History Through Castles
Ah Castles, what lovely places to visit, with hundreds of them dotted around the UK in different shapes, sizes, states of disrepair and landscapes. We are certainly spoilt for choice when choosing to visit one. They are the sites of dramatic sieges, royal romance, magnificent opulence, thrilling festivals and many events that changed the country forever. But what exactly are they? And when did the castle as we know it today come about? Join me as I do a deep dive into the history of castles from their earliest ancestors to the modern day.
The White Tower of the Tower of London
But first, the most important question: what actually is a castle? It seems like an obvious question, but there has been much debate among historians as to what should and should not be considered a castle. Are they simply military fortifications? Or perhaps the homes of the nobility and the wider court? The Oxford English Dictionary describes castles as: ‘large buildings, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers and often a moat’. This is in line with the etymology of the word castle as being derived from the Latin word castrum meaning fortification. However, historians such as R. A. Brown, and more recently Marc Morris, associate castles as having the function of both a defensible fortress and a stately home, with the former describing a castle as being simply a “fortified residence”. However, Professor Matthew Johnson has expressed uncertainty in regard to any kind of definition due to how multi-purposed they were in medieval society while emphasising that not all castles were explicit military garrisons. We all have a popular conception in our minds as to what does and does not look like a castle and with this Morris’ description of a castle is most appealing, contributing to Brown’s definition, he states that a castle is simply a building that looks like a castle, whether or not it actually functioned as one.
So, now we have an idea of what castles are, but when did they first appear in Britain? The earliest hillforts began to appear in the British Isles from possibly as far back as 900BC during the Iron Age. The arrival of the Romans centuries later, who built many stone fortifications - most notably at Hadrian’s Wall - however, the British castle as we know it today arrived with the Norman Conquest of 1066. In fact, William had constructed his first castle within the Roman Walls of Pevensey, perhaps even before he met Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.
As you might have guessed, the Normans loved castles, so much so that they built around a thousand of them in just England and Wales alone; they were the perfect tool to project Norman might onto the native population, while acting as a base for soldiers and a private home for their owners. The vast majority of these were ‘motte-and-bailey’ castles, consisting of a tower (a keep) placed on top of a mound (the motte) and then surrounded by an outer wall (the bailey) and often placed in the vicinity of a town or village. Many of these were first made out of wood and then later replaced with stone and can be seen all around the country from the White Tower in London to Portchester in Hampshire, Chepstow in Monmouthshire and Richmond in North Yorkshire.
A motte-and-bailey castle depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry
The Keep of Portchester Castle, Hampshire, England
By the turn of the twelfth century it had become clear that the Normans were here to stay and with that the castles they had built became centres of their own for medieval men, and some women. Castles became important for everyone of all walks of life for paying taxes, working, praying, dispensing justice, local administration, receiving patronage, or perhaps simply to enjoy sporting events such as jousts or bask in the lord’s court. They had also developed as their functions became more nuanced - with Great Halls for feasting, apartments for sleeping, chapels for praying and bakeries for, well, baking. They were also the sites of many dramatic and violent events in medieval British history - like the sudden death of King John in Newark Castle in 1216; the birth of Edward II, the first English Prince of Wales, in Caernarfon Castle in 1284; and the Peasants Revolt of 1381 where the Tower of London was stormed and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury, was murdered. The castle reached a new height, both literally and metaphorically, with Edward I’s conquest of North Wales and the subsequent creation of his ‘ring of iron’. Despite not being made of iron, these giant castles, built at sites such as Conwy, Harlech, Caernarfon and Beaumaris, showed just how far castles had come in terms of their design and dominance of a landscape. The architect, Master James of St. George, aside from having a cool name, also brought with him from Savoy new and advanced castle designs consisting of many towers all connected via an outer wall, removing the motte, bailey and keep altogether.
