Q&A: How did the Normans learn to build castles?

History Extra

The Great Tower at Chepstow Castle, one of the earliest Norman stone structures in the British Isles. (© Tosca Weijers/Dreamstime.com)

The Normans, as is widely appreciated, were originally Norsemen: Vikings who settled in the area around the Seine estuary in the late ninth and early 10th centuries. The traditional date for the founding of Normandy is AD 911, when the authority of the Norman leader, Rollo, was recognised by the king of France.

 Castles appeared somewhat later, with the earliest examples being constructed around the turn of the first millennium. They differed from earlier fortifications by being smaller and taller: the distinctive feature of early castle design was the great artificial mound of earth, or motte. Dating a mound of earth is difficult, since it relies on the discovery of datable ‘small finds’, and so establishing a precise chronology for mottes is impossible. Nor is it possible to say for certain how and why the design originated, other than to observe that the rise of castles seems to coincide with an intensification of lordship across northern France in the decades around the millennium. Evidently someone had the notion of building a great mound of earth to assert his power and the idea caught on fast.

 The Normans began ditching their Norse culture and adopting French customs almost from the minute of their arrival. During the 10th century, for example, they embraced Christianity, the French language and the habit of fighting on horseback. Learning how to build castles was therefore simply part of an ongoing process of acculturation. According to contemporary chroniclers, a great surge of castle-building took place during the troubled years of William the Conqueror’s boyhood in the 1030s and 1040s.

 “Lots of Normans, forgetful of their loyalties, built earthworks in many places,” wrote William of Jumièges, “and erected fortified strongholds for their own purposes.”

 Answered by Marc Morris, historian, author and broadcaster.

Royal palaces of the Hundred Years’ War

History Extra

A 15th-century illumination of the Château de Saumur, which was originally built as a castle in 1356 by Louis, the second son of John II of France, and later developed as a château. Painted by the Limbourg Brothers: Herman Limbourg, Paul Limbourg and Johan Limbourg. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

In Seats of Power in Europe During the Hundred Years' War, Emery studies 60 residences of the crowned heads and the royal ducal families of the countries involved in the conflict. Here, writing for History Extra, Emery explores nine of the most significant royal palaces built during the period…
The Hundred Years' War began in 1337 and lasted until 1453 – a span of 116 years – but in reality, the war arguably extended a further 30 years until its final conclusion in 1483 with the deaths of Edward IV of England and Louis XI of France.
The war was not a continuous conflict but one of battles, sieges and armed conflict interspersed with periods of comparative calm or even peace, at least in England. Nearly all the fighting occurred in France, with England suffering only from sea raids and the threat of invasion between 1370 and 1390. However, the war had wider European ramifications, for it extended into Scotland, Flanders, the Iberian Peninsula and even the Holy Roman Empire.
The reasons for building during a war varied from the likely presence in a region of armed forces to a person's financial capabilities and standing in society. The shape and character of a residence during a war was similarly determined by the leader's position in society, but also by his technical knowledge and as a demonstration of his lordship, power, and wealth.
The anticipation of conflict often determined the defensive character of the palaces built by the key protagonists, but it should be remembered that castles as well as palaces were as much a residence as a fortification, with considerable flexibility in their design. Even in war, kings and nobles were just as capable of building a manor house as a fortress, depending on that person's reaction to the political and military circumstances in the region.
The following nine examples show how the different protagonists reacted to the Hundred Years’ War in their desire for an up-to-date residence that necessarily fulfilled several roles in medieval society…

 

Windsor Castle, England (1355–70)

After a financially ruinous start to the war, Edward III experienced a sequence of successes including victory at Crécy (in 1346) and Poitiers (in 1356 which included the capture of the French king and two of his sons). It was followed by  the surrender of Calais and an accord of peace and financial benefit at Brétigny (in 1360).
Edward signaled his achievements by the wholesale remodelling of the residential apartments within the defensive outer walls of Windsor Castle. He began by rebuilding the keep to provide temporary accommodation for himself and the queen (1355–57) so that the rebuilding of the apartments in the upper ward could progress without hindrance. This new work was developed round three courtyards with the principal apartments at first floor level above undercrofts (1357–70).
The courtyard facade was the earliest example of the new Perpendicular style in a domestic residence, a form characterised by vertical motifs. It was dominated by two gatehouses built for show, with the great hall and chapel positioned back-to-back in a unified design holding two extensive suites of royal apartments for the king and queen. The work was marked by its decorative character as exemplified by the surviving Rose Tower, for most of Edward's work has been overlain by that of Charles II and subsequent occupiers.
Edward III's work at Windsor was the most expensive domestic royal building project throughout the Middle Ages. It still forms the framework for the state apartments today. Equally important is that his development of this royal palace reflected the euphoria of a monarch seen to be of European standing. Despite its fragmentary survival, this work is of outstanding significance – historically, architecturally and artistically.
_{Windsor Castle in the time of Edward III. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)}

Vincennes Castle, France (1361–80)

During the later Middle Ages, the French royal demesne covered only two-thirds of the kingdom that became France. Paris and the Île-de-France were at the heart of the crown lands, with much of the remainder divided into semi-automatic regions – particularly Flanders, Brittany and Aquitaine. These great fiefs played a major role in determining the course of the war through their opposition to the French monarch. As a consequence of the king's generosity to his youngest son during the 1350s, Burgundy became a fourth and almost independent state.
The reign of Charles V of France from 1364 to 1380 was in marked contrast to the decline in English fortunes at that time. The development of Vincennes Castle near Paris was part of Charles's plan to revive the standing of his country. Between 1361 and 1380 he erected a vast fortress on the site of a royal manor house and built within it a castle for his own use.
The royal castle consisted of a walled enclosure, gatehouse protected, guarding the imposing tower-house that held the king's own apartments. The six-storeyed tower house is marked by corner towers, a projecting gallery at roof level, and a surprising absence of supporting buttresses [a structure of stone or brick built against a wall to strengthen or support it]. Each floor consisted of a spacious central chamber with a smaller room in each of the corner towers. The royal apartments were those on the first and second floors. They were vaulted and heated, embellished with decorative sculpture, wall paintings and paneling. The rooms above were for senior staff and servants.
During the restoration of 1994 to 2007, architects discovered that above the vaults of the second and third floors are diagonal and medial arches spanning the width of the building, helping to support the central column in each central room with iron rods. Iron bars were also inserted in the outer walls and three hoops of iron bars encircle the tower between the fourth and fifth floors.
Vincennes Castle has a very clean and ‘muscular’ layout, with the all-commanding tower house now the tallest medieval one in Europe. The rooms are comfortable and with tapestries and cushions, probably luxurious. The massive fortress that enclosed it was on the scale of a fortified city, protected by nine lofty towers for members of the royal family and household officials, and capable of accommodating several hundred people within the walled circuit.
_{Vincennes Castle. (© Kovalenkov Petr/Dreamstime.com)}

