Siege of Hertford Castle (1216)

Background

In the autumn of 1216, Prince Louis of France besieged Hertford Castle during the First Barons' War. Walter de Godarvil held it for the young King Henry III.

King John died on October 18th, 1216, and his nine-year-old son, Henry III, became king. William Marshal soon led the regency council that governed for the boy. Louis had failed to take Dover Castle in the Siege of Dover, and he now turned to the castles north of London.

Hertford Castle began as a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. Between 1170 and 1174, Henry II rebuilt it in stone, with flint walls, drawbridges, gatehouses, and a great hall, as part of his plan to defend London. Years earlier, Robert FitzWalter, now a leader of the rebel barons, had claimed the castle through his wife's family, and he was later its governor.

Battle

Louis began the siege in person on November 12th, 1216, leading French and rebel English forces. His siege engines, including petrariae (stone-throwing engines) and other machines, were set up to batter the castle's walls.

Walter de Godarvil, also spelled Godarville, was a royalist constable linked to the network of Fawkes de Breauté. He and his garrison put up a determined resistance for about 25 days and inflicted significant casualties on the attackers.

On December 6th, 1216, Walter surrendered the castle. Louis allowed the defending knights to leave with their horses and weapons.

Aftermath

Robert FitzWalter, a leading rebel baron and a former holder of Hertford, demanded that the castle be given to him. Louis refused, reportedly telling him that a man who had betrayed his own king was unworthy of the charge. Louis kept Hertford and advanced to Berkhamsted Castle, which he besieged later that month.

The country then began to rally to Henry III. By 1217, the French had left England, and Hertford Castle returned to the English crown.