The Eagle Tower of Caernarfon Castle with adjoining town walls, Gwynedd, Wales
From here, the popularity of castles dropped as their importance as a place of fortification and defence declined with the increase in relative stability, state centralisation and the emergence of more fashionable architectural designs. Some members of the upper classes renovated their old ancestral residences, as was the case with Raglan Castle by the Somerset family; however, many others decided to simply abandon them and instead build new stately homes. Henry VIII seems to embody this change quite well; when he wasn’t beheading wives or destroying ancient monasteries he was living in his luxurious palace at Hampton Court and building coastal forts along the English coast. Like all good English Kings he viewed the French as this greatest threat. However this process of abandoning castles did not catch on everywhere in the British Isles as James IV, James V, and James VI of Scotland all continued to hold their courts in castles such as Edinburgh and Stirling - with James IV even creating an entire Renaissance palace inside the walls of the latter. Despite this, it was obvious that the castle's best days were behind it, and this became even clearer with the events of the seventeenth century.
James IV’s Palace in Stirling Castle, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
With bloody conflict looming on the horizon once again, castles were pressed back into use as places of safety and authority. In fact, the most commonly associated cause of the First English Civil War was the raising of the royal standard at Nottingham Castle in August of 1642 by Charles I, one hopes he liked castles as he was going to see a few more of them. After years of brutal fighting and multiple captures, Charles was placed by Parliamentarian forces in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, where he would walk the castle walls, play minigolf, use the bowling green and read. He was then moved to the nearby Hurst Castle and then again to Windsor castle; unlike many other deposed English Kings, he did not die in a castle but instead in front of a large crowd in Whitehall. The majority of castles in the British Isles did not fare much better as many of them, such as Pontefract, Nottingham and Corfe were very heavily damaged while others like Caerphilly, Raglan and Kenilworth were not as thoroughly destroyed. This deliberate destruction of castles, known as ‘slighting’, had happened before, such as by Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence, but never to this scale; simply put, castles were no match for modern artillery.
The remains of John of Gaunt’s Great Hall and Saintlowe Tower, Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, England
With so many castles damaged and their function as defensible structures now mostly obsolete they were abandoned en masse from the mid-seventeenth century for fashionable luxury palaces and private residences by their owners. Only castles such as Dover and the Tower of London, whose defensive capabilities were needed in the event of invasion or revolt, were continually occupied and used for their original military purpose. The rest were further damaged by neglect, opportunistic plundering, and the elements. With their original purpose as private abodes and military fortresses obsolete they had little to no role in everyday life and so they were left to rot.
Yet, with the rise of the Romantic Movement an interest was once again taken with castles, but now the fascination lay in their identity as beautiful ruins overtaken by nature and decay. J.M.W. Turner painted castles in roaring landscapes such as Dolbadarn while Sir Walter Scott wrote about them in fantastic poetry like in the opening of ‘Marmion: Canto I.’ describing the remains of Norham castle:
“Day set on Norham’s castled steep, And Tweed’s fair river, broad and deep, And Cheviot’s mountain lone; The battled towers, the donjon keep,The loophole grates where captives weep, The flanking walls that round it sweep, In yellow lustre shone. The warriors on the turrets high, Moving athwart the evening sky, Seemed forms of giant height: Their armour, as it is caught the rays, Flashed back again the western blaze, In lines of dazzling light.”
The keep of Norham Castle, Northumberland, England
These creative pursuits fuelled an even greater longing amongst the Georgians and Victorians for castles and their former grandeur, beauty, and long-lost histories. Just as their ancestors had done, the Victorians stationed military units inside castles like with the North Yorkshire Militia in Richmond Castle and what is now called the King’s Own Border Regiment in Carlisle Castle. Unlike their ancestors however, this was not for the purposes of defence but instead for the prestige such castles conveyed as well as the convenience of their locations, generally close to urban centres but still enclosed for security. They even combined their fascination with castles with their undying love for trains and created rail links across the country, making these ancient sites easier to access for many more people than before. This, however, was not without casualties like the Great Hall of Berwick castle that was destroyed in 1847 to make way for a train station while the castle walls of Conwy were carved to give trains access to the town.