 

Kenilworth Castle, England (1373–80)

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was Edward III's third son. His marriage in 1371 to Constance, the heir to the throne of Castile, gave him a claim to the throne of Castile and León. For the next 16 years he conducted himself as a king-in-waiting of one of the most powerful realms in Europe. In 1386, he sailed to Castile to press his claim to that throne but failed to achieve success. Two years later, he abandoned his claim to the Castilian throne. It was during Gaunt's absence abroad that Charles VI of France prepared his massive invasion of England that he had to abandon, primarily on financial grounds.
In 1373, Gaunt initiated the conversion of the long-established stronghold at Kenilworth into a palace-fortress for himself and his wife. His purpose was not only to provide an up-to-date range of reception, family and staff apartments, but a sequence of great hall and chambers that would outshine all other royal residences in Britain.
His work now stands as a ruin but its scale, richness and comfort can still be appreciated. The first floor great hall above a vaulted undercroft was approached by a grand stair opening into an impressive apartment. It was marked by deep-set windows rising to the roof, a dais bay window, and six fireplaces to help heat the apartment.
Little remains of Gaunt's private apartments, but they were two-storeyed with the family apartments on the upper floor as a sign of status, and were developed in a sequence of increasing privacy. Though in a ruined state, Gaunt's remodelling of Kenilworth Castle is the finest surviving example of a royal palace of the later Middle Ages in England, significant for its scale and the quality of its workmanship.
_{Kenilworth Castle. (© Davidmartyn/Dreamstime.com)}

Saumur Castle, France (1368–1400)

In 1356, John II of France gave the duchy of Anjou to his second son, Louis, who initiated the construction of Saumur Castle in the Loire valley. Louis maintained a lavish court at Angers, where the several sections of the Apocalypse Tapestry commissioned by Louis are hung today as a reminder of its pomp and luxury. Saumur Castle displays the same culture, in a residence that had to be capable of repelling enemy forces of either an English army or bands of mercenaries. But by its scale and magnificence this castle also had to declare Louis' royal position and political authority.
The consequence was one of the most commanding residences of the Hundred Years' War that is both fortress and palace. It stands relatively complete, crowned by a roofscape of projecting galleries, an embattled parapet, tall chimneys and high-pitched conical roofs. The castle is depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry [the most famous and possibly the best surviving example of French Gothic manuscript illumination] to the extent that there is little difference between the manuscript illustration and the structure that stands today overlooking Saumur town and the river Loire.
Three of the four courtyard ranges survive, for the great hall filling the fourth side was destroyed in the 17th century. The ranges were filled with apartments and suites of rooms, which are now used for museum purposes. Saumur Castle is a rare survival of a semi-royal residence of the late 14th century, combining artistic taste with a statement of royal power and a defensive capability if the war spread to its gates.

Pierrefonds Castle, France (1394–1407)

Louis, Duke of Orleans, was Charles VI’s only brother, four years younger than the king but always a disturbing presence at court. When he was in his early twenties, Louis initiated a tower-house at Pierrefonds near Compiègne, which he subsequently developed into a far more imposing quadrangular fortress of eight towers with linking curtain walls.
Charles V had followed a similar practice a generation earlier at Vincennes, though that was on a much larger scale. Even so, Louis’s work (built between 1397 and 1407) converted the site into one of the largest fortresses in France. Work was nearly finished when the duke’s assassination in 1407 brought an immediate end to building.
Unfortunately, the castle's defences were destroyed in the early 17th century on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu. The ruins stood in gentle decay until 1857, when Napoleon III decided that Pierrefonds should be restored as an imperial residence by the architect Viollet-le-Duc (1857–70). The result was a mixture of historical erudition and creative imagining round a genuine architectural core. For many, it is a child's idea of a romantic castle: for others it is a genuine response to the historical structure,  overtaken by the highly colourful imagination of Napoleon III's architect.
Of the original structure, a sequence of defensive outworks preceded the heart of the castle – four ranges round a central courtyard broken by D-shaped towers. Usually four floors high with 30-feet-thick bases, each tower was surmounted by a roofed and machicolated wall-walk, with a second walk tiered above open to the sky. Pierrefonds was therefore protected by two parapet circuits that provided an unbroken route encircling the whole fortress, facilitating speedy military movement.
Viollet-le-Duc sought to restore the original character of the towered circuit during the 1860s, but his reconstruction of the internal apartments was haphazard and illogical. Today the visitor traverses a sequence of empty rooms of a Victorian dream that came to nought, enclosed within a carapace of spectacular restored towers and curtain walling.

_{Pierrefonds Castle. (© Philippehalle/Dreamstime.com)}

Tarascon Castle, France (1402–35)

Like the earlier castle at Saumur in the Loire valley, Tarascon Castle in the Rhône Valley stands as a testimony to the power of the Valois dukes in southern France during the Hundred Years' War. Tarascon was always a place of military and strategic importance, poised between the independent county of Provence and what subsequently became the state of France.
Externally, Tarascon is a fortress: internally, it is more obviously a palace. It is the work of a single period (1402–35), of quadrangular plan with prominent angle towers to the river and to the town. The castle is divided into two major units: an oblong outer court for staff rooms that rarely survive in other castles, and the formidable square bulk of the castle proper. The latter rises from a rock base with few outer windows, a projecting gallery at roof level through which missiles could be dropped, and a totally flat roof. Unlike the multi-towered roofline at Saumur or Pierrefonds, that at Tarascon was replaced by a new wartime development of a stone terrace to support artillery guns.
Internally, the castle was divided into four functional units, the entry towers and kitchen, the reception hall and royal suites, two chapels, and separate apartments for the queen. Though the castle's defences were never put to the test during The Hundred Years War, it reflects a vital aspect of the ambition of the Valois royal line in France. It stands in cultural contrast to their work in the Loire valley, though it is on an equal platform to the family's royal way of life. Furthermore, through little post-medieval changes, the castle's internal layout is relatively clear.
_{Tarascon Castle. (© Claudio Giovanni Colombo/Dreamstime.com)}

 

Chinon Castle, France (1427–61)

