Hedingham

#21 & #85 Hedingham Castle
Essex, England
1100
This is NOT an official Lego site

Built by Aubrey deVere about 1141 atop the earthwork of his previous timber fortress dating to about 1100, this 73 foot tall Keep was the home of the deVeres, Earls of Oxford, Lord great Chamberlains of England, for 550 years. Successfully beseiged by King John, in the Civil War that followed Robert deVere and other barons forced the king to sign the Magna Carta - and the castle soon reverted back to the family. Hedingham was visited by King Henry VII, King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, and remains of great historical interest. Hedingham's ornate banqueting hall boasts a magnificent arch and a fine minstrel's gallery, but the interior woodwork was redone following severe fire in 1918.

Photos of the Lego Models Built October 1988 & April-May 2002 Note: The new model is over 34" tall and is architecturally as detailed as I can make it inside the forebuilding and at the Great Hall and Gallery levels, as you will see below. It is very likely the original keep had four turrets, like Rochester with whom Hedingham is frequently compared. The drawbridge may well be fanciful but the chronologically and technically similar Rochester has one. The new model utilized 15,511 Lego pieces, including 6,137 light gray 1x2 bricks, 316 1x5x4 light gray half arches, with the feast requiring 358 parts for furniture, food, musicians, guests, etc. Other specifics available upon request.

WSW View - 1988	Open View - 1988	SW View - 2002	WNW View - 2002

Slideout section of the north wall...	...reveals the Great Hall.	The banquet is ready, with fire blazing and torches lit.	The original battlemented roof has four turrets.

A guest hurries around the gallery...	...to the spiral stair in the northwest tower.	The forebuilding also opens...	...showing a cutaway of the stairs & the castle door with portcullis.

Build Your Own Lego Castle(s)

Ground Floor Plan 1988 Model	First Floor Plan 1988 Model	Second Floor Plan 1988 Model

Gallery Floor Plan 1988 Model	Third Floor Plan 1988 Model	Roof & Turret Plans 1988 Model

Ground Floor Plan 2002 Model	West Elevation 2002 Model	2nd Floor (Great Hall) Plan 2002 Model


Decorated entrance arch	Great Hall looking north	Great Hall looking south	Minstrel's Gallery around the Great Hall


Ground Floor Plan	First & Second Floor Plans	Gallery Floor Plan	Third Floor Plan	Cross-section