Ravenscroft has a long and colorful history, dating back to the year 2500 B.C. That was when the Beaker People, who may have been the first speakers of the P-Gaelic language, arrived in Great Britain. They are so named because of their custom of fashioning pottery vessels called "beakers," which are commonly found grave goods interred in the round barrows they popularized.
The Beaker People are believed to have been responsible for much of the construction of the great monument and astronomical observatory known as Stonehenge, which, among other things, marks the dawning of each year's summer solstice; and ongoing archaeological investigation here at the castle and surrounding region has determined that it was at this same time that they also established a village at the Ravenscroft site.
Eventually, however, the Beaker People gave way over the centuries to the Wessex Culture, who are thought to have instigated trade routes between Ireland, southern Britain, and the Continent; the Hallstatt Culture, an amalgamation of warrior tribes who overran much of Great Britain; and the La Tène Culture, renowned for their beautiful, decorative artwork.
These latter two peoples are viewed by many scholars as the first official Celts or Gaels --- ancestors of the modern Bretons, Cornish, and Welsh (P-Gaels), and the modern Irish, Manx, and Scots (Q-Gaels). Evidence of an ancient Celtic presence at the Ravenscroft site has also been uncovered by archaeologists, in the form of a number of timber roundhouses and other wattle-and-daub structures typical of the Celts.
Further digging has demonstrated that around the year 450 A.D., the Ravenscroft site was employed as an Iron Age hillfort under the control of a powerful Celtic chieftain. It has even been suggested that this chieftain was none other than the undeniably most famous Celt of them all, King Arthur, and that the Ravenscroft site was therefore his elusive castle of Camelot. However, as there are a number of other contenders for that honor --- most notably the Cadbury hillfort, extensively excavated during the years 1966 - 1970, under the direction of archaeologist Leslie Alcock --- nothing definitive can be stated in regard to this claim.
What is known is that a variety of Celtic artifacts have been unearthed at the Ravenscroft site. Most prized among them are several brooches, cauldrons, and weapons that, while displaying the knotwork and spiral ornamentation typical of the Celts, also boast many depictions of ravens, a bird known to have been highly revered by the Celts, particularly by their warriors and Druids. Indeed, the warrior band led by the celebrated Irish hero Finn mac Cumal was called the Fianna ("Worthy Ones") or the Fíacha (an Old Irish word meaning "Ravens"); and even today, ravens are kept at the Tower of London, there being an old saying that if the ravens should ever abandon the Tower, England shall be doomed to fall to her enemies.
This long association of Ravenscroft with ravens was, in fact, how the site came to be christened during the Anglo-Saxon time period, the name deriving from the Middle English words raven and crofte, meaning "Raven's Crypt" or, perhaps more likely, "Raven's Hill."
The castle that currently stands on the site was built during the Medieval Age, following the invasion of England by the Normans, under the leadership of William the Conqueror (King William I). It was raised by a rich and powerful Norman baron, Sir Lucien de Bois Corbeau, bois corbeau meaning, strangely enough, "Raven's Wood." It is a name perfectly suited to the ancient, dense forest that forms the vast park encompassing the castle and in whose towering, twisted old trees ravens may still to this very day be seen perched in contemplation of the site over which they have stood sentinel for untold centuries.
During the reigns of the Plantagenets, the Lancastrians and Yorks, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Hanovers, the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas, and the Windsors, ownership of Ravenscroft passed through many different hands. Several of these owners met tragic and untimely fates, its being rumored that they were cursed by the ravens --- long viewed as harbingers of death --- for their lack of understanding of and appreciation for Ravencroft's ancient heritage and the spiritual symbolism of the raven itself, which dates back in history to at least the time of Noah's Ark, the raven being the first bird that Noah traditionally released to determine if the flood waters unleashed by the Creator had receded.
Finally, by means unknown, Ravenscroft came into the possession of New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Rebecca Brandewyne, who, although an American by birth, has a family tree rife with Celtic ancestors, and who has long considered herself an old Celtic soul. Since her acquisition of Ravenscroft, she has devoted many long hours to restoring the castle to all its former glory, as you will see in the tour of rooms and sites comprising those currently open to the public.
Over the many years of her writing career, Rebecca's surname has always been of special interest to the media and readers alike, eventually even becoming, at one point, part of a commentary by Andy Rooney, of 60 Minutes fame. However, the name is not pronounced "brandy-wine," a mistake commonly made. Rather, like many old forms of Celtic words, it is a combination of Q- and P-Gaelic: bran + de (genitive form of dia) + gwyn (the Welsh g is dropped in combination forms). It means "God's White Raven" --- a Celtic symbol of peace.
It is for this reason that over the front door of Ravenscroft Castle, Rebecca has mounted a plaque inscribed with the following words:
In keeping with the Celtic spirit, the fact that we are all poets, pilgrims, and prophets, it is Rebecca's greatest wish that all those who enter here not only someday acquire the knowledge that life's journey alone is paramount, but also that they find peace on whatever road they choose to travel.
We hope you enjoy your tour of historic Ravenscroft Castle!
   
   
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