Joan of Arc's success at Orleans (in April 1429) was not marked by an immediate French recovery, but it was helped within a few years by the death of the capable English commander, the duke of Bedford, and by the duke of Burgundy showing his true colours when he transferred his politically motivated support for the English cause to the French king (1435).
Chinon Castle in the Loire valley had long been held by the French crown but  because the English and their Burgundian supporters currently held Paris, Charles VII and the royal court had to use Chinon Castle as their prime residence. They occupied it almost continuously from 1427 to 1449 and then more occasionally until Charles's death in 1461.
Charles made use of the royal apartments that had been reconstructed by the Duke of Anjou between 1370 and 1380. The two-storeyed reception halls boasted fireplaces at ground and first floor level, with the latter being the more important apartment. It is traditionally claimed that it was in this prime reception hall that Joan of Arc first met Charles VII in February 1429 – the more public audience in the hall is likely to have been the second occasion of their meeting.
The apartment range had been developed in the late 14th century and was not changed by Charles VII. The apartments lay in ruins until their restoration in 2007–09, when the apartments beyond the halls were reroofed and floored. They had consisted of staff rooms at ground level and four royal apartments open to the roof at the upper level, but they are now used for exhibition purposes reflecting the castle's importance as a royal refuge during the later stages of the Hundred Years' War.
_{Joan of Arc at Chinon Castle during the Hundred Years' War. Original artwork from a contemporary tapestry in Orleans. (Photo by Henry Guttmann/Getty Images)}

Plessis-les-Tours Manor, France (1464–66)

French success at Orleans (1428–29) gradually marked the turning of the tide in France's favour, with similar success in Maine by the late 1430s, in Normandy by 1450, and in Aquitaine by 1453. No English army survived on French soil after that year. The peace and stability that followed encouraged building to flourish in its wake. Initially it was with a military facade like that built by Louis XI at Langeais Castle, but the future was more accurately reflected by Louis at his manor house at Plessis-les-Tours, three miles west of Tours.
Built shortly after 1464, it is where the king spent the closing years in fear for his life. Plessis is a manor house, not a fortress, brick built with stone dressings, and only two-storeyed. These characteristics, as well as the several tall windows to the ground as well as to the first floor apartments, and the decorated dormer windows, were a foretaste of changes to come. The fortresses of the past were being replaced by large-scale houses that openly faced the countryside.
As he approached his 60th birthday, Louis XI suffered from a wasting illness and spent the last two years at Plessis-les-Tours surrounded by 400 archers – such was his fear of assassination. Yet the manor was gay with colour, decorated with paintings and full of fresh air. It was here that Louis died in 1483.

_{Portrait of Louis XI. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)}

Eltham Palace, England (1475–80)

Edward IV's foreign policy was underpinned by his keenness to re-establish good relations between England and Burgundy. This culminated in the marriage of Edward's sister to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1468. A few years later, Edward threatened to embark on a military expedition that would re-open the war with France. It is probable that Edward's intention was to exact territorial concessions from Louis XI, but he settled for a financial agreement that included an immediate payment of 75,000 gold crowns and an annual pension of 50,000 gold crowns thereafter.
There had been little royal palace building in England during the 15th century, but Edward IV's financial position suddenly improved in the mid-1470s as a result of  his financial agreement with France. One of the consequences was the construction of a new great hall at the royal palace at Eltham in Kent between 1475 and 1480. The earlier, out-of-date hall was demolished and the foundations for a larger one were laid at right angles to it. The new hall was among the largest apartments in medieval England and forms the principal feature of the site today.
_{Eltham Palace. (© Truecapture/Dreamstime.com)}

It is brick-built, faced with stone and lit by high positioned windows. The raised platform for the king and queen is enhanced by bay windows on each side, while the apartment is crowned by a magnificent hammer-beam roof. The hall depends for its external impact on scale and massing, not on decoration. Internally, the roof creates a magnificent impact: richly moulded, generously proportioned, with suspended decorative carvings and delicate woodwork. Most significantly, this structure was paid for out of French goodwill to avoid any further extension of the Hundred Years' War with England.
Anthony Emery is the author of Seats of Power in Europe During the Hundred Years' War (Oxbow Books, 2015).

Ruins of a Legendary Medieval Castle Uncovered in Scotland

Ancient Origins

A legendary castle dating back to the 12th century has been relocated after being lost for more than a century. The building was uncovered during work by Scottish Water in the area of the medieval village of Partick, now Glasgow, in Scotland. The ruins of the castle were swept away by the building of a Victorian railway station..

Excavation of Partick Castle walls and ditch. (GUARD Archaeology Ltd)

For decades, archaeologists believed that the castle may have been built in Partick on the banks of the River Kelvin by a king of Strathclyde. The settlement existed from the 7th century, when the first hunting lodge in the area was built. The construction of the castle was linked to the creation of a medieval church in Govan dedicated to St. Constantine, on the other side of a ford across the River Clyde.

A 19th century artist's impression of the second Partick Castle on the banks of the Kelvin, looking south towards Govan. (Mitchell Library, Special Collections)

According to the Scotsman, the physical remains of the legendary Partick Castle have been uncovered by construction workers carrying out improvements to the city’s waste water infrastructure. In medieval times, the castle was a country retreat for the powerful bishops of Glasgow. The results published by experts from Guard Archaeology say that they've already discovered fragments of metalwork, pottery, glass, leather, and animal bones.

A variety of fragments that survived under generations of industrial use on the site. (GUARD Archaeology)

Hugh McBrien, of West of Scotland Archaeology Service, said:

“No-one knew anything about the 12th century castle in Partick. There was documentary evidence that the bishops of Glasgow spent time in Partick and there have been historical references to charters signed at Patrick. But that’s all. It has been known that there was a tower house or castle in the 17th century but all we had were antiquarian drawings and documents that refer to Partick Castle. So we expected there was archaeology in this area, because of historical records, but this discovery is the first hard, tangible evidence that both castles existed.”

In 1880, the castle was in ruins, so the officials decided to clear the area and build the station. The station was closed in 1964, and later the site was occupied as a scrapyard. In the meantime, the territory of Partick became a part of Glasgow (in 1912).
The excavations began due to the decisions of developers. They had planned to build student housing at the site of the Partick Castle. It is unknown if will they change their mind after this discovery, which may be an interesting tourist attraction.

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The finding became possible after a long analysis of the plans of Partick. The history of this area is well documented on old maps. In 19th century plans it is possible to understand the industrialization of the time. The village Partick  was first known as Perdyc, and was founded during the reign of King David I of Scotland, who granted parts of the area called "lands of Perdyc" to Bishop John Achaius in 1136 AD.

Govan, Scotland region (from the 1654 Blaeu map of Scotland). (Public Domain) Partick is found in the upper left corner of the map.

However, the name Partick comes from much earlier times, during the period when the Kingdom of Strathclyde ruled the area. The territory which belonged to them also contained Govan on the opposite side of the River Clyde. The local language was a form of Cymro-Celtic, which highly influenced modern-day Welsh. The earliest name of Partick comes from the Cymro-Celtic. Per means sweet fruit, and Teq means beautiful or fair.
The Kingdom of Strathclyde collapsed in the 12th century. As mentioned before, the village of Partick became the property of bishops. It was perhaps also an important religious center during the 13th and early 14th century, but there is no archaeological evidence for that.

