how were stone castles built

With foundation trenches dug, work began on the masonry structure. Oftentimes, the suitable stone had to be transported a long way from quarries to the building sites. In medieval Europe, the castle was a common type of stronghold that provided both protection and living quarters for the king or lord of the land in which it stood. The passage through the gatehouse was lengthened to increase the amount of time an assailant had to spend under fire in a confined space and unable to retaliate. They have been re-built and extended over the centuries since. They were used to force open the castle gates, although they were sometimes used against walls with less effect. Over time the focus of high status accommodation shifted from the keep to the bailey; this resulted in the creation of another bailey that separated the high status buildings such as the lord's chambers and the chapel from the everyday structures such as the workshops and barracks. Once William had firmly established his rule in England, he built huge stone keep castles. [2] The word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. [105][106] Not all the features of the Crusader castles from the 13thcentury were emulated in Europe. The cost of transporting stone was massive so castle builders used the closest stone available, often quarrying the stone at the castle site (digging the ditches at the same time). [164] Licences to crenellate were also proof of a relationship with or favour from the monarch, who was the one responsible for granting permission. The original uploader was Sue Wallace at English Wikipedia. [65] However, while castles proliferated in the 9th and 10th centuries the link between periods of insecurity and building fortifications is not always straightforward. They were more commonly used against the garrison rather than the buildings of a castle. [3], In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is "a private fortified residence". [144] Spending on the scale of the vast castles such as Chteau Gaillard (an estimated UK15,000 to UK20,000 between 1196 and 1198) was easily supported by The Crown, but for lords of smaller areas, castle building was a very serious and costly undertaking. They were usually built as centre pieces in aristocratic planned landscapes. The bailey was a walled courtyard, creating a line of defense and protecting the keep. Castles that were designed to show off prestige focused on other elements such as the gatehouse, ballrooms, and gardens. [32] The massive internal spaces seen in many surviving donjons can be misleading; they would have been divided into several rooms by light partitions, as in a modern office building. The first stone castle built in England and one of the first in Europe was the famous White Tower of the Tower of London, completed at the end of the 11th century. One such was built to cover a French invasion of England in 1386 but was captured on a ship by the Calais garrison. For wooden structures, such as early motte-and-baileys, fire was a real threat and attempts would be made to set them alight as can be seen in the Bayeux Tapestry. ), Medieval Castle Keep: History, Types, Designs & Purposes. The design that created the ideal defense structure was central to Renaissance cities from 1530 onwards. However, this solution presented its own set of issues: Stone was more expensive, harder to manipulate and required a skilled workforce Castles marked places of strategic or. [78], Historians have interpreted the widespread presence of castles across Europe in the 11thand 12thcenturies as evidence that warfare was common, and usually between local lords. Initially these were wooden motte-and-bailey constructions, but many were replaced by stone castles with a high curtain wall. The kings master mason, Robert of Westerley, was sent to Tutbury where he consulted with two senior masons to design a new tower on a different site. More people than ever are flocking to visit castles in Scotland, including over 5 million in one recent year. How have stone castles improved over the years, and why? [44], A moat was a ditch surrounding a castle or dividing one part of a castle from another and could be either dry or filled with water. Larger lordships could be vast, and it would be impractical for a lord to visit all his properties regularly, so deputies were appointed. The towers would have protruded from the walls and featured arrowslits on each level to allow archers to target anyone nearing or at the curtain wall. They contained a lot of timber, which was often unseasoned and as a result needed careful upkeep. Extravagant hunting parties were held for nobles and royalty. The introduction of castles to Denmark was a reaction to attacks from Wendish pirates, and they were usually intended as coastal defences. [63], The subject of the emergence of castles in Europe is a complex matter which has led to considerable debate. [177] Others were adjacent to or in royal forests or deer parks and were important in their upkeep. [17] Forts in India present a similar case; when they were encountered by the British in the 17thcentury, castles in Europe had generally fallen out of use militarily. The Motte The Bailey How did the Normans build castles? Anglo-Saxon nobility operated on a feudal system, collecting taxes from their tenants. This method of concentric circle fortifications started around 1270. This area also included space for villagers and domestic animals. [175], As castles were not simply military buildings but centres of administration and symbols of power, they had a significant impact on the surrounding landscape. [201] Building a castle on a rock outcrop or surrounding it with a wide, deep moat helped prevent this. The