In the late 1130s a period of civil war – the Anarchy – broke out in England, in which the rival factions of King Stephen and the Empress Matilda contested the kingdom; Worcestershire proved to be a key battleground in the war. The first attack on Worcester itself occurred in late 1139, when an Angevin army from Gloucestershire assaulted the city; after an attempt to take the castle on the south side of the city, the Gloucester forces entered from the north, looting and burning the city.Bradbury, Stephen and Matilda, p. 85 As a result, Walter de Beauchamp chose to side with Matilda.Mackenzie, The Castles of England, p. 387 Worcester became a base for Stephen's forces for a period, with Stephen replacing Walter as the constable with Waleron de Beaumont, before the city and castle were reclaimed for the Empress by Robert of Gloucester.Mackenzie, The Castles of England, p. 387; Bradbury, p. 156 In response, Stephen first stormed and burnt the city in 1148, and then attacked it again in 1150, shortly before the end of the conflict.Bradbury, pp. 156, 182 Two neighbouring siege castles were built by Stephen as part of these operations, designed to contain Worcester Castle itself, one at Henwick Hill the other at Red Hill. After the conflict, Walter was finally reaffirmed as the constable of Worcester Castle by Henry II, the Empress's son.