Partick Bridge over the Kelvin, 1846. (Gregor Macgregor)

The final version of Partick Castle was built in 1611 for George Hutcheson, a wealthy Glasgow merchant and benefactor. Hutcheson was also one of the brothers who founded Hutchesons' Hospital and Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow.
Historians writing in the 19th century suggested the castle was abandoned by 1770 and most of its stone was reused by locals. Partick Castle had almost completely disappeared in the early 19th century.

The remains are thought to be of two buildings, one dating back to the 12th or 13th century, and a later structure from the early 1600s. (The Scotsman)

Now, after 800 years, the discovery of Partick Castle is described by McBrien as” the most significant archaeological discovery in Glasgow in a generation.". This castle appears as a symbol of the former power of Scotland.
Featured Image: Partick Castle, a watercolor painting by John A. Gilfillan (1793-1864). Source: The Glasgow Story
By Natalia Klimczak

History Trivia - Douglas Larder raid

March 19

1307 The Douglas Larder raid - Sir James Douglas was a Scot who returned home from school in Paris to find his estates had been claimed and occupied by an Englishman, Robert de Clifford. Joining with Robert the Bruce for a time, he returned in an attempt to take back his land, attacking his own castle three times. After his final assault, known as the Douglas Larder, he razed the castle to the ground.
 

Britain’s 7 most amazing ruins

History Extra

Old Wardour Castle (photo by Derek Finch)

In Wild Ruins, the first ever guidebook to Britain’s ruins, writer Dave Hamilton details how to visit and gain access to more than 250 hidden historical spots. Featuring a vast number of images and 28 maps, the book reveals the whereabouts of long-forgotten castles, mills, cottages, quays, airfields, Victorian forts and intriguing derelicts.
Here, writing for History Extra, Hamilton shares seven of his favourite ruins, and explains their historical significance.
If history is written by the victors, as Winston Churchill allegedly said, then what of the losers; how is their tale told? Our nation’s ruins offer this alternative history. Ruins tell the story of a constantly shifting balance of power. They tell us how even mighty armies and steadfast institutions can topple in the shifting sands of time. Ruins tell us of the forces, often way beyond our control, that continue to shape our lives to this day. The history of the ruin is, after all, the history written by the losing side.

1) Skara Brae – Mainland, Orkney

One February night in 1850, a storm raged its way through Scotland and up to the Orkney Islands. It was so ferocious that many were killed, and in Mainland Orkney a large layer of sand and turf was ripped from the coastline.
The next morning, locals found a number of roofless circular dwellings where once stood a large irregular dune. This was to be one of the most significant finds of the period. At first it was thought to be a Pictish settlement dating back to the Iron Age, around 500 BC. Much later, radiocarbon dating proved this estimate to be out by at least 2,000 years. Although estimates vary, it is thought the settlement was inhabited somewhere between 3,200 and 2,200 BC.
Being under the cover of sand for so long has meant that the village at Skara Brae is perhaps the best-preserved collection of Neolithic buildings in Europe. Built-in stone furniture still survives, and such is the level of detail it is easy to make out where inhabitants had their beds, where they lit their fires, and where they stored their food.
Skara Brae, situated 19 miles north-west of the port of Kirkwall, Orkney, is today managed by Historic Scotland.

_{Skara Brae (Photo by Derreck Prescott)}

2) St Helen’s Oratory and Cape Cornwall Tin Mine, Cornwall

Until the Ordnance Survey mapped the area, Cape Cornwall was thought to be the most westerly point in Britain. Situated four miles from Land’s End, just off the South West Coast Path, it is a beautiful and wild place, where on a sunny day the blueness of the sky is surpassed only by the vast expanse of Cornish sea.
As the only cape in England, it marks the meeting place of the swirling tides of both the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. The Cape is also a place where different tides of history meet. The ruined St Helen’s Oratory is an exquisite little ruin with grass and ferns growing from its crumbling walls, thought to date back to Romano-British times.
Much later, Cape Cornwall was home to a thriving tin mine big enough to need a large engine-house. Nearly all signs of the mine have vanished, and now all that remains is a single chimneystack at the end of a bracing walk at the peak of the Cape.
Cape Cornwall is today owned by the National Trust.

_{St Helen’s Oratory (Photo by Dave Hamilton)}

3) Old Wardour Castle, Wiltshire

One of the most striking yet often overlooked ruins in the country is that of 14th-century Old Wardour Castle. Serving as a testament to its splendour, Capability Brown used it as a landscape feature when he designed the gardens of the New Wardour House toward the end of the 18th century. But in 1643, the castle was put to the test as a stronghold when 1,300 parliamentary troops laid siege.
With her husband away, 61-year-old Lady Blanche Arundell was left to defend the castle with just 25 retained staff, including cooks and gardeners. Despite being massively outnumbered, the valiant Lady Arundell held out for five days before she eventually surrendered. The castle didn’t stay in the hands of the invading force for long: the following year Lady Arundell’s son, Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour, returned to win back the family castle. During the siege, however, he blew up a substantial part of the castle and it was damaged beyond repair.

_{Old Wardour Castle (Photo by Dave Hamilton)}

4) Bromholm Priory, Norfolk

Much lesser-known than the East Anglian ruins of Thetford and Dunwich Priory, Bromholm Priory is still a magnificent ruin in its own right, standing abandoned among fields of corn not far from the Norfolk coast. Founded in 1113, this Cluniac priory was built as a subordinate house of Castle Acre.
During the following century it became one of the most religiously significant buildings in Norfolk, if not the country, largely due to the dubious claim that is contained part of the ‘true’ cross. The priory quickly became a pilgrimage route and is immortalised in Chaucer’s The Reeve’s Tale. Sadly, it has remained a ruin since the dissolution of the monasteries.
During the Second World War, the building briefly came back to life as a defensive structure rather than a building of worship. Somewhat unceremoniously, the basement of the building was modified to house a concrete pillbox in case of an enemy invasion. Thankfully, the pillbox is barely visible and it is possible (although perhaps not advisable!) to crawl into this underground chamber from a gap at ground level.

