On our other channel, TheUntoldPast we looked at the oubliette. This was one of the most
feared torture chambers and dungeons that has ever been invented. An oubliette was simply
a hole in the ground where a prisoner would be thrown inside of, and they had virtually
no chance of escaping. Some of them were bottleneck shaped to prevent an escape, and also they
derived from the French word of ‘to forget.’ Once you went down the oubliette, you were
forgotten and often prisoners were left inside the dungeon with the remains of other prisoners
who were unfortunate enough to have been in there.
Prisoners also had to content with rats and other disgusting aspects of the torture, for
example sewage flowing into the cell, and some oubliettes were so small that a prisoner
would be forced into a sitting, standing or crouching position 24/7. However on the flip
side, there was part of a castle that was completely different, however the words do
sound rather similar. The oubliette was the dungeon where you definitely didn’t want
to be, but what on the other hand was a gloriette? Remember to support our channel, please make
sure to subscribe.
The Gloriette is part of a castle or a palace that you certainly wanted to be inside of.
It’s usually found in European palaces, however some do exist within England. On famous
one was found inside of Corfe Castle, in which one of history’s worst Kings, John expanded
the castle complex. He had a gloriette added onto the main keep at Corfe, where he entertained
guests in lavish banquets and ceremonies. A gloriette was a building inside of a garden
or a Bailey that was raised and elevated about it’s surroundings. It’s shape can be very
different, and often in Europe they’re seen in the form of a pavilion where entertainment
can be held inside of.
The most famous gloriette is found inside of Vienna at the Schonbrunne Palace garden.
It was built in 1775, and was seen as a focal point for the garden. It has been used as
a festival hall and also a place for the wealthy to eat their dinner in complete luxury. The
emperor Franz Joseph I used it as a breakfast room, and on the roof is an observation platform
that looks over the city of Vienna. During the Second World War it was destroyed in bombing
raids, however was quickly restored a number of years later.
The Gloriette at Corfe Castle is incredibly different to this. It takes the form today
as a ruined building in which most of it has fallen into a derelict state. There are the
remains of a staircase, however this was a place in which King John aimed to entertain
many of the barons in England. Ultimately by spending huge sums of money on castles
creating things such as gloriettes for very little purpose except extravagance, the barons
turned against John for this and forced him into signing the Magna Carta which limited
his power as the King of England.
The gloriette at Corfe dates back to the 13th century and was the royal quarters of the
King, and it had arch shaped windows that looked out to a huge hill and offered beautiful
views of the landscape. The construction of this new royal residence was part of the first
phase of expansion at Corfe Castle that cost a huge sum of money for King John. The building
of the gloriette was also coincided with the creation and expansion of defensive structures
at the castle including perimeter curtain walls that replaced wooden fences.
The Gloriette was different to the keep building, and it showed the new tastes of the monarchy,
and it took the shape of a romanesque hall. At Corfe it shows us that King John wished
to live inside the castle at some point and for some days a year, and how he wished to
have royal accommodation all over the country, not just in one specific place. It remained
following King John’s reign as the main royal residence at Corfe Castle, and it was
a rather lavish The plan for the gloriette showed a structure based around a central
court. In the east wing was the great hall split into two spaces, with a south kitchen
nearby and also there was vaulted cellars underneath, presumably to store food. The
entrance porch was to the north, and there were other rooms such as the King’s Hall
where he would hold court, but also there was a chapel for private worship.
John’s gloriette at Corfe was one of a number of high status buildings built across England,
and many other buildings across Europe at the time became known as gloriettes. Across
the continent, some of these were towers with domestic chambers, built around beautiful
surroundings such as spectacular gardens and fountains. Another gloriette was built at
Leeds castle, which was built during the reign of Edward I who expanded the defences. He
also added royal apartments in the form of a gloriette for himself and his wife to stay
inside of.
Gloriettes were spectacular buildings, and it’s likely that inside them were beautiful
tapestries to adorn the walls, and they were made only really for show and for promoting
the wealth of the castles owner. It’s likely that big state occasions were held inside
of them, and that the castle owner could impress inside of the Gloriette. Some were built as
extensions to castles, but some were completely separate structures. Inside of these treasure
could also be held, and a similar idea is that of an orangery which can be seen in castles
today. These are mostly glass structures in which tropical plants can be housed inside
of. These were made to give castle owners another place to entertain guests, and to
impress them with their foreign plant collections.
So the oubliette and the gloriette could not be further apart in their similarities. To
be invited into the gloriette would have meant you would be rubbing shoulders with the royalty,
however the oubliette meant you could literally be rubbing shoulders with rats inside of a
dungeon in the ground.
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