legend of Tristan and Iseult is one example of stories of courtly love told in the Middle Ages. Visitors had their pick from Ludwigs magnificent stables of purebred Arabian horses. Comfortable homes were often fashioned within their fortified walls. However, as time passed, some advanced fire-launching techniques were developed to burn down the wooden structure. With an understanding of practical geometry he used the simple tools of a measuring rod, set-square and compass to create architectural designs. [191] Cost also meant that in peacetime garrisons were smaller, and small castles were manned by perhaps a couple of watchmen and gate-guards. [24] Although often associated with the motte-and-bailey type of castle, baileys could also be found as independent defensive structures. A castle with earthen ramparts, a motte, and timber defences and buildings could have been constructed by an unskilled workforce. [115], Bigger guns were developed, and in the 15thcentury became an alternative to siege engines such as the trebuchet. He relied on the support of those below him, as without the support of his more powerful tenants a lord could expect his power to be undermined. A bailey (enclosed courtyard) surrounding the motte was constructed to secure the central area which housed the keep, great hall, chapel, and other important buildings. There were 3 main reasons/functions why William the Conquerer and his Normans started building castles right after they had landed in England and why they even continued after the coronation of William. They allowed the garrison to control the surrounding area,[71] and formed a centre of administration, providing the lord with a place to hold court. . [23] The keep on top of the motte was the domicile of the lord in charge of the castle and a bastion of last defence, while the bailey was the home of the rest of the lord's household and gave them protection. [41], During the 13th and 14th centuries the barbican was developed. From the mid-16th century, a new group of professionals, termed engineers, increasingly came to dominate the design and construction of fortifications. Their design was very similar to that of a Roman fort or Byzantine tetrapyrgia which were square in plan and had square towers at each corner that did not project much beyond the curtain wall. As castle design evolved, so did the tactics used by raiders to attack them and it was evident that there was a need for further innovation in castle defense. [75], From 1000 onwards, references to castles in texts such as charters increased greatly. The great tower at Dover Castle possesses a system of lead pipes delivering water throughout the interior. The keeps had great halls, extensive kitchens, and bed chambers to accommodate the family and their guests. Throughout most of the 12th century, stone castles continued to be built alongside traditional motte-and-bailey designs. However, most often, the wooden palisade surrounding the bailey was also replaced with a stone wall. Both drew on elements of castle architecture such as castellation and towers, but served no military purpose and were solely for display. Hunyadi Castle aka Corvin Castle in Romania is still rumored to have held Vlad the Impaler III prisoner in the dungeons under the Knights Hall. Finish with sophisticated defences and high-spec carpentry. [59] Some oppida walls were built on a massive scale, utilising stone, wood, iron and earth in their construction. In an effort to prevent invasion by tunneling under the corners, a system of thicker double-walled circles was built to surround the entire inner complex. [131][132], According to archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham, "the great country houses of the seventeenth to twentieth centuries were, in a social sense, the castles of their day". The overseer, the Earl of Stafford, was for some reason dissatisfied. Stone castles replaced the motte and bailey castles but the stone castles also changed over time. Save 70% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $49.99 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com, How to build a medieval castle: 9 top tips. A long siege could slow down the army, allowing help to come or for the enemy to prepare a larger force for later. To overcome this, the gatehouse was developed, allowing those inside the castle to control the flow of traffic. Invaders tunneled under stone tower corners which caused them to cave in and provide entry. The Practicalities of Castle Building Once the site of a castle had been selected, building material had to be selected. The original Motte and Bailey Castle, made entirely out of timber and earth. [143] A castle with earthen ramparts, a motte, timber defences and buildings could have been constructed by an unskilled workforce. Top tip: Save on labour, expense and time by digging the masonry of your castle walls from the ditches around the castle site. Wide ditches around these castles were called moats. Important domestic interiors, however, commonly possessed permanent decorative fixtures such as stained-glass. He criticised departures from the original design and rounded down the bill. At the same time, French castle architecture came to the fore and led the way in the field of medieval fortifications. [98] A well-sited castle that made use of natural defences and had strong ditches and walls had no need for a scientific design. How were castles built? In the early 11thcentury, the motte and keep an artificial mound with a palisade and tower on top was the most common form of castle in Europe, everywhere except Scandinavia. [110] Despite this, by the beginning of the 15thcentury, the rate of castle construction in England and Wales went into decline. In 123536, for