_{Bromholm Priory (Photo by Steve Cabellero)} 

5) Ardvreck Castle, Scottish Highlands

Jutting out into Loch Assynt, and surrounded by the Quinag peaks and the Inchnadamph forest, Ardvreck Castle is among the most breathtaking ruins in Scotland.
Ardvreck is a clan castle, built by the MacLeods of Assynt in the late 16th century. The story goes that a famous betrayal took place here: in 1650, the Royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, was tricked into its dungeon and later sent to Edinburgh to be executed. If you believe in such things, his ghost is said to haunt the castle to this day.
A short drive – or a challenging but reasonable walk – from the ruins is the famous Bone Cave of Inchnadamph. Here the bones of reindeers, brown bears, arctic foxes, lynxes and polar bears were found, dating back over the past 45,000 years.

_{Ardvreck Castle (Photo by Dave Hamilton)}

6) Anglesey Barracks, North Wales

Despite its name, Anglesey Barracks are not on the Isle of Anglesey, and it has never been linked to the military or housed any military personnel. Instead, these twin rows of abandoned houses were home to quarrymen working at the nearby Dinorwic Quarry. The workers would have left their homes on Anglesey to lodge in the cottages, which consisted of just a bedroom and living room. These were far from luxurious dwellings, with no running water or electricity, and each cottage would have had to house four men within their cramped four walls.
Dramatically perched on a Welsh hillside, the houses overlook the romantic ruin of Dolbardarn Castle and the large expanse of water, Llyn Peris.

_{Anglesey Barracks (Photo by Dave Hamilton)}

7) Abbot's Cliff Sound Mirrors, Kent

During the First World War and interwar period, and before the invention of radar, a rather unusual detection device was devised to warn of incoming enemy planes, the ruins of which remain with us today.
Sets of large, concrete parabolic discs known as ‘sound mirrors’ were installed on the English coast, mainly in Kent and the North of England, and staffed by personnel with stethoscopes who would quite literally listen to what was flying in.
As planes became faster, however, these sound mirrors became obsolete, since once a plane was detected it was already over the head of the listener. Standing above the white cliffs between Dover and Folkestone, the Abbot’s Cliff Sound Mirror is one of the most accessible examples of this eccentric and short-lived British technology.

_{Abbot's Cliff Sound Mirrors (Photo by Sam Velghe)}

Wild Ruins: The Explorer's Guide to Britain's Lost Castles, Follies, Relics and Remains by Dave Hamilton (WildThingsPublishing.com, £16.99) is available now. To find out more, click here. 

How to build a medieval castle

History Extra

Built in the 1380s, the moated exterior of Bodiam Castle in East Sussex answers the popular ideal of a medieval castle. The building is brilliantly contrived to give the illusion of scale and rugged strength. © Alamy

1) Choose your site carefully

It is crucial that you build your castle at a prominent site in a position of strategic importance
Castles were commonly erected on naturally prominent sites, usually commanding a landscape or a communication link, such as a ford, bridge or pass.
It is rare to have a medieval account of the circumstances behind the choice of a castle site but they do exist. On 30 September 1223, the 15-year-old king Henry III arrived in Montgomery with an army. The king, having campaigned successfully against the Welsh prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was intent on creating a new castle in the area to secure the border of his realm. Carpenters in England had been charged with preparing timber for the new fortifications a month previously, but the king’s advisers determined where the castle should be sited.

_{When it was started in 1223, Montgomery Castle in central Wales was sited on high ground – on a promontory above the valley of the river Severn. © Alamy}
After surveying the area carefully they chose a spot on the very edge of a promontory above the valley of the river Severn. It was, in the words of the chronicler Roger of Wendover, a position “that seemed untakeable to everyone”. He also observed that the castle was “for the security of the region on account of the frequent attacks of the Welsh”.
Top tip: Identify the places where the topography dominates transport routes: these are natural sites for castles. Bear in mind that the castle’s design will be shaped by the building’s position. A castle on a high outcrop will, for example, have dry moats.

2) Agree on a workable design

A master mason who can draw plans is a must – while an engineer who knows all about weapons is useful too
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. But it’s unlikely they would have had any specialist knowledge in design or building.
What was needed to realise a vision was a master mason – an experienced builder whose distinguishing skill was the ability to draw. With an understanding of practical geometry he used the simple tools of a measuring rod, set-square and compass to create architectural designs. Master masons would present a drawn proposal for the castle for approval and when building commenced would oversee its construction.

_{When Edward II had a tower built at Knaresborough, he approved the plans himself and later demanded progress reports. © Alamy}
When Edward II began building a great residential tower at Knaresborough Castle in Yorkshire for his favourite, Piers Gaveston, in 1307, he not only approved the design, created by the London master mason Hugh of Titchmarsh – presumably expressed as a drawing – but also demanded from him regular reports on the progress of the work. From the mid-16th century, a new group of professionals, termed engineers, increasingly came to dominate the design and construction of fortifications. They had a technical understanding of the use and power of cannon, both in protecting and reducing castle defences.
Top tip: Plan arrow slits carefully for a wide field of fire. Shape according to the weapons you use: longbow men need large splays (the oblique angles in the side of an opening in a wall); crossbow men less so.

3) Source a large, and skilled, workforce

You’ll need thousands of men – not necessarily all there by choice
The labour required to build a great castle was vast. We have no documentary evidence for the numbers involved in the first great round of castle-building in England, after 1066, but the scale of many castles of this period makes it clear why some chronicles speak of the English population as being oppressed by the castle construction of their Norman conquerors.In the later Middle Ages, however, surviving building accounts offer detailed information.
During his first invasion of Wales, in 1277, Edward I began building a castle at Flint, north-east Wales. This was erected at speed, using the massive resources of the crown. Within a month of starting work, in August that year, 2,300 men were employed on site, including 1,270 diggers, 320 woodmen, 330 carpenters, 200 masons, 12 smiths and 10 charcoal burners. All these men were pressed into service from across the realm and accompanied into Wales with guards to prevent desertion.

_{Edward I employed 200 masons, like those shown above, on his castle at Flint in Wales. © AKG Images}
In every period, foreign specialists were employed where necessary, often in senior roles. The millions of bricks needed to remodel Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire during the 1440s, for example, were supplied by a certain Baldwin the ‘Docheman’ or Dutchman, evidently an immigrant.
Top tip: Depending on the size of your workforce and the distance it has travelled, it may be necessary to provide accommodation on site.

4) Secure the building site

A work-in-progress in hostile territory is extremely vulnerable to attack from the enemy before it is ready
In order to build a castle in hostile territory it was essential to protect the site from attack. One way of doing this was to enclose the construction area within a timber fortification or low stone wall. Such medieval defences have sometimes been preserved in the completed building as an outer apron wall, as can be seen at Beaumaris, Anglesey, begun in 1295.
No less important was the need to secure communications with the outside world for the delivery of building materials and supplies. In 1277, for example, Edward I canalised the river Clwyd at vast expense from the sea to his new castle at Rhuddlan. Here, the apron wall built to protect the building site extended down to the quay on the banks of the river.

