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Forum:	Castles In General & Medieval History
Topic:	LWT Dungeon Documentary

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Rob Hiya,
I am currently researching a documentary for London Weekend Television (LWT) and am keen to talk to people who know of interesting true stories associated with dungeons. Here is some further information about the programme to give you an idea about our project.
LWT has been commissioned by the Discovery Travel Channel to make a 60 minute programme on 'Dungeons'. The programme will be a travel show looking to reveal 'hidden' secrets of British history for American tourists planning to visit the UK. The intention is to give the impression of revealing secrets that only a few know. The programme will initially be shown on American television and will have a potential audience of 40 million.
We are looking for interesting stories relating to dungeons, the torture that took place inside them, modern-day uses for dungeons and anything else related to them. We are also keen to talk to experts in the field of dungeons & torture who would be able to help us find interesting places and characters for the documentary - as well as potentially feature in the programme themselves. The programme aims to incorporate dungeons around Europe as well as the UK
I am working towards a very tight deadline and ideally I would be keen to speak to someone this week (12th March) about the programme.
I hope this information is useful. Please phone me on my number below. I look forward to hearing from you,
Rob Lambie
Researcher LWT
(Direct) 020 7578 2381
Rob.Lambie@Granadamedia.com
Philip Davis I would have thought you really want a profession historian (Richard Holmes seems to be the TV historian of the hour - no disrespect to Prof Holmes, just a comment on fashion). Here at CQ were really just castle buffs who are reliant on professional historians for our information as anyone - though perhaps some of use have read more and read with more judgement.
Since some of the most gory torture took place in the 12C - Robert Belleme Earl of Shropshire was the most notorious - and at this time specialised prison cells were rare (Store rooms and cellars were used -notable the store room at the base of a castle's great tower. The whole tower was sometimes called the Donjon from which is dervived the word dungeon. Castle afficinardo's usual try to avoid dungeon because of this confusion and refer to prison cells.) Indeed very little remains of any of Belleme's castles.
However, of the castles I've visited where prison cells are clearly seen and where there may be good stories I'd try;

Warwick Castle (always keen to be on the telly) with costumed intrepreters and a rack I recall.
Berkeley Castle. Famous as the place where Edward II was killed by the placing of a red hot iron poker in a part of his body where the scar wouldn't show. I personal like the idea of a king getting his come uppance but I suppose the religious right wing might like the idea of for other reasons.
The Tower of London

I'm sorry I don't do personal emails or calls in response to posts in public forums.
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Levan Threave castle in Scotland has a notorious dungeon - the Black Douglas' seemed to keep it, and their gallows, rather busy.
Rothesay Castle on the Isle of Bute has a well preserved bottle pit.
Levan
Peter Pontefract, Yorkshire.
Has a large wooden cover in the centre of the castle site, this leads down to a tunnel cut into the sandstone. Names & dates can be seen carved into the walls. Most of them from the civil war. Rarely open to visitors.
Off the top of my head I'd say Scotland would be a good bet for gory stories.
wurdsmiff Possibly the most notorious and historical is Hermitage, in Liddesdale, associated with tales of witchcraft and other evils. One story which has not received much TV coverage, is the imprisonment and starvation to death of Sir Alan Ramsay, the prominent 14th c knight. Renowned as 'The Flower of Chivalry', Ramsay was starved to death in a dungeon by one time friend and associate Sir William Douglas.
The whole place is remote,atmospheric, evidently haunted and has many many historical associations (eg Bothwell and Mary Queen of Scots)- ideal for your purposes.
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