example, he directed that his hall in Winchester Castle, Hampshire be painted with a map of the world and a wheel of fortune. These castles were primarily fortifications that resembled forts rather than what we think of as castles today. This led to the elevation of windows to the second storey to make it harder to throw objects in and to move the entrance from ground level to the second storey. This captivity and starvation drove him to insanity, he became the inspiration for the blood-sucking monster we are regaled within later legends of Count Dracula. For instance many castles are located near Roman roads, which remained important transport routes in the Middle Ages, or could lead to the alteration or creation of new road systems in the area. Although there were no scientific elements to its design, it was almost impregnable, and in 1187 Saladin chose to lay siege to the castle and starve out its garrison rather than risk an assault. Follies were similar, although they differed from artificial ruins in that they were not part of a planned landscape, but rather seemed to have no reason for being built. A reconstruction of York Castle, a good example of a stone keep castle. In addition, stone keeps needed larger mottes that could support the enormous weight of the stone. The Normans built their earliest fortifications of wood in the motte-and-bailey style. A castle could have several baileys but only one enceinte. Where time and money allowed, stone buildings were built over preexisting wooden towers. It was often artificial, although sometimes it incorporated a pre-existing feature of the landscape. It was used for music, lavish balls, and garden parties. During the 1000s, the Normans were the first to change castles to the motte-and-bailey defense system. In motte-and-bailey castles, the keep was on top of the motte. [37], It is a popular myth that murder holes openings in the ceiling of the gateway passage were used to pour boiling oil or molten lead on attackers; the price of oil and lead and the distance of the gatehouse from fires meant that this was impractical. Until the 13th century and start of the 14th centuries, their design was heterogeneous, however this period saw the emergence of a standard plan in the region: a square plan, with four wings around a central courtyard. In an effort to make them more effective, guns were made ever bigger, although this hampered their ability to reach remote castles. In order to build a castle in hostile territory it was essential to protect the site from attack. It would cave in and bring down the structure above. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. Using measured lengths of rope and pegs, it was possible to set out the foundations of a building in full scale on the ground. Gunports were keyhole shaped, with a circular hole at the bottom for the weapon and a narrow slit on top to allow the gunner to aim. [183], The location of castles in relation to high status features, such as fish ponds, was a statement of power and control of resources. The Medieval styles had still not fully died they would continue to survive in new ways, even today. Medieval building processes are often well documented. Gateways were more strongly defended, with the entrance to the castle usually between two half-round towers which were connected by a passage above the gateway although there was great variety in the styles of gateway and entrances and one or more portcullis. Sieges could last weeks, months, and in rare cases years if the supplies of food and water were plentiful. [25] The enceinte was the castle's main defensive enclosure, and the terms "bailey" and "enceinte" are linked. Sometimes planned towns or villages were created around a castle. [12] Over time the aesthetics of the design became more important, as the castle's appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of its occupant. How were stone castles built? [163] The right to crenellate, when granted by a monarch though it was not always necessary was important not just as it allowed a lord to defend his property but because crenellations and other accoutrements associated with castles were prestigious through their use by the elite. Defences against guns were not developed until a later stage. Everything and everyone, skilled and unskilled, could participate in constructing this type of defense. One of the main reasons for the change in design was that diplomacy was now considered the way to resolve conflicts rather than war. The first was ugly and uncomfortable and the latter was less secure, although it did offer greater aesthetic appeal and value as a status symbol. All this takes no account of the garrison nor of purchases of material. Once ditches around a castle were partially filled in, these wooden, movable towers could be pushed against the curtain wall. This created a space between the two walls where living quarters, kitchens, storage rooms, bed chambers, dining halls, chambers for attendants, and rooms for the guards could be constructed. While stone buildings predominated thereafter, wood remained a very important material in medieval warfare and fortification. Crenellation is the collective name for alternating crenels and merlons: gaps and solid blocks on top of a wall. However, despite stronger defenses, stone castles were still falling to invasion; a better means of defense for the castles and their inhabitants had to be developed. In 1277, for example, Edward I canalised the river Clwyd at vast expense from the sea to his new castle at Rhuddlan. Most of the Armenian military sites in Cilicia are characterized by: multiple bailey walls laid with irregular plans to follow the sinuosities of the outcrops; rounded and especially