_{The building site of Rhuddlan Castle was protected by an outer wall. This formed a large enclosure that extended to the canalised river Clwyd. © Alamy}
There might also have been concerns for security during major alterations to an existing castle. When Henry II remodelled Dover Castle, Kent in the 1180s, his building operation appears to have been carefully staggered so that the fortifications were continuously defensible throughout the construction process.
According to surviving royal accounts, work to the inner bailey wall was only begun when the great tower or keep was sufficiently complete to be garrisoned.
Top tip: Castle-building materials are big and bulky. If at all possible, try and move them by water, even if you have to build a dock or canal to do so.

5) Landscape the area

Building a castle might involve moving a massive amount of earth, at great cost
It is often forgotten that castle fortifications were as much works of landscaping as of architecture. The resources involved in moving earth without pieces of machinery was necessarily enormous. Even after long neglect, the scale of Norman earthworks in particular can be extraordinary. 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.
Some aspects of landscaping were also highly skilled, notably the creation of moats filled with water. When Edward I remodelled the Tower of London in the 1270s, he employed a foreign specialist, Walter of Flanders, to create a huge new tidal moat around the site. The ditching work that Walter supervised cost more than £4,000 to complete, an enormous sum that was nearly a quarter of the cost of the entire project.

_{This 18th-century engraving of a 1597 plan of the Tower of London shows how huge volumes of earth had to be shifted to build moats or ramparts. © AKG Images}
As the use of cannon improved in siege warfare, earth became yet more important as a means of absorbing the impact of cannonballs. Curiously, the ability to move vast quantities of earth allowed some fortification engineers to find work creating gardens.
Top tip: Save on labour, expense and time by digging the masonry of your castle walls from the ditches around the castle site.

6) Lay the foundations

Transfer the mason’s plan carefully to the ground
Using measured lengths of rope and pegs, it was possible to set out the foundations of a building in full scale on the ground. This was done by walking out the actions of a master mason’s drawing tools, his compass and set-square, to realise the plan. With foundation trenches dug, work began on the masonry structure. To save money, responsibility for construction was often deputed to a senior, rather than master, mason. The measurement of masonry usually used in the Middle Ages was the rod (16ft 6in, or 5m). At Warkworth, Northumberland, for example, the complex great tower is laid out on a grid of rods, probably for purposes of costing.

_{The great tower of Warkworth Castle, shown here, was laid out on a grid of rods. © Alamy}
Medieval building processes are often well documented. In 1441–42, a tower at Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire was demolished and the plan for its successor laid out with ropes and pegs. The overseer, the Earl of Stafford, was for some reason dissatisfied. The king’s 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. Westerley then left and over the next eight years a small group of workmen including four junior masons realised their new tower.
Senior masons could also be brought in to attest to the quality of work, as occurred at Cooling Castle, Kent, when the royal mason Henry Yevele surveyed work undertaken from 1381–84. He criticised departures from the original design and rounded down the bill.
Top tip: Don’t be cheated by your master mason. Make him design his building in such a way that it can be accurately costed.

7) Fortify your castle

Finish with sophisticated defences and high-spec carpentry
Until the 12th century, the fortifications of most castles were comprised of earth and timber. While stone buildings predominated thereafter, wood remained a very important material in medieval warfare and fortification.
Stone castles were commonly prepared for hostilities by the addition of fighting galleries along walls (termed ‘brattices’ or ‘alures’) as well as shutters that could be hung between battlements to afford the defenders protection. All these fittings were made of wood. So too were the heavy weapons that were used to defend castles, including catapults and heavy crossbows termed ‘springalds’. This artillery was generally designed by a highly paid professional carpenter, sometimes termed an engineer or ‘ingeniator’.

_{A castle is stormed in this 15th-century illumination. To repel attacks, castles were often furnished with heavy weaponry. © Topfoto}
Such expertise didn’t come cheap, but it could be worth its weight in gold. This was certainly the case in 1266, when Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire resisted Henry III for nearly six months, its catapults and water defences frustrating every attack.
There is even the occasional record of campaign castles being made entirely from wood, which could be transported and re-erected where needed. One such was built to cover a French invasion of England in 1386 but was captured on a ship by the Calais garrison. The castle was described as comprising a dense wall of timber 20ft high and 3,000 paces long. At every interval of 12 paces there rose up a 30ft tower capable of holding 10 soldiers, and there was some form of unspecified protection for gunners.
Top tip: Oak timber hardens with age after felling and is most easily worked when it is green. Pollarded trees (those with the upper branches removed) supply long clean limbs that can be easily transported and worked into shape with least labour.

8) Deal with water and sewage

Don’t forget the mod cons. You’ll appreciate them if the castle is ever besieged
It was essential that castles were provided with an effective water supply. This could take the form of one or more wells dug to serve particular buildings such as the kitchen or stable. It can be hard to appreciate the sheer scale of medieval well shafts without descending them. That at Beeston Castle, Cheshire has a shaft 100m deep, which is lined in cut stone for the first 60m.
There is also occasional evidence for the sophisticated use of water in domestic apartments. The great tower at Dover Castle possesses a system of lead pipes delivering water throughout the interior. It was fed from a well using a winch system and possibly from rainwater too.
The effective disposal of human waste was another problem confronting castle designers. Latrines were grouped together within buildings so that the shafts descending from them could empty out of a common outlet. They were also set down short corridors to contain smells and were often furnished with fixed wooden seats and detachable lids.

_{The place to go: a gong, gang, privy or jake at Chipchase Castle. © Bridgeman}
Castle latrines are often today popularly termed ‘garderobes’. In fact, the vocabulary for describing latrines in the Middle Ages was both colourful and broad. It included the words gong or gang (from the Anglo-Saxon meaning ‘the place to go’), privy and jake (a French form of ‘john’ or ‘johnny’).
Top tip: Ask your master mason to plan comfortable and private en-suite facilities off the principal bed chamber, following the example of Henry II at Dover Castle.

9) Decorate as required

A castle doesn’t just have to be well defended – its high-status residents demand a certain swankiness too
Castles needed to be defensible in times of war but they also served as luxurious homes: the medieval nobility expected their accommodation to be both comfortable and well appointed. Throughout the Middle Ages these individuals travelled continuously with their attendant households, taking possessions and furniture with them from residence to residence. Important domestic interiors, however, commonly possessed permanent decorative fixtures such as stained-glass.
The decorative tastes of Henry III are recorded in particular and beguiling detail. In 1235–36, for example, he directed that his hall in Winchester Castle, Hampshire be painted with a map of the world and a ‘wheel of fortune’. 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.

