brithish castle

Building a Castle 1995-2001 Lise Hull

Even today, centuries after they were active in British history, castles demonstrate the

majesty, power and wealth of their noble builders. By the end of the 12th century,

stone castles became more elaborate, the obsession of several powerful personalities

who felt pressure to prove their own value by constructing these towering piles.

While Edward I used the stone fortress as an effective means of dominating a rebellious

Welsh populace, and gave us several of the most impressive structures in the world, his

fortresses also reinforced his status as a wealthy and privileged ruler.

The Angevin kings, Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III, collectively spent tens of

thousands of pounds on their castles, in pursuit of reputations as men of incomparable

authority, prosperity and quality. It is incredible that the monarchy could afford such

building projects, for the financial coffers were limited; the kings were not individuals of

unbounded wealth, as they wanted their subjects to believe.

Organizing and erecting a stone castle was a daunting task which involved enormous

outlays of material, manpower, time, and money. Stone was quarried as close to the

site as possible, but decorative rock was often transported from special outcrops which

were located at some distance, increasing expenses considerably. In addition, although

timber took on a secondary role in castle construction (as framing, flooring, ceilings,

and scaffolding), it became very costly since it was still required in great quantities and

had to be brought to the site from far afield, due to the depletion of nearby forests.

Other expensive building materials included lead (for roofing), iron and tin, initially mined

in England and later taken from Welsh sources.

Labor costs could be enormous, since skilled workers were essential to stone castle

building. Specialists were often brought in from all parts of the kingdom to work on a

castle, including: the master mason, quarrymen, woodcutters, smiths, miners, ditchers,

carters, and carpenters. At times, as many as 2000 men were conscripted or hired for a

particular project.

The following quote from Master James of St. George (Edward's ingenious master

mason) gives us a glimpse into the building requirements for the splendid Welsh castle

at Beaumaris. Addressing the king's Exchequer, Master James wrote:

In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week, we

would have you know that we have needed - 400 masons, both cutters and

layers, together with 2000 less skilled workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons and 30

boats bringing stone and sea coal; 200 quarrymen; 30 smiths; and carpenters for

putting in the joists and floor boards and other necessary jobs. All this takes no

account of the garrison mentioned above, nor of the purchase of material, of

which there will have to be a great quantity... 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 simply have nothing to live on (McNeill, 1992).

Weekly wages for these workers averaged from four shillings for a master mason to six

pence for a woman laborer. James of St. George earned two shillings a day, plus 100

marks while constable of Harlech Castle. By today's standards, these wages seem

minimal, but at the time they would have enabled Master James to live very

comfortably.

Not surprisingly, a stone castle took a great deal longer to complete than any earth and

timber stronghold. Major construction work occurred only from April to November, and

was directly dependent on weather conditions.

Building Chart

Castle

Seasons of Work

Height in Feet

Average Height Per Season

Scarborough

10

90

9

Orford

8

65

8

Newcastle (UT)

8

80

10

Chilham

3

35

12

Bowes

5

50

10

Dover

10

80

8

Odiham

5

50

10

The building process itself was cumbersome, and estimated rate of ten feet of elevation

per year (Fry 1981). Henry II's castle at Orford, for example, took eight years to build

and the mighty Dover Castle required ten years. In contrast, Edward I's fortresses in

north Wales took an average of between five and seven years, with the exception of

Beaumaris (never finished) and Caernarfon (also never completed, even after an

incredible 45 years!).

With all the limitations mentioned above: the weather, the sheer mass of building

material, and the availability of skilled labor, funding and wages, it is truly amazing that

these architectural wonders were ever finished.

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1995-2001 Castles Unlimited

Castle Building Material

2000-2001 by Marvin Hull

At first, castles were made up of nothing but earth, with timber towers and buildings.

They could be built quickly, and without skilled laborers. In later castle development,

castles were built of stone, or converted to stone. Stone was quarried locally, if

possible, or taken from buildings near the site. In some castles you can even see some

Roman red bricks.

Varieties of local stone included hard chalk, fine-grained limestone, green limestone,

granular limestone, cellular igneous rock, and flint. Some of the more known quarries are

in Pevensey, Corfe, Folkestone, and Barnack. The Normans even brought some of the

stone with them from Caen, France. Most of the time, the king owned the quarries.

