Just a few meters from the Jerez Circuit “Ángel Nieto,” where countless enthusiasts gather annually for the Motorcycle Grand Prix, lies the rural neighborhood I am telling you about today.
This small village, with nearly 400 inhabitants, holds a great treasure: a medieval castle classified as a BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural) since 1985.
Unfortunately, this private property suffered a serious collapse in the tower in 2018, and since then we have been watching helplessly as a part of our history slowly disappears.
A medieval fortress
The fortification began construction in the 11th century when the fertile Jerez countryside was inhabited by the Arabs. After the conquest, the construction continued until the 15th century, as it was necessary to transform the primitive Muslim fortress into a Christian castle.
It is known that at the end of the 14th century, the tower was owned by Doña Catalina Martínez and that it was possibly part of her family’s inheritance, the Martínez de Cuenca.
This family participated in the conquest of the city of Jerez carried out by King Alfonso X the Wise, for which they received the property of the lands by royal grant.
At that time, the tower formed the main nucleus of a vast territory with the Salado stream. The family’s sustenance depended on the cultivation of these lands.
Catalina Martínez’s grandson, the Jerez juror Don Pedro Martínez Melgarejo, inherited the lands, subsequently forming the Melgarejo Mayorazgo.
Since the Middle Ages, the castle has been part of the defensive system of the Jerez area and played an important role in the territorial control of the sector that included the plains of Caulina and the roads to the mountainous region of Arcos de la Frontera and Bornos.
So… how did the castle look like?
It certainly must have been notable enough for writers and historians, including the famous writer Cecilia Böhl de Faber (Fernán Caballero), to mention it in their writings.
Manuel Estévez, in his Official Guide to Jerez (1953), notes:
“…its large parade ground and square tower, which transforms into an octagon on its upper floor, crowned with battlements, and where remnants of the original machicolations still endure. The tower rises next to the gate, which, although renovated, retains above it the wall walk, flanked on the inside and outside by battlements, with the Melgarejo coat of arms, to whom it belonged, above the entrance arch. Another coat of arms exists on one side of the tower, on whose right lateral façade, until a few years ago, there was a horseshoe-arched window.”
The sad reality
According to the neighborhood association, after the significant collapse of the tower in 2018, the sad reality is that you can now even see part of the interior of the castle. With each passing day without intervention, the walls crumble, and the entire interior is falling apart.
How I would love to be able to take small groups to visit the castle and the site it occupies… There should be a solution, just as nearby fortresses like Zahara de la Sierra have been recovered and restored. Without a doubt, it would be an attractive and positive resource for the community.
It’s about leyends…
The first comes from none other than the brilliant Cecilia Böhl de Faber (Fernán Caballero) in “Lucas García.”
“This castle was named after Melgarejo because it was conquered by a Jerez knight of that name. The manner in which he accomplished this feat is so intriguing that we cannot resist the desire to recount it, for those who may not be familiar with the numerous local legends that fill the annals of Jerez.
At the time, around the 1300s, this castle was occupied by 150 Moors and their families. They wore white, in accordance with their custom, and rode gray horses. Being enclosed as they were, they sought their sustenance by making night raids and bringing back all the loot they could gather.
Melgarejo set out to conquer the stronghold, which was surrounded by a wide moat that has since disappeared, having been the very trench the Moors had dug for their own burial. The Christian knight promised freedom to a slave he had if he would assist him in the planned enterprise. The master and servant agreed, and the latter, a skilled rider, was tasked with teaching a particularly swift mare to jump moats, gradually widening the gap until it matched the one encircling the Moorish castle.
Having achieved this, Melgarejo gathered his followers, disguised them as Moors, covered their horses with white blankets, and one night, when the castle defenders had gone out, he and his men approached the castle. The defenders, expecting a Moorish force, were deceived by the appearance of this group and tried to raise the drawbridge when they realized their mistake. However, Melgarejo’s slave, mounted on the agile mare, had already jumped the moat and cut the ropes of the drawbridge, preventing it from being raised, and the Jerezans took control of the fortress.
This stronghold—through which the ravages of time have passed, leaving no more trace than the imprint of a bird’s foot—transports one so vividly to the past that it is surprising not to see the crescent moon banner fluttering from its towers and to miss seeing a white turban behind each battlement. What a fitting place this would be for a reenactment or a tournament between Moors and Christians!”
The second is known as “The Bitter Dinner”:
In the days of the conquest of Jerez, tradition holds that once defeated and in retreat, the Muslims passed through these lands disguised as servants to avoid drawing attention. In this manner, they managed to infiltrate the home of a Christian lord and his knights.
However, these seemingly humble servants harbored a thirst for revenge and used the cover of night as the setting for their macabre dinner, stabbing everyone present at the banquet.
This event became known in the neighborhood as the “bitter dinner” or “Melgarejos,” which is the name of the street where the castle is located.