_{Castles were luxurious homes as well as strongholds. This is the 13th-century great hall at Winchester hung with  the reputed round table of King Arthur. © Alamy}
The wider setting of castles was also important for grand living. Parks were laid out for the jealously guarded aristocratic privilege of hunting, and there was a demand for gardens, too. The surviving building accounts for Kirby Muxloe Castle, Leicestershire reveal that its patron, Lord Hastings, began laying out the gardens at the very start of the building operations in 1480.
In the Middle Ages there was also a taste for rooms with fine views. One 13th-century group of rooms in castles that include Leeds in Kent, Corfe in Dorset and Chepstow, Monmouthshire, were named ‘gloriette’ after their splendour.

Top tip: Make sure the castle interior is splendid enough to attract visitors and friends. Entertainment can win battles without the danger of fighting.
John Goodall is an award-winning author, and architectural editor of the weekly magazine Country Life.

Did defenders of castles really pour boiling oil down on attackers?

Siege towers and cannon can be seen in this depiction of the Siege of Orleans but no boiling oil

History Extra

Defenders facing death if their castle fell would have used whatever came to hand to drive off their enemies. History Revealed magazine investigates...

It is a common image that springs to mind when thinking of medieval warfare, and there is evidence that it was used to deter attackers. The Jewish defenders of Yodfat in AD 67 poured hot oil on the Roman besiegers, and heated oil is also mentioned as being used against the English at Orleans in 1428-29.
But oil was a valuable resource and it was probably too scarce to be anything other than an occasional weapon.
In fact, there was no shortage of other cheaper, and more plentiful, alternatives. Defenders would hurl down rocks, stones or even pieces of their own wall, or pour down boiling water or heated sand. Attackers might also be blinded with quicklime, a kind of medieval mustard gas that became caustic when it came in contact with anything wet.
They could be burned by Greek fire, a mixture of resin, pitch, sulphur and naptha, which was notoriously hard to extinguish. In 1216, the French defenders of Beaucaire Castle lowered a sack of burning sulphur, which drove off the attackers with its noxious fumes.
However the prize for ingenuity has to go to the defenders of Chester who, in 905, are said to have inflicted a stinging defeat on the Vikings by dropping the town’s beehives on them.

Britain’s 8 most amazing castles

Dover Castle in Kent. (Credit: Olaf Protze/LightRocket via Getty Images)

1) Dover Castle

William the Conqueror quickly began reinforcing his kingdom’s defences following his triumph at the battle of Hastings in 1066. Being so close to English shores, William I needed a castle at Dover to be strong enough to defend the country from possible invasion.
For Henry II, Dover Castle was also of strategic importance. In the 1180s he began to rebuild the great tower into a palace so that he could receive, entertain and impress visitors. The building work for this palatial design continued into the reigns of King John and Henry III in the 13^th century.
Following the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170, Henry built a chapel in his honour on the second floor of the tower.
While the castle continued to be used by monarchs throughout the medieval and early modern period, the castle was adapted during the 18^th century when England was under threat of invasion from Napoleon’s troops. Barracks for English troops were created underneath the castle in tunnels.
The stories for which Dover Castle is most famous emerged during the Second World War. The tunnels constructed during the Napoleonic years became a headquarters facility for the navy. It was here that the Dunkirk withdrawal, codenamed Operation Dynamo, was devised. Under the command of Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay, some 338,000 troops were rescued from where the Germans were closing in at Dunkirk, and taken to the secret tunnels at Dover to safety.
Visitors can today explore the tunnels for themselves and watch real film footage from the rescue operation at the castle.
To find out more about Dover Castle, click here.

_{Prime minister Winston Churchill viewing activity in the Channel from an observation post at Dover Castle, 28 August 1940. (Credit: Capt. Horton/ IWM via Getty Images)}

2) Warwick Castle

William the Conqueror established Warwick castle in 1068 when he built a motte and baily fort on top of a large mound of earth. It was nearly 200 years later that the wooden frame was replaced by grand stone fortress.
During the Second Barons’ War (1264-1267), Simon de Montfort’s forces were too strong for the castle’s defences, upon which they inflicted a great deal of damage.
In 1268, William de Beauchamp succeeded as the next Earl of Warwick, beginning a dynasty that continued to hold the castle for the next 148 years. Throughout this time, the Beauchamps rebuilt Warwick Castle and they developed Guy’s and Caesar’s Tower, which still survive today.
In 1449 Richard Neville was made the Earl of Warwick. He later become known as the ‘Kingmaker’ after he helped to depose Henry VI, before he changed sides and was involved in the deposing of Edward IV in 1470.
The castle withstood a siege in 1642, during the first Civil War. A number of royalist soldiers were imprisoned in the dungeon of the castle.
The castle was bought in 1978 by The Tussauds Group, which transformed it into a tourist attraction. Visitors can now explore parts of the castle that have been converted to look as they would have done during different centuries.
To find out more about Warwick Castle, click here.

_{Warwick Castle. (Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images)}

3) Bodiam Castle

Renowned as one of the most picturesque castles in Britain, Bodiam Castle in East Sussex was built in 1385.
The reasons behind the building of Bodiam have been debated greatly by historians: was it an imposing fortress built to defend the English from foreign invasion? Or was it an impressive home that reflected the social prestige and majesty of the inhabitants?
Owing to a lack of adequate defences, the castle was twice besieged – once by Richard III’s forces in 1484, and then again in 1643 when royalist John Tufton faced a siege orchestrated by parliamentarian Sir William Waller.
The 1643 siege left the inside of the castle in ruins until it was restored during the 19^th century. The National Trust was granted ownership of the castle in 1925.
To read more about Bodiam Castle, click here.

_{Bodiam Castle. (Credit: Andrea Ricordi / Contributor / Getty Images)}

4) Alnwick Castle

Recognised by many as the set of the Harry Potter films and the 2014 Downton Abbey Christmas special, Alnwick castle has for centuries dominated the landscape of Alnwick in Northumberland.
There has been much debate around when Alnwick castle was first constructed, but there was most probably a fortress erected there by the late 11^th century. The majority of the castle was constructed during the 14^th and 15^th centuries under the ownership of the Percy family, who still inhabit the castle today.
Positioned close to the Scottish border, the castle was for the majority of the medieval period a key stronghold for English forces safeguarding the people from a Scottish invasion. With an almighty portcullis, strong battlements, a 21-ft drop below the drawbridge and walls more than seven feet thick, the castle was successfully defended throughout its history.
The impressive octagonal towers were built during the middle of the 14^th century and they are adorned with 13 stone shields that symbolise the different families who have lived in the castle or married into the Percy family.
During the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the Dukes of Northumberland repaired a great deal of the castle after it fell into disrepair. These dukes transformed the medieval remains into an impressive gothic residence.
Today, many parts of the castle are open throughout the year for the public to view.
To read more about Alnwick Castle’s history, click here.