Stone Chart

Type

Color

Location

Sandstone

Purple

St Asaph Wales

Stone

Light red

Cheshire England

Sandstone

Yellow

Flint Wales

Limestone

Grey

Rhuddlan Wales

Trassic Sandstone

Brown

Radyr Wales

Lias Sandstone

Blue-grey

Glamorgan Wales

Sutton Stone

Conglamerate

Southern Down and Sutton England

The stone was quarried using wedges, then split to the desired sizes. The sizes

depended upon the needs of the project that stones were being quarried for, but, for

castle building, a foot square was the most common size. Oftentimes, transportation of

the stone was done by water, as this happened to be the quickest and cheapest way.

Materials were also transported by horse drawn carts, packhorses, or manpower.

Mortar was made of water, sand, and lime mixed together. Other ingredients were often

used in place of the above, or to strengthen the mortar. This included cockleshells (a

small mollusk), oxblood, and crushed chalk. Materials for the mortar were collected

nearby the construction site, if possible, or transported to the site. Lime was made by

heating stone in a lime kiln.

Bricks were made and used in the 13th and 14th centuries, but they were more common

from the 15th century onward. Very few real castles were built of bricks. Some bricks

would be taken from previous buildings or walls, the most common being from Roman

works.

Metals used from the 11th through the 15th centuries included lead and iron. Lead was

used for plumbing and roofing. The most notable places for getting lead were in

Derbyshire and Cumbria. Iron was used for too many things to list here, but it came

from Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Gloucestershire. It was delivered as

bars and ingots and shaped at the site. Some furniture and fittings were made of brass,

and, on rare occasions, pewter or gold may have been used.

Timber continued to be used during all periods of castle building, as it was needed for

bracing, framing, and scaffolding, heat, furniture, and other uses.



Curtain Walls

2001 by Marvin Hull

A curtain wall, or enclosing wall, of a castle bounded or

enclosed the castle. Most often it was attached to the

towers and gatehouse. There are examples of walls dividing or

splitting a bailey into two wards, and this is called a

cross-curtain. Some curtain walls would be built around the

bailey of a motte castle.

The early curtain walls were made of heavy timbers and are most often associated with

motte and bailey castles. These walls were called Palisades. The timbers would be

locked together with horizontal beams and braced or propped in the back. Sometimes,

these were so very well constructed that they were not replaced with stone curtains

for as long as a century after the castle was built.

Curtain walls made of timbers were prone to decay in a very short time. They were also

susceptible to fire, by attackers or by accident. Stone, much sturdier than wood,

gradually replaced most of the timber curtain walls. One of the earliest stone curtain

walls was at Richmond Castle, built in 1075.

The average height of a curtain wall was about 30 feet. There are a few exceptions,

such as at Framlingham Castle. The stone curtain wall there was 44 feet high, while

Knareborough Castle's was 40 feet high. The width varied, but most were very thick.

They ranged from 7 feet thick at Conisbrough Castle to 20 feet thick at Chepstow

Castle. Dover Castle walls were 20 feet thick, while Duffield Castle walls were 18 feet

thick. Fortified manors had thinner curtain walls, ranging from 3 feet to 7 feet thick.

As siege engines improved, the curtain walls were built higher. This made the lower

part, or the base of the curtain wall, vulnerable to breaching and undermining. This

problem was solved by introducing hoarding, allures, and angle towers. Curtain walls

were almost always battlemented and had a parapet near the top and inside of the

wall.

Curtain walls were a very important part of the castle defense. Once the wall was

breached, the castle would surely fall to attackers.

Stone Wall Construction

The best way to start the construction of a castle wall was to dig down to the

bedrock, then quarry it flat for the foundations. If solid bedrock was not available then

laborers had little choice but to dig trenches wider than the width of the wall and fill

them with rubble. The rubble would then be compacted. Another method would be to

try and use an existing foundation to build the new wall.

The walls could be made of rubble, framed with wood until the mortar had dried. The

most common composition was a rubble core with ashlar facing. The ashlar would be

fitted in horizontal rows called courses, which could also be supplemented by slate to

keep everything nice and level.

Once the walls got too high to reach then workers would erect scaffolding to assist in

construction. They would place timber posts into holes or containers and then lash

them together with rope. Then, the ends of the timber would be inserted into putlog

holes built into the wall. After the scaffolding was built, stone and mortar and other

materials would be lifted by pulleys, hoists, or by carrying them up a ramp.

