MAFRA CASTLE (conjectural reconstruction)

Why recapture Mafra from the Muslims in 1147 (between 18 and 28 June, according to António Vitorino França Borges) if it wasn't a fortified position or strategically important?

And if it wasn't, why do the chroniclers mention Mafra while other lands in the district of Lisbon, even larger ones, which were equally taken over, are omitted?

The fact that Mafra was a walled town is a fact that countless documents have attested to since the 12th century. It certainly wasn't a first-rate fortress. The humanist André de Resende went so far as to describe it as an oppidulum (village), from which we can conclude that it would have been an almenara (signal tower) of modest dimensions, although of some importance, both because of the semaphore function it would have performed and because of its near-equidistance from Sintra and Torres Vedras.

Ancient Mafara is located not in a hollow, as some observers who are not very attentive to geomorphology insist, but on a hill flanked to the north and south by two valleys where many other streams flow, known as Rio Gordo and Rio dos Couros, respectively. It is likely that the current hilly configuration, except those produced by erosion and possibly agricultural activity, has not undergone any significant changes since the reconquest. The highest elevation is around 200 metres above sea level, about 30 metres to the east of the Santo André headland, on the land where the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Mafra set up its former headquarters.

As for the walled enclosure, which ran in the direction of the church of Santo André, i.e. between east and west, it comprised the entire area of Vila Velha, which today is included within the space delimited to the east by Largo Coronel Brito Gorjão (also called Raposa), to the south by Rua das Tecedeiras, to the west by the Palácio dos Marqueses de Ponte de Lima and finally to the north by Rua da Cerca (also called Rua Detrás do Castelo).

Rua do Meio, formerly known as Adro or Direita, which ran from east to west, linking Porto da Corredoura, in what is now Largo Coronel Brito Gorjão, to a possible wicket or Porta da Traição (Gate of Betrayal) that opened onto the southern wall (and of which traces seem to remain), was the decumanus maximus (main east-west road) of the town. At the same time, Calçada da Porta da Fonte da Vila, from north to south, corresponded to the cardo maximus.

The poemerium, an area contiguous to the wall and obligatorily clear of buildings, is the origin of the streets of Tecedeiras and Detrás do Castelo, on the outside of the wall and, on the inside, of the backyards, examples of which can still be found.

The location of the Alcazaba and its keep, the dismantling of which may have resulted in the bizarre bell tower of Santo André (perhaps built in the 17th century and demolished in 1910), resting on the head of the church, is based on pure conjecture, despite everything being inspired by the statement in Nery Gorjão's manuscript that "the castle [the Alcazaba?] of Mafra was adjacent to the parish church of Santo André".

If this is the case, the former headquarters of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia will have replaced the last stronghold of the fortress on the higher ground. Rua do Adro or Rua do Meio began roughly where it ends today at Largo Coronel Brito Gorjão and was connected to the old Corredoura by a gate, perhaps flanked by two cubicles that defended it and of which the walls, which were around three metres thick, at the back of the house, which has since been demolished and replaced by a recent one owned by Rogério Lucas da Silva, were a solid indication (the stone that came out of it was used as rubble for the embankment on which the football pitch of the Clube Desportivo de Mafra stands).

This gate gave access to the Porto Vedras road and those of Vela de Cima (Alto da Vela) and Arrifana, which led to Abrunheira and Alcainça, respectively. Although only partially, the south elevation was the only one to survive the systematic dismantling of the wall to collect stone for other buildings. A plausible explanation lies in the need to contain the earth that fills the steep slope (around 8 metres) between Rua do Meio and Rua das Tecedeiras. Moreover, for this very reason, after the collapse (November 1937) of the wall supporting the former Sequeira yard, it was immediately replaced by the wall on which the so-called Miradouro stands, erected on the initiative of Dr Carlos Galrão, its owner at the time [AMM: request for the work].

The flight of steps linking the Miradouro (the former Sequeira and Marques family yard) to Rua Família Marques, below, likely followed the calçada do postigo or Porto da Traição, the existence of which is essential to take into account to make viable the extension that the outskirts, also protected by a walled enclosure whose western end bordered the Rio Gordo, would come to assume on that flank of the castle.

The postigo or Porto da Traição gave access to two roads: one via Quintal and Montesouros to Carvoeira and the other via Malvar and Sobreiro to Ericeira and Paço de Ilhas.

The wall, replaced by a larger one (1942), originally extended to a turret to the west. In the space between it (the wall no longer existed there in 1853, which is why Nery Gorjão uses the disappeared hermitage of the "house called the Captain Major" as a reference) and the façade of the Palace of the Marquises of Ponte de Lima, underground clay vaults were found in 1790 (when "the road leading to the Roussada estate was opened or widened") and were used to store grain. Later, three others were mentioned (two between the old tithe warehouse and a building owned by Roussado Gorjão and another, said to be owned by Teresa Chiado, in front of the old Ponte de Lima mill). They contained objects from different periods, focusing on the Roman period: sigillata ceramics "of fine contexture" and various glass fragments of different sizes.

The west side of the wall was the easiest to defend due to the unevenness caused by the spur or esplanade on which it was perched. It was, therefore, the most suitable for the installation of a castle palace, like the one that existed at least since the time when D. Fernão Martins Coutinho was donatory of the town (14th century) and on which the later palace of the Marquises of Ponte de Lima was undoubtedly built in the 16th century. It is very likely that the west tower of the castle, or part of it, remains on the western façade of the palace, which has a confusing architectural outline.

The popular name Rua Detrás do Castelo (Behind the Castle Street) comes from the fact that the town turned its back on its northern flank because it was the most exposed to the prevailing winds. The wall, benefiting from the higher terrain profile, would have been higher there, protecting the town's interior from the northeast, facing south and towards the sun, as is the case, for example, with Óbidos. The dense forest that is said to have existed until the 19th century in Quinta da Cerca made up of trees of enormous size, would also help as a windbreak.