_{Alnwick Castle. (Credit: © Dimitry Bobroff / Alamy)}

5) Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle in Kent boasts an eventful history: constructed by a Norman baron during Henry I’s reign, the castle then came under the ownership of Edward I’s wife, Eleanor of Castile, in 1278. Over the next three centuries, the castle served as a residence for the royal family.
The castle underwent some major changes during Henry VIII’s reign to turn the fortress into a palatial residence for Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. An inventory from 1532 notes that there were fireplaces decorated with Spanish symbols (reflecting Catherine’s nationality) alongside Henry’s royal arms. On his journey to northern France in 1520 to meet with Francis I at the Field of Cloth of Gold, Henry and Catherine, along with 5,000 nobles, servants and entertainers, stayed at Leeds Castle for an evening before continuing their journey.
In 1618 the St Leger family, who owned the castle, were required to sell it to Sir Richard Smythe, a wealthy family member, after they were faced with financial ruin from their association with Sir Walter Raleigh’s unsuccessful expedition to find gold in El-Dorado. Soon after this, the Smythes commissioned a Jacobean house to be built after destroying all of the north end buildings of the castle.
The castle suffered further damage in the 1660s when French and Dutch prisoners of war that were imprisoned there set fire to their quarters, destroying parts of the building.
Large-scale improvements were made to Leeds Castle in the mid 18^th century under the direction of the Fairfax family. It was also in this century that George III and Queen Charlotte paid the castle a visit in 1778. In preparation for the royal visit the owner, Robert Fairfax, refurbished the reception rooms at a large cost.
To find out more about Leeds Castle, click here.

_{Leeds Castle. (Credit: © World Pictures / Alamy)}

6) Arundel Castle

Built by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel, at the end of the 11^th century, Arundel Castle’s history spans nearly 1,000 years. For more than 850 years the Dukes of Norfolk and their relatives have owned the castle.
The castle was seriously damaged in the 1640s after being besieged twice during the first Civil War. The royalists first took control of the castle, and then a parliamentarian force commanded by William Waller seized the fortress. The damage was not resolved until the 8^th Duke of Norfolk began repairs in around 1718.
During the second half of the 18^th and start of the 19^th centuries, the 11^th Duke, Charles Howard, undertook further restoration projects of the castle.
In 1846 Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, visited the castle for three days. To mark her visit, the furniture for the bedroom and library were custom made, and the 13^th Duke commissioned a portrait of the queen in 1843.
The castle was one of the first country houses in England to be fitted with electricity for lighting, lifts, central heating and fire fighting equipment.
To find out more about Arundel Castle, click here.

_{Arundel Castle. (Credit: © Derek Croucher / Alamy)}

7) Hever Castle

Recognised by many as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, this motte and bailey castle in Kent was built in 1270. Over the next century the owners of the castle expanded its battlements, transforming the exterior. In the 15th and 16^th centuries, the Boleyn family oversaw further changes to the castle, which included creating an east and west wing.
The castle was lived in by Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, and Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, became the owner of the castle following the annulment of their marriage in 1540.
Later, families such as the Waldegraves, the Meade Waldos and the Humphreys owned Hever Castle. Its condition declined until William Waldorf Astor authorised the restoration of the castle and the gardens in the early 20^th century. Some 800 men were employed to excavate an impressive 35-acre lake, while another 748 worked to restore the castle itself.
To find out more about Hever Castle, click here.

_{Hever Castle. (Credit: © nick read / Alamy)}

8) Rochester Castle

The Bishop of Rochester built this castle in Kent in the 1080s, and it remains one of the best examples of Norman architecture in England.
Henry I assigned the fortress to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1127. It was under the Archbishop’s control that the great keep was constructed – the tallest surviving building of its kind in Europe. The decorative arches, fireplaces, doors and windows have all survived the test of time, meaning today’s visitors can imagine how the keep would have looked hundreds of years ago.
One of Rochester Castle’s most famous tales is that of King John’s attempts to seize it in 1215. While rebel barons garrisoned the castle, John was able to construct a mine under the castle and use the fat from 40 pigs as an explosive under the castle’s floor. The south-eastern corner of the keep was brought down as a result. Despite this, the garrisons continued to hold the castle until they had run out of resources and had to surrender to John’s will around seven weeks later.
The castle was rebuilt and developed during the 14^th century under Edward III and Richard II. However, the condition of the castle began to deplete as it ceased to be used for military purposes during the 16^th and 17^th centuries.
Today, the castle and the gardens are the setting for numerous festivals and music concerts.
To find out more about Rochester Castle, click here.

_{Rochester Castle. (Credit: © Dreamingofpixels | Dreamstime.com - Rochester Castle Photo)}


History Extra

Secret tunnel near 'Dracula's dungeon' uncovered

Fox News

File photo - An old wall drawing depicting a portrait of Vlad the Impaler is seen in a house in Sighisoara, Romania, where his father lived. (Reuters)

 

Archaeologists still aren't entirely sure where a secret passageway beneath a castle in Turkey leads, but visitors can now explore it for themselves. Not far from where Vlad the Impaler—the inspiration for Dracula—was reportedly held in one of two dungeons inside Tokat Castle, the tunnel stretches for about 100 feet before the path is blocked, reports Hurriyet Daily News.
"We have made progress. Since it has an angle of 45 degrees, it is hard to remove stones and earth," culture and tourism director Abdurrahman Akyuz says of the tunnel, found during restoration efforts in 2009.
"We think that this tunnel was closed in the past to prevent possible danger." Earlier this year, Akyuz told the Daily Sabah that "the history books record that this passage comes down to Pervane Public Bath with a stairway of 360 steps." But for now, "it is a total mystery to where this passage leads." Experts previously said the king's daughters may have used the passage to access the bath, but all that's known for certain is that the tunnel, known as Ceylanyolu or Gazelle Passage, stretches into Tokat's city center, Akyuz says.
It wasn't the only finding that popped up during the restoration, which is ongoing. Food preparation areas, a military shelter, and the two aforementioned dungeons have also been found over the years.
An archaeologist argues Vlad III was held in the dungeons by the Ottomans beginning in 1442, and though that hasn’t been confirmed, officials say a beeswax sculpture of Vlad III will be added to the dungeons, in the hope that it will attract tourists, Hurriyet reports.
"Dracula is a known brand and I think we can begin taking advantage of it," Tokat’s city council president said in announcing the new addition earlier this year.

(Vlad's own castle hit the market last year.)
This article originally appeared on Newser: Secret Tunnel by 'Dracula's Dungeon' Uncovered