horseshoe-shaped towers; finely-cut often rusticated ashlar facing stones with intricate poured cores; concealed postern gates and complex bent entrances with slot machicolations; embrasured loopholes for archers; barrel, pointed or groined vaults over undercrofts, gates and chapels; and cisterns with elaborate scarped drains. Stone castles were extremely expensive to build. The second choice proved to be more popular as it became apparent that there was little point in trying to make the site genuinely defensible in the face of cannon. Medieval forts tried to modify their structures into star forts. This style enabled the construction of lower, thicker walls in the shape of a polygon. Castle latrines are often today popularly termed garderobes. Castle design and architecture have changed over centuries to accommodate political, social, cultural, and technological changes throughout the world. [68], A bank and ditch enclosure was a simple form of defence, and when found without an associated motte is called a ringwork; when the site was in use for a prolonged period, it was sometimes replaced by a more complex structure or enhanced by the addition of a stone curtain wall. [162], As social centres castles were important places for display. Not only were stone castles expensive to build in the first place, but their maintenance was a constant drain. Medieval castle designs changed to keep up with changing tactics and weapons of invaders, and later to reflect prestige and wealth. While castles continued to be built well into the 16thcentury, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. Later they were replaced with stone to make them stronger. Stone walls offered greater protection against catapults and siege engines that were increasingly used in sieges from the 11th century onwards, although they certainly weren't undefeatable. Diplomacy did not always work though and high castle walls were perfect targets for the cannons that were becoming a common asset in 15th & 16th-century warfare. The image above shows Restormel Castle, a great example of a former shell keep castle. These weapons were vulnerable to fire from the castle as they had a short range and were large machines. [196] On occasion, siege castles would be built to defend the besiegers from a sudden sally and would have been abandoned after the siege ended one way or another. As opposed to motte-and-baileys that could be built with unskilled labor, stone castles required skilled workmen such as masons (both cutters and layers), quarrymen, smiths, and carpenters. [134] Some country residences, which were not meant to be fortified, were given a castle appearance to scare away potential invaders such as adding turrets and using small windows. Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. During the winter, water will freeze causing more cracks, which in turn allows more water to seep in. The Parts of a Castle: What Did Medieval Castle Layouts Look Like. Castle keeps became larger with more rooms and sections added. Even after long neglect, the scale of Norman earthworks in particular can be extraordinary. These simple fortifications were called ringworks. [14], Although castle has not become a generic term for a manor house (like chteau in French and Schloss in German), many manor houses contain castle in their name while having few if any of the architectural characteristics, usually as their owners liked to maintain a link to the past and felt the term castle was a masculine expression of their power. Transfer the masons plan carefully to the ground. Also often found near a castle, sometimes within its defences, was the parish church. All rights reserved. In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II of England in the famous Battle of Hastings. Best Answer Copy Stone or square keep castles were first built in Medieval England by William the Conqueror. The men's pay has been and still is very much in arrears, and we are having the greatest difficulty in keeping them because they have simply nothing to live on. [153] Brick-built structures were not necessarily weaker than their stone-built counterparts. A hook on the end of the gun could be latched over the timber so the gunner did not have to take the full recoil of the weapon. Rapid advances in medieval technology, economy and the power of lords and monarchs allowed for the keeps of castles to be built by trained stonemasons under the supervision of a master mason. Along with improvements in building technology, the techniques of building wooden scaffolding were constantly improving. These castles focused mainly on defense systems, such as the towers, curtain walls, and access points. Both Christians and Muslims created fortifications, and the character of each was different. August 30, 2019 The country of Scotland, on the island of Great Britain, is home to more than 1,000 castles. How long did it take the Normans to build a castle? Westerley then left and over the next eight years a small group of workmen including four junior masons realised their new tower. The earth or stone excavated while preparing the moat could be used to build up the mound on which the castle would be subsequently built. [62], In the medieval period, castles were influenced by earlier forms of elite architecture, contributing to regional variations. This derives from the image of the castle as a martial institution, but most castles in England, France, Ireland, and Scotland were never involved in conflicts or sieges, so the domestic life is a neglected facet. A solution to this was to pull down the top of a tower and to fill the lower part with the rubble to provide a surface for the guns to fire from. These guns were too heavy for a man to carry and fire, but if he supported the butt end and rested the muzzle on the edge of the gun port he could fire the weapon. This adaptation is found across Europe, and although the timber rarely survives, there is an intact example at Castle Doornenburg in the Netherlands. Top tip: Castle-building materials are big and bulky. There is also occasional evidence for the sophisticated use of water in domestic apartments. Today, most castles are ruins and many are popular tourist attractions. This decoration has since been lost but the majestic interior does preserve the reputed round table of King Arthur probably created between 1250 and 1280. They were connected to the castle by removable wooden bridges, so if the towers were captured the rest of the castle was not accessible.