Sheriff Hutton Castle is over 850 years old and was built during the reign of King Stephen. Later Richard III acquired the castle through marriage. He made the castle one of the two sites for his Council of the North. The Council was his method of running the North after he became King of England. It has since fallen into ruin. It’s recently been sold for just over £1Million. It is our local castle.

Seven years ago we nearly bought a house which backed onto this castle. The castle was only 30 paces from the garden. An epic garden view. It was at a time when we we’re going to try for a second child. So we needed a house with an extra bedroom. This house ticked so many boxes. To me being so close to a castle seemed so exciting. However in the end we didn’t buy the house and sadly my partners health soon ruled out another member of our family. Every time I pass the castle my mind wanders off to what might have been.

There where a few reasons why we didn’t move here. One of the main reasons was our son. At that time a carefree, gregarious toddler had quickly transitioned into the world of Aspergers. Suddenly his world was populated with doctors, psychologists and other health professionals. It must have been so scary and disorientating for him. The one place he felt safe was our little bungalow on the hill. The bungalow was all things to him.

His Panic Room

His Safety Zone

His Dream World

An Exclusion Zone for the many who looked at him differently because of one word

His Play Zone

His World

It was the only place he felt comfortable and relaxed. From our experience Aspergers seemed to loosen and destroy all of our sons life foundations. Life became precarious and the slightest disturbance could bring everything crashing down. His little bungalow was one of the few things which was still secure and stable. The last thing he needed was for that to be torn down as well. So we decided to stay.

We are still here in that little bungalow on the hill. It’s still such a safety net for our son. A place he feels secure and at ease in. It still excludes those who discriminate. The garden fences mark the boundaries to his world. His ramparts. In a way it is his very own modern castle.

69 thoughts on “Castle”

  1. I’m glad he has somewhere he feels safe and secure. It’s important for us all but especially when people can be so confusing and the social world a minefield of unpredictable events.

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  2. I think we had a civil war in Steve’s day. Queen Matilda’s Chamberlain Drogo was assassinated but his brother John sued the guy whodunnit according to an apocryphal story by my uncle. Chamberlain’s my family name and John’s my brother 🙂

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      1. I think Steve won the war but if Matilda’s descendants decide to surplant the Windsors I would happy step up to be their chamberlain! 😀

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      3. I’m trying to think what my flag would be. Maybe my face in the middle of a white rose to scare my enemies off! 😀

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      1. My French teacher in school said my accent was very good. Unfortunately, the side effect of learning to swallow my R’s is that I say Spanish words all wrong. I can’t roll an R to save my life🙄😂

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  10. I love history so living near a castle would be so cool. However, there is much to be said for safe havens no matter what walls surround them. “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home”.

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  11. I can relate to this – well, Declan can. We’ve already started planning where we want to go once the kids move out. Declan currently plans to live with us forever, and he is welcome to, but when he heard we wanted to move – it didn’t matter where, what mattered to him was that we would be leaving our house, his safe spot – well, he just started crying. I am now realizing that I am thankful I gave him ten years to get used to this idea. Or I am going to lose my mind to have to listen to 10 years of tears. We shall see!

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  12. Nevermind living near a castle, I think Andrew would like to live in a castle with a moat AND a large wall around it. Neighbor problems. Yeah, when we move from here it’s going to be a fight not to be isolated. He’s grown a bit weary of people. I’m praying about that too these days.

    I’ve wrote it before, but I’ll write it again, your son is very fortunate. A safe haven is priceless.

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      1. That’s sad. 😑 We’ve had a rough time with neighbors in the last couple of suites we’ve lived in, but I haven’t given up on people. There are definitely some selfish characters out there, but we also have some really kind people around us. Our neighborhood is really nice, it’s just hard when the one person who’s good at creating problems lives directly above you. But then we also have a really great landlord. I think there are more pros to living in this suite, but it’s too easy to get focused on the negatives. Plus, it’s never good when too many men occupy the same building. A home is a man’s castle, right? We are between a rock and a hard place, but that has never stopped me from thriving before. I’m stubborn.

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      3. Sometimes…Yes, space is good sometimes too. It always seems to come back to balance. Life is certainly a precarious balancing act. There is middle ground. Without it you get the mayhem of middle-earth.

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  13. A little bungalow on a hill is way cool, my friend. It is, in fact, my dream … someday … a little bungalow, walls lined with bookshelves, an adequate kitchen for my culinary endeavors, and nobody within shouting distance. Just me and nature … and maybe a significant other, maybe not. Most important thing is … quiet … peace … privacy. Treasure it. Love ‘n hugs.

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