Castles
What is a Castle?
A real castle is a fortified military residence. It housed a lord and his family and functioned in a military capacity at the same time, dominating an area, subjugating the local population and garrisoning a group of soldiers as required. In most cases, owners only spent a portion of each year at their castles, administering justice, entertaining dignitaries and handling whatever tasks came their way. These men often acted as mini-kings; but ultimately, they owed allegiance to the monarch who required them to pay a ‘knight’s fee’ for the right to maintain the castle an live off the local economy. Their castles emphasized power and showcased wealth, but also provided the basic necessities of daily life.
Most medieval castles were much simpler structures, built to meet the military requirements and residential preferences of their owners. Most castle-builders, lords and men of lesser nobility, had limited resources to fund the construction of a castle. Accordingly, these limitations restricted the scope of the building programme. Only the most prosperous men could afford to raise powerful fortresses like Alnwick in Northumberland or Warwick in the Midlands. Nonetheless, whether large or small, stone or timber, castles shared the same dual pupose — they all provided a lord with a defended residence.
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Castles in Britain and Ireland
Castles in Britain and Ireland may broadly be classified as earth-and-timber castles(mottes and ringworks), stone-enclosure castles, concentric castles, quadrangular castles or tower houses. Many originated as earth-and-timber fortifications and never acquired stone structures. Some timber castles, re-fortified with masonry defences and permanent buildings, for example Windsor, developed into stone-enclosure castles. Other castles began as simple stone-enclosure castles, but developed into complex concentric fortresses, while late in the history of castle-building, straightforward quadrangular designs and tower houses spread throughout the landscape.
Stone-Enclosure Castles
No two stone-enclosure castles followed the same standard design nor had the same shape. Many earthwork fortifications, including the Tower of London, Castle of Rising Castle and Limerick Castle, began as primitive earth-and-timber castles, and became the realm’s mightiest strongholds with the addition of masonry walls. Others, for example Chepstow Castle on the southern border separating Wales and England, originated as masonry fortresses. Dating to 1067, Chepstow’s massive hall-keep, which centres the site, is believed to be Britain’s oldest surviving secular stone building.
Most commonly, stone-enclosure castles featured reasonably strong stone curtain walls, which enclosed both the inner and outer baileys. Equipped with regularly spaced mural towers, the thick walls girdled vital residential and military structures, and also the castle’s inhabitants. Like their earth-and-timber counterparts, stone-enclosure castles dominated, subjugated and intimidated the local populace. They also impressed rival lords. Some, such as Caerlaverock, were triangular. Others, like the oblong castles at Arundel and Warwick, had walled baileys creating defensive zones on either side of a central mound or great tower. Some castles, for example, Rochester and Dover had keeps, which were self-sufficient towers able to defend themselves during a siege. Others, for example, Framlingham in Norfolk, did not.
Concentric Castles
Concentric castles represent the pinnacle of castle-building, not only in British Isles, but in Europe and the Holy Land as well. During the 13th century, the concentric plan served a surprisingly simple purpose. By then, military leaders had identified the need to concentrate their castle’s firepower at a target and to interfere with the destructive pounding of increasingly sophisticated siege engines. The solution was a series of embedded defences, whereby outer towers and gatehouses stood lower than towers and gatehouses closer to the centre. The ‘walls-within-walls’ design permitted defenders to fire upon the enemy from both levels simultaneously while avoiding their own men. The confined landfall between the embedded walls formed an unfamiliar and cramped space that confused invaders. If the enemy managed to breach the exterior wall, soldiers on top of the inner wall could direct all their firepower towards the exposed, disorganized attackers.
Some stone-enclosure castles, such as the Tower of London and the Welsh fortress of Kidwelly, acquired the concentric design over time, as owners constructed stronger structures to bolster their defensive capabilities. Others originated as concentric castles and flourished during the late 13th century.
Quadrangular Castles
In time, complexity gave way to simplicity and symmetry. The quadrangular castle had four sides. Most were arranged in the shape of a square and enclosed an inner courtyard. At fortresses such as Roscommon Castle, a gatehouse dominated at least one side and towers defended each corner. Residential chambers, the hall block and a chapel lined interior walls and filled the towers. Moats surrounded many quadrangular castles, as at Bodiam.
Tower Houses
Comprised of a series of single-chambered storeys, which were stacked vertically one upon the other, the Scottish tower house developed as a response to the need for protection from sudden, brief attack rather than to withstand prolonged sieges. Tower houses emerged in the wake of the Wars of Independence, when Scotland was still riddled with uncertainty, clans continued to fight each other, and small bands of marauders, sometimes known as Border Reivers, plundered the countryside.
Often associated with walled enclosures known as barmkins, tower houses rose 40-80 feet(12.2-24.4 m) high and had at least three levels. With thick walls, first-floor entrances barred iwth iron grates and fw windows, the entire focus was on defence. Each level served a single function: a storage area filled with the ground floor; the first floor held the hall or kitchen; and residential chambers occupied the uppermost levels.
The L-plan tower house, which had a smaller wing constructed at a right angle to the main tower, developed in the late 14th century to provide additional living space and a modicum of comfort in the otherwise stark structures. The addition of two wings projecting from corners on the same side of the main tower created a U-shaped plan. The Z-plan tower house sported offsetting wings jutting out from opposite ends of the main rectangular tower, which augmented the castle’s defensive capacity. Once extra wings became routine additions, the central tower could hold more lavish living quarters, and rooms like the kitchen, hall and chapel shifted to the annexes. While most tower houses were self-sufficient strongholds, some stood within the walls of stone-enclosure castles, including Dunnottar, Urquhart and even Edinburgh Castle.
In the late 17th century, grand baronial residences emphasizing comfort over defence began to replace the Scottish tower house. Many, for example, Threave Castle, feel into ruin. At others, like Clamis and Dunvegan, flamboyant architectural styles engulfed the simpler medieval strongholds. The tower house now survives as part of the inner core of such structures.
Irish tower houses developed in the early 15th century to defend against sudden attacks. Ranging from three to six storeys high, their distinctive top levels featured stepped battlements and a double-gabled roof, which held the attic. Those fitted with an extra corner turret resembled Scotland’s L-plan tower house, while those having turrets at opposite ends resembled the Z-plan tower house.
Much like the Scottish tower house in design and function, the pele tower appeared in northern England to defend against assaults by small raiding parties. Smaller than the average tower house, their walls averaged 3-4 feet(0.9-1.2 metres) in thickness. Many featured a barmkin. At one time, Northumberland supported 200 pele towers, while in Cumberland and Westmoreland, 90 peles were built.
