Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard, 1st feudal baron of Little Dunmow in Essex, and was demolished by King John in 1213. The second was a medieval palace built a short distance to the south-east and later extended, but mostly destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. According to Sir Walter Besant, "There was no house in [London] more interesting than this".
The first Baynard's Castle
Seal of Robert Fitzwalter
Long View of London from Bankside, detail from a 1647 engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar. Baynard's Castle is at far right, on the far side (north side) of the River Thames, with the Church of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe behind it. The Blackfriars is a short distance upstream at left.
William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1501–1570), owned the castle when Mary I was proclaimed Queen there in 1553.
Little Dunmow is a village situated in the Uttlesford district, in rural Essex, England, in the vale of the River Chelmer about 3 miles (4.8 km) east-southeast of the town of Great Dunmow. It can be reached from the Dunmow South exit of the A120 by following the road towards Braintree (B1256) for 3.2 km before turning right for the village. The centre of the old village, which has just 99 dwellings, is a further 0.6 km along the road. The Flitch Way, a linear country park along the route of the old Braintree to Bishop's Stortford railway, links Little Dunmow and the new settlement of Flitch Green. The new village, built on the site of a former sugar beet factory, is a self-contained community of 850 dwellings and is another kilometre along the road towards Felsted.
Thatched cottage
Little Dunmow Priory church (St Mary's)
Flitch Chair in St Mary's Church