[95]. [174] Urban castles were particularly important in controlling centres of population and production, especially with an invading force, for instance in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England in the 11thcentury the majority of royal castles were built in or near towns. Experienced soldiers may have had ideas of their own about the design of their castle, in terms of the form of the buildings and their arrangement. This castle is built of stone, but . In every period, foreign specialists were employed where necessary, often in senior roles. Other types of port, though less common, were horizontal slits allowing only lateral movement and large square openings, which allowed greater movement. Medieval castles remain a subject of fascination today and people love to picture the fabulous lives of the residents that lived in these magnificent places, or do they conjure up visions of vampires, ghosts, and ghouls? Royal households took essentially the same form as baronial households, although on a much larger scale and the positions were more prestigious. Curiously, the ability to move vast quantities of earth allowed some fortification engineers to find work creating gardens. When building in stone, one of the primary concerns of medieval builders was to have quarries close at hand. Parks were laid out for the jealously guarded aristocratic privilege of hunting, and there was a demand for gardens, too. Water was supplied by a well or cistern. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were commonplace. Motte-and-Bailey Castles, the original Castle design, Evolution in Castle design: Stone Castles, Lichtenstein Castle: The Fairy-Tale Castle of Wrttemberg, Concentric Castles, the high point in castle design, Stone was more expensive, harder to manipulate and required a skilled workforce, Castle engineers did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep. [138] While churches and cathedrals in a Gothic style could faithfully imitate medieval examples, new country houses built in a "castle style" differed internally from their medieval predecessors. Don't miss out on the chace to claim your copy of Tracy Borman's latest book when you subscribe today. For example, shiro in Japan, described as castles by historian Stephen Turnbull, underwent "a completely different developmental history, were built in a completely different way and were designed to withstand attacks of a completely different nature". It was time for the concentric castles, one of the high points in Medieval military architecture. [38] This method was, however, a common practice in the MENA region and the Mediterranean castles and fortifications where such resources were abundant. [85] At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire. Society became enamored with these stories of haunted castles filled with fearful unseen creatures, secret rooms, and passages that held the reader captive waiting for the ghosts to appear. These Gothic novels of horror fiction have captivated readers since the 19th centurywe are still enthralled by the stories of Dracula and Frankenstein, are we not? These features are seen in many surviving castle keeps, which were the more sophisticated version of halls. These stone marvels were an architectural revolution from the prior thick walls, rounded arches, and barrel-vaulted ceilings. Under him would have been knights who by benefit of their military training would have acted as a type of officer class. A smaller horizontal opening could be added to give an archer a better view for aiming. [58], Many earthworks survive today, along with evidence of palisades to accompany the ditches. This is perhaps the earliest reference to castles, though military historian R. Allen Brown points out that the word castella may have applied to any fortification at the time. Stone keep castles were the natural extension of motte and bailey. [116], Walls could be undermined by a sap. [74] There are very few castles dated with certainty from the mid-9thcentury. In central and western Europe, oppida emerged in the 2ndcenturyBC; these were densely inhabited fortified settlements, such as the oppidum of Manching. A castle on a high outcrop will, for example, have dry moats. Stone castles took a long time to build and building materials such as rock were expensive. But its unlikely they would have had any specialist knowledge in design or building. No two stone castles had the same layout, and while some castles were designed to culture an air of luxury and grandeur, others were built for purely militaristic pursuits, with strong walls that could be easily defended and provide shelter for the local population. The decorative tastes of Henry III are recorded in particular and beguiling detail. It has been estimated, for example, that the vast artificial mound, termed a motte, erected in around 1100 at Pleshey Castle, Essex, required 24,000 days of labour to raise.

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