From early times, people have built protection around them:
Stone Age people lived in caves and made defense to keep wild animals.
The first cities were built high stone walls to keep invaders out.
Kings and nobles fortified their great big home to protect themselves.
First Castles:
The first castles were built by the Normans
The great age of castles began almost 1000 years ago and lasted for almost 500 years.
The first real castles built in England , was built after the Norman conquest in 1066 They were introduced by William the Conqueror when he invaded England from his homeland in France
The first castles were built Mote and Bailey-style castle.
What castle?
Castles are big, strong house, where kings and lords once lived with their families, soldiers and servants. They were both a home and a fortress.
Why were castles built?
They were built to provide security and protection against attacks and to show the owner's rank and wealth.
As castles were built and why?
Castles were often built on hilltops or surrounded by water to make them easier to defend.
What is the largest castle in England
The largest castle in England is Windsor Castle
What is the largest castle in the world?
The largest castle in the world, around 570 meters length and an average of about 130 meters wide, is Prague Castle , the castle in Prague
Stone Castles:
When was the stone used to build castles?
Over the 12th century many castles were improved and strengthened. Methods to attack and occupy the castles were improved, and so there was a need for a stronger and more durable (long) defense.
Lumber defense of Motte and Bailey castles were replaced by walls and towers of stone.
Why have the stone castles replace Motte and Bailey castles?
Although wood was strong against spears and arrows, the fire could make it unusable. A more robust and resilient medium was required, and delivered the stone.
Compared to the Motte and the Bailey, stone castles were bigger, better and more reliable defense. They gave a better protection against attack, fire and cold rainy weather.
How were stone castles improved over the years and why? :
Stone castles Replaced Motte and Bailey castles, stone castles, but also changed over time.
Soon after the Normans invaded England White Tower at the Tower of London
The first castles of stone consisted of rectangular towers surrounded by high stone walls.
Later, castles with round towers were built.
Concentric Castles:
The concentric castle was developed in the 12th and 13 century, and offered the best protection against attack.
What does concentric mean?
The word means a concentric circle inside another.
What is a concentric Castle? :
Concentric Castles can be described as "a castle in a castle". They had two or three walls around with. (NB some concentric castles had no team. The place inside the outer wall, there was a second wall connecting a series of towers.)
The interior walls were built higher than the outside walls. That meant that defenders could fire arrows over the heads of the soldiers who defend the exterior walls.
Many walls:
Has meant many, walls, even if an enemy broke through the outer wall, which in reality was another castle safely defended and preserved with regulations.
Death Hole:
The space between the two walls had been known as "death hole 'to be trapped within the walls would almost certainly result in death for the attacker.
Moat:
Some Concentric castle had a moat for extra protection.
Concentric castles were even more popular after the invention of gunpowder, which they could withstand a siege, while a regular slot could not.
The parts of a castle:
Keep
In the heart of a castle tower is called a carrier.
The number of levels in the hold depends on its size and the wealth of its owner, but a
floor would make up the castle's great hall (Grand Hall).
The Curtain Wall:
A strong wall was built around the outside of the keep.
The Bailey:
The closed area between the inner side of the wall and be known as Bailey.
The Gate House:
Castles front door was very well protected. Gatehouse is the only bridge across the moat.
Castle Defense:
A castle was built to withstand attacks from the enemy. Castle builders added a lot of defensive characteristics to make their castles difficult to attack. Many castles were built on high ground with clear views over the surrounding areas.
Moat:
The attackers were easy to shoot while swimming or rowing over the moat filled with water.
Violence:
The violence was the steep banks of earth or gravel. Attackers could climb over them to get closer to the castle.
High walls:
The walls of the palaces were very high, making it difficult for attackers to climb over.
Can you see the people in the photograph?
They look so small compared to Hugh entrance to Bodiam Castle
Curtain walls:
Tall thick curtain walls surrounded the palace buildings as a strong shield.
There was some door in the wall and thus limit access to the castle.
Castles with curtain walls with flanking towers were difficult to catch. These towers could well protected defenders to fire on the attackers along the castle walls, concentrate fire on specific points of heavy attack. A good early example of a castle with flanking towers are Framlingham in Suffolk
Parapet:
The top of the castle walls were the parapet, a protective, tooth-shaped parapet wall with a walk behind the soldiers to stand on. The defenders could fire missiles through holes (crenels). They traveled routes between known merlons which helped to shelter the defenders during a hostile attack.
Machicolations:
These were stone boxes, as expected from the walls of castles and had holes in floors for dropping stones or boiling oil on attackers. Wooden versions of these were called the tax fund.
Gateway Defense:
The entrance to the palace was always the weakest point.
Drawbridges could be drawn up to prevent access across the moat.
Tall gate towers meant that the defenders could shoot down into the safety of attack below.
Main gate or door to the palace was usually a thick, iron-studded wooden door, which was hard to break through.
A spiked wooden or metal barrier, called Drop Grid, helped protect the doors against fire and matches. It was lowered by chains from a chamber over the gateway.
Drop the word Grid comes from the Old French porte-coleice, which means sliding door.
Murder Holes:
Murder holes were openings in the ceiling just in front of a gate or in the corridor outside.
They were so called because it was felt that they were used by the defenders in the chamber above to reduce heat liquids in the unfortunate attack.
Towers Round:
It was harder for attackers to make the round towers collapse. In contrast to the square towers, they had no corners, which collapsed when the holes were dug under the foundation.
Arrow and Gun Loops:
These gave a safer way to shoot arrows at attackers of the castle. They come in many different styles of curtain wall and towers of the castle.
Why have the stone castles replace Motte and Bailey castles? :
Wood, one of the two materials from which the Motte and Bailey castles were built (the other is soil) were perishable (red), and more importantly, vulnerable to fire. A more robust and resilient medium was required, and delivered the stone.
Compared to the Motte and Bailey, stone castles were bigger, better and more reliable defense. They gave a better protection against attack, fire and cold rainy weather.
Why did they stop building castles?
Castles were great defense against the enemy. But when gunpowder was invented castles stop is an effective form of defense.
By the end of 1300 gunpowder was much in use. The medieval castle with its high vertical walls were no longer impregnable fortress it had been.
Why was gunpowder so effective?
The use of gunpowder made both castles and town walls much more vulnerable because a gun can cross the stone walls. The only way to topple the walls, before the invention of gunpowder was digging under the walls to make them unstable. It was a very dangerous way to do it, especially since you can get boiling tar poured over you from above!
Inside Castles:
A castle was much more than just a fortress. It was a was a home to his Lord, his family and his supporters.
Inside the castle walls could have been a magnificent hall, comfortable houses and a beautiful chapel.
Larger castles had their own fishponds, orchards and vineyards, and gardens, which supplied vegetables and herbs. Cattle, sheep and pigs were kept on the surrounding farmland.
The Great Hall:
The great hall was the heart of castle life.
For special occasions, large banquets were held here. Lord, his family and important guests sat at high table, which was beyond the other diners and covered with a cloth of fine linen.
The Chapel:
Most castles had a small private chapel near Lords chambers. Painted walls, stained glass windows and a golden cross on the altar made castle beautiful space. The lord and lady began each day by attending a short service here.
Kitchen:
Kitchens were built away from the team if they caught fire.
Toilets:
Castles do not have toilets, rather than people sitting on wooden seats called "wardrobe." These were built over a very large parachute. Waste from the toilet parachute fell into the moat.
Wardrobe (to 'guard' in 'clothing') was so called because people kept their clothes in them. The foul smell kept moths away.
Good:
Almost all the palaces had good within their walls. It was important as a source of water, if any besieged fortress.
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