Once the wall was at its full height, it was levelled off and ready to receive the allure

and parapet. Laborers would then build a stone staircase parallel to the wall to provide

access to battlements. They would coat the finished wall with plaster and whitewash to

protect the stone and mortar. Names like the White Tower (at the Tower of London) or

White Castle derive from the presence of this plaster.

Imagine, if you will, a castle such as Beaumaris in Wales. The curtain wall was 35 feet

high, 10 feet thick and 1,200 feet long. Think of how much stone was used, time

involved, and how many men it took to build it. No wonder castles took decades to

complete, if they were completed at all!



Life in a Medieval Castle 1997-2001 Lise Hull

Most of us fantasize about living in a castle. We dream about the ultimate lives of

luxury, never having to fend for ourselves, having our every whim taken care of,

swimming in jewels or swathed in silk. But, despite all the glamor we see in movies and

conjure up in our imaginations, medieval castle life was not necessarily easy.

Hardships were plenty, and even the wealthiest individuals often found themselves living

in less than adequate quarters. There was no central heating, except for the central

hearth or fireplace, which had to be tended to be efficient. Of course, that heat was

usually saved for the lord and his family. Servants, soldiers, and others made due with

tiny lamps and shivered a lot in the cold medieval nights.

The lord, his family and guests had the added comfort of heavy blankets, feather

mattresses, fur covers, and tapestries hanging on the walls to block the damp and

breezes, while residents of lesser status usually slept in the towers and made due with

lighter bedclothes and the human body for warmth. The lord and lady's personal

attendants were fortunate to stay with their master or mistress in their separate

sleeping quarters. However, they slept on the floor wrapped in a blanket, but, at least

on the floor, they could absorb some of the warmth of the fireplace.

Even during the warmest months of the year, the castle retained a cool dampness and

all residents spent as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors. Oftentimes,

members wrapped blankets around themselves to keep warm while at work (from which

we derive the term bedclothes). Baths were taken in transportable wooden tubs, so

that the summer sun could warm the water and the bather, but the tub could be moved

inside when the weather worsened.

Privacy was ensured with a tent or canopy. And for more delicate endeavors, imagine

needing to use the guardrobe (latrine) and having a brisk wind gusting through the

privy. With stone or hard wood seats, using the latrine would certainly have been an

invigorating experience. No wonder the chamber pot remained close to the bedside!

Life during the Middle Ages began at sunrise, when one of the guards trumpeted the

day's start. Servants had already begun to stir, ensuring the fires were lit in the kitchen

and great hall and getting the morning meal underway. Since dinner was not served

until between 10AM and noon, they had at least a few hours to fulfill their other chores

while the stews or soups bubbled in the iron pots. All floors had to be swept, cleared of

any debris, and basins washed out.

Once the lord and his lady had arisen, chambermaids ventured into their apartments,

swept and emptied chamber pots and wash basins, and the laundress also began the

day's wash. For their part, the lord and lady of the castle made sure they were tidy

before they greeted their household or any guests, washing off with water from their

basins while partially clothed to keep warm.

A small breakfast of bread and drink was taken by all, and then the lord and his family

entered the chapel for morning mass. Once mass was complete, the lord tackled the

day's business. While relying on certain members of his household staff to manage the

castle in his absence or when he had other duties to handle, the lord was the castle's

chief administrator when he was in residence. Indeed, in many ways, the lord was king

of his own domain, which included his castle, the estates, and his subjects, both inside

the castle and in the surrounding peasant villages.

Often, the lord was granted possession of more than one lordship or earldom so had to

divide his time among all of his properties. His powers were political, judicial, fiscal, and

also included the policing of his territory. Like his king, he could mete out punishment,

collect rent from his subjects, and even mint his own coins.

When the lord had obligations that took him away from the castle, as was frequently

the case, his main representative was the steward, also called the seneschal. The

steward actually had substantial power of his own, because he had to know virtually

everything that went on at the castle and in the surrounding estates. So, he had to be

skilled at accounting and legal matters, as well as personnel management.

Other key members of the household staff included the chamberlain (in charge of the

great chamber/hall), the chaplain, the keeper of the wardrobe, the butler (also known

as the bottler, he ensured there was enough drink stored in the buttery), the cook, the

chandler (who made candles), and the marshal (who was in charge of the stables).

