


Continued from page 1

As a convict awaiting transportation you were entitled torepparttar “Kings Allowance” of 2s and 6d a week. The government were charged anything from £8 to £12 per prisoner andrepparttar 141351 escorting jailers received a set fee per mile for each prisoner.

If you could not pay your debts and were found guilty you would have found yourself serving time inrepparttar 141352 castles debtors’ prison. The castle housed between 3 to 400 debtors at any one time who would be required to work withinrepparttar 141353 prison.

Life as debtors was quite comfortable compared torepparttar 141354 other inmates and you would receive in payment for your work 3 ozs of bread, 4ozs of oatmeal daily and 1oz of salt and 10 lbs of potatoes on a weekly basis.

If you were one ofrepparttar 141355 lucky ones who had access to money from friends or family then your stay in prison was even more luxurious. You could choose your own type of accommodation fromrepparttar 141356 22 rooms set aside for just such people. The price ranged from 5s to 30s and included a fire, candles, cutlery and a servant who didrepparttar 141357 cooking and cleaning. The lifestyle did not stop there. You were able to buy beer and wine, purchase tobacco and newspapers, buy meat, groceries, fruit and vegetables fromrepparttar 141358 debtor’s market which was held inrepparttar 141359 castle yard. You could carry on with your profession and have visitors from morning until night.

And you thought life was a hardship in prison!

Until 1902 whenrepparttar 141360 Borstal system was introduced, if you were caught as a child committing an offence you could be expected to be fined or sentenced to five days hard labour. The resulting fine of 7s and 6d meant that for most families their children went to prison and completed five days of hard labour.

Lancaster has not been short of royal visitors during her 800 years. The first visitor of note was King John who held court and receivedrepparttar 141361 French Ambassadors and King Alexander of Scotland in 1206. From that point in time there was a steady stream of visitors.

Inrepparttar 141362 1400’s Henry IV held his court inrepparttar 141363 castle and it was also patronized by Edward IV. Both James I and Charles II visited duringrepparttar 141364 17th century. Byrepparttar 141365 1800’s, Lancaster was a very popular place to visit with nine Royal visits.

The first was in 1803 with Prince William Fredrick of Gloucester. Queen Adelaide visited in 1840 and Queen Victoria, Prince Albert andrepparttar 141366 Royal children spent time there in 1852.

The most recent royal visitor was Queen Elizabeth in 1999.

Today Lancaster Castle is a thriving tourist attraction, working prison and court room.

I hope you have enjoyed this two part series onrepparttar 141367 History of Lancaster Castle and when you find yourself inrepparttar 141368 area, pay her a visit.

Best Wishes Stuart Bazga

www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com



A Guide to Castles of Europe was born from childhood dreams and aspirations. It is my hope to educate and stimulate you into exploring these castles for yourselves.


Top 10 Spanish Experiences

Written by Rhiannon Williamson


Continued from page 1

8) Art & Culture – The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a work of art in itself and worth visiting even if you’re not interested inrepparttar wealth of art and artefacts contained therein. The museum is an incredibly daring structure built from titanium, glass and stone, and it beats atrepparttar 141311 heart of this city of contrasts. Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum is tame in architectural comparison but it houses one of Picasso’s greatest works, in fact, possibly one ofrepparttar 141312 greatest works of 20th Century namely Guernica…if you want art and culture, Spain has it in heaps and every city, town or region you visit will offer you a whole host of opportunity to experiencerepparttar 141313 Spanish cultural riches.

9) World Heritage Sites - The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is dedicated to ensuring future generations inheritrepparttar 141314 treasures ofrepparttar 141315 past by working to protect both cultural and natural sites of significance worldwide. Spain has over 35 sites that have been flagged as world heritage sites – we challenge you to visit them all!

10) Tomato Fighting – not fighting tomatoes (that would be silly), but fighting with tomatoes in Valencia in August. Yes, one ofrepparttar 141316 strangest of all Spanish festivals and carnivals is La Tomatina where upwards of 30,000 semi-naked people gather to throw tomatoes at each other before getting washed down byrepparttar 141317 hoses ofrepparttar 141318 local fire brigade…it is truly an experience worth…well…experiencing really! If only to say ‘been there, done that.’

Spain is different! It is a country which effortlessly and seamlessly combines a plethora of fiestas, indefatigable nightlife, stunning and diverse natural scenery, supposedly impossible to achieve levels of synergy between ancient and modern architecture and artistic culture, fun and fascination, beautiful people, incredible cuisine, sun, sea, sand and sangria - to create a variety and spice of life you will never experience outside of Spain.

Rhiannon Williamson is the publisher of http://www.shelteroffshore.com/ the online resource for investment property abroad, offshore investing and living overseas. Click the following link for Spanish property and moving to Spain articles, guides and resources.


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