Hartlebury Castle

We went to Hartlebury Castle this morning.   Except it isn't a castle it's a palace, the Bishop's Palace, the Bishop of Worcester that is.  It originated in 855AD, given to Bishop Aeluun to defend against a Welsh invasion.  It wasn't until 1268 the building was fortified and became a castle under the rule of Bishop Giffard.  The fortifications were destroyed at the end of the Civil War and in 1675 it was restored by Bishop Fleetwood into a country mansion.  Eventually it became known as the Bishop's Palace, the official name given to Bishops' residences.

Actually it isn't the Bishop's residence anymore as they have been moved to Worcester to be nearer their place of work, the cathedral.   So the building is owned by Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust and comprises the Palace as it was, the Worcestershire County Museum and a very nice cafe.  There are also walks round the perimeter and through the woods.

We had a good time there and vowed to come back to do the museum more thoroughly.   We have actually been there before, this was in 2014 before the trust took over in 2015.  I'd forgotten that until I spotted the main entrance gates and realised I had blipped them previously, see earlier blip.

From there we went into Worcester to see Emma and Baby Raffy.  He was due to receive some jabs today but it was postponed as he has had a cold.  He seems to be recovering from that and it was lovely to see them.  Raff's latest trick, now he's mastered smiling, is to try and turn over whilst he's lying on his play mat.  He nearly achieved it, just needs to work out what to do with his arm when he turns!