Each of these individuals had their own staff to manage.

The lady of the castle was served by ladies-in-waiting and chambermaids. She spent

much of the day overseeing their work, as well as supervising the activities in the

kitchen staff. The lady also kept an eye on her large group of spinners, weavers, and

embroiderers who had the enormous responsibility of keeping everyone clothed, and

offering the lady companionship. In addition, the ladies were responsible for educating

the young pages who, at the age of 7, came to the castle to learn religion, music,

dance, hunting, reading, and writing before moving into knight's service as squires.

At 14, young boys became squires, and the lord placed them under the guidance of a

knowledgeable knight who would teach them about chivalry as well as how to wield a

sword or ride a horse into battle. A youth's ultimate goal was knighthood, which could

be attained at the age of 21 when the boys officially became men. Many knights

became highly skilled warriors and spent peacetime traveling to tournaments to pitch

themselves into individual combat with other aspiring knights. The tournaments were

good training grounds for real warfare.

When a group of soldiers was stationed at a castle, they comprised its garrison.

Individual members included the knights, squires, a porter (to tend the main door),

guards, watchmen, and men-at-arms. All were prepared to defend their lord and his

household in an instant. Each soldier had his own place in an attack and his own skill to

rely upon. Some were crossbowmen, archers, lancers, or wielded swords. Medieval

warfare was definitely a highly complex process, despite the simplicity of the weapons.

Castles must have been noisy - and smelly - places. Livestock roamed inside the

stables, blacksmiths clanged out ironwork in the forges, the soldiers practiced their

skills, and children played when lessons were completed. Various craftsmen worked

diligently in the inner ward, including cobblers (making shoes), armorers, coopers (who

made casks), hoopers (who helped the coopers build the barrels), billers (making axes),

and spencers (who dispensed).

The interior walls were used to support timber structures, like the workshops and the

stables, and, sometimes, stone buildings also leaned against the walls. Fires burned.

The well and cisterns offered water. Servants were constantly bustling, taking care of

the personal needs of the household, but also finding time for gossip and flirtation.

At mid-morning, dinner was served. This was the main meal of the day, and often

featured three or four courses, as well as entertainment. After dinner, the day's

activities would resume, or the lord might lead his guests on a hunt through the grounds

of his nearby deer park. Recreation was never ignored!

The evening meal, supper, was generally eaten late in the day, sometimes just before

bedtime. While not as formidable as dinner, this meal ensured residents would never be

hungry when they settled down to sleep off the day's labors.

We can only imagine that, though the people worked hard during the Middle Ages, they

also compensated by playing hard. Holidays were times for letting loose of inhibitions

and forgetting the stresses of life. The peasants as well as the castle's household found

time for pleasure, and made up for their struggles as best they could. In this modern

age of technological convenience, we must admire their perseverance.



Decline of the Castle

1998-2001 Lise Hull

As military necessity changed in Great Britain there was less

emphasis placed on defense and more on comfort.

By the 15th century the majority of new buildings, while

having some defensive features, were primarily designed for

comfortable living conditions. Earlier strongholds were

gradually modified, or abandoned outright and replaced by

great houses of a richer and more relaxed style. The

construction of fortified houses steadily declined during the

15th and 16th centuries, except for Scotland, where the

tower house was popular. In the 16th century, in general, the only new form of castle

built were coastal forts, themselves not true castles in the strict sense of the word.

The development of firearms and the increasing use of gunpowder ended the castles'

endurance. Even the ones outlasting the pounding of the cannon did not survive the

engineers, for it was the policy at the end of the English Civil War to slight all captured

castles. By 1650, almost all of the great castles had been rendered useless.

It is surprising how quickly many castles decayed, considering their massive solidity, but

records show how swiftly the castle could fall into a state of decay. When abandoned

they could quickly be reduced to rubble by local people using them as a source of

dressed stone and other building materials.

Despite their decline, the castles of Britain had established themselves firmly in the

national mindset, and many wealthy families of the 18th and 19th centuries fed their

passions by naming their newly built houses, "castle." This practice had its valuable

side...for it was this ill-informed romanticism which eventually led to concerted efforts

to preserve and restore many ruined castles.



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