With this development of travel now unlocked for many people castles became even greater travel destinations but by far the most popular of these was the Crown’s own private residence: Windsor Castle. Visitors had been given guidebooks to the castle since 1742 - with an entrance specifically for them built in 1825. By Victoria's reign, designated entrance tickets and staff members to ensure good behaviour was also in place. Victoria’s reign further engendered the castle’s popularity and on the day the castles’ state apartments reopened after her death, there were reportedly ‘at least a thousand persons waiting’.
A gateway into the state apartments of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England
From this point on, Windsor Castle and others such as the Tower of London, Kenilworth, Stirling, and Caernarfon became particular tourist hotspots. Today hundreds of castles, now ivy-free and under state protection, are seeing record tourist numbers. The Tower of London receives 3 million visitors a year, and Windsor Castle just under 1.5 million. In 2023, English Heritage reported nine of their castles had their best year for visitor numbers, with ten more experiencing their best numbers in a decade. Castles, in their medieval origins, were designed as fortresses of defence - militaristic in design and identity. They evolved into places of habitat for the nobility - a role that has fluctuated throughout time - but is now in place again in certain instances. They are a symbol of power, prestige and wealth, and they imbue a fascination amongst many people - ensuring their continuous role as a magnificent symbol of British history.
Conwy Castle beside an 1848 railway bridge.
“From the road, in many parts, are the most august views of the vast expanse of the river, and the majestic towers of Conwy. Similar views, and old fortified towns, I have seen frequent on the Rhine, but in magnificence far inferior to these, our British glory.”
Thomas Pennant, A Tour in Wales, 1783.
By Brandon Fisher (Instagram: @brandn_fisher)
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Pennant, Thomas; A Tour in Wales, Vol. 2. London: Wilkie and Robinson, 1810.
Scott, Walter, Marmion: Canto I. - The Castle, 1808, Public Domain Poetry. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.piblic-domain-poetry.com/walter-scott/marmion-canto-i-the-castle-7087
Secondary Sources:
Brown, R. Allen, English Castles, Martlesham: Boydell Press, 2004.
Castles Through Time, English Heritage. Accessed April 6, 2024. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/castles/castles-through-time/
Craig-Johnson, Elizabeth; Historic UK, English Castles, London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2018.
Creighton, Oliver; Highram, Robert, Medieval Castles, London: Shire Publications Ltd, 2003.
Crome, Sarah, Scotland’s First War of Independence, London: Auch Books, 1999.
Fawcett, Richard, Stirling Castle, Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 1999.
Flanders, Julian; Great British Castles and Ruins: A Pictorial History, Bicester: Baker & Taylor (UK) Ltd, 2021.
Johnson, Matthew; Behind the Castle Gate: From Medieval to Renaissance, Abington: Routledge, 2002.
Little, Patrick; The English Civil Wars, London: Oneworld Publications, 2014.
Morris, Marc; Castles: A History of the Buildings that Shaped Modern Britain, London: Windmill Books, 2012.
Oxford English Dictionary, Castle (n.), March 2024. Accessed April 6, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/2765850867
Purkiss, Diane; The English Civil War: A People’s History, London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006.
Record Numbers of Families Visited English Heritage Sites in 2023, English Heritage, 8th February 2024. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/record-number-of-visitors-in-2023/#:~:text=More%20than%20550%2C000%20families%20enjoyed,54%25%20over%20the%20last%20decade
Saul, Nigel; A Companion to Medieval England: 1066 - 1485, Cheltenham: Tempus Publishing Ltd, 2000.
The Story of the Tower of London, Historic Royal Palaces. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-story-of-the-tower-of-london/#gs.6rgfvo
Visiting Windsor Castle Through the Centuries, Royal Collection Trust. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle/visiting-windsor-castle-through-the-centuries
Images:
Motte and Bailey Castle, Bayeux Tapestry, World History Encyclopedia. Accessed 7 April, 2024. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8757/motte-and-bailey-bayeux-tapestry/
Caernarfon Castle, @brandn_fisher.
Conwy Castle, @brandn_fisher.
Kenilworth Castle, @brandn_fisher.
Norham Castle, @brandn_fisher.
Portchester Castle, @brandn_fisher.
Stirling Castle, @brandn_fisher.
Tower of London, @brandn_fisher.
Windsor Castle, @brandn_fisher.