Researching the history of castles
Uneasy times make for defence-building. It has a long history in
Britain. People protected themselves and their possessions in prehistoric times
with fences, banks and ditches. We can still see the impressive remains of Iron
Age hillforts and brochs. The Romans built
forts and walled towns. So did the Saxons. In
Ireland round towers associated with monasteries and churches could be used as
both belfries and strongholds.
But what we recognise as a castle - the massively fortified residence of a king or lord - really began with the Norman conquest. Such a dramatic power shift had to be reinforced. England was dotted with motte-and-bailey castles frowning down on the local populace. At first they were thrown up rapidly in timber, to be later replaced in stone. Houses might be cleared from the highest corner of a town to build a formidable stone keep. Norman castles were often built by barons as the caput (head) of the barony. I.J. Sanders, English Baronies: a study of their origin and descent 1086-1327 (1960), traces each barony.
David I of Scotland (whose sister was married to Henry I of England) encouraged Anglo-Norman barons to settle north of the border, where they built castles like those in England. Anglo-Norman lords also invaded Ireland, building castles in the areas they settled. Meanwhile the Marcher lords held great swathes of territory on the borders with Wales. Fighting against the Welsh, they penetrated deep within Wales, building castles as they went. The Welsh princes countered with castles of their own. But it was Edward I's determination to conquer Wales that produced the most spectacular of all British castles. His master builder was James St George, a Frenchman from Savoy, who designed the type of concentric castle that Edward I had seen on crusade in the Middle East, with rings of walls and round towers around a bailey.
In Scotland the violence and insecurity of the later Middle Ages, especially along the border with England, meant that tower houses were built in large numbers, eventually developing the style known as Scottish Baronial.
Defences of any kind could serve secondary purposes. For example a huge linear earthwork created to defend a kingdom might well become a political boundary. A castle could be a home. It could be the administrative centre of a widely scattered estate. It could be the headquarters of the county sheriff. Facilities could include a prison, courtroom and chapel. Naturally a castle or hillfort was a structure of high prestige. In their eagerness to point out alternative functions, some writers have altogether dismissed defence as the primary purpose for building fortifications. They have pointed out that bank-and-ditch earthworks many miles long could not have been permanently manned, or that certain castles were never besieged, or that a moat and drawbridge would not stop a determined army equipped with siege engines. This ignores the preventative power of defences. They aim to make attack difficult. Strongholds were seldom completely impregnable. However the non-military aspects of castles did predominate in times of peace. Castles built in modern times, for example the exuberant Victorian revival of Scottish Baronial, certainly have no military purpose.
Studies
- Coulson, C.L.H., Castles in Medieval Society: Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages (2003) presents the view that castles were not primarily military.
- Kenyon, J., Medieval Fortifications (1990).
- Kenyon, H.R., O'Conor, K.D. and O'Conor, K., The Medieval Castle in Ireland and Wales: Essays in Honour of Jeremy Knight (2003)
- Manning, C., From ringforts to fortified houses: studies on castles and other monuments in honour of David Sweetman (2007). Ireland.
- Morris, E., Exploring Castles: an accessible online introduction to the topic, which covers Britain and some of Europe.
- McNeill, T., English Heritage Book of Castles (2006). Covers the whole British Isles and includes a selected gazetteer.
- O'Keeffe, T., Ireland's Round Towers (2004). Includes a gazetteer of examples.
- Platt, P., The Castle in Medieval England and Wales (1982).
- Pounds. N., The Medieval Castle in England and Wales: A social and political history (1990).
- Taylor, A., The Welsh Castles of Edward I (1986).
- Thompson, M.W., The Decline of the Castle (1987).
- Thompson, M.W., The Rise of the Castle (1991).
- Toy, S., Castles: Their construction and history (1985). Scholarly survey of castle development from ancient fortresses to the 16th century.
- Williams, G., Stronghold Britain (1999).
Gazetteers and bibliographies
- Kenyon, J., Castles, Town Defences and Artillery Fortifications in Britain [and Ireland]: a bibliography, 3 vols, Council for British Archaeology Research Reports nos. 25, 53, 72. Vols 2 and 3 include Ireland and are available online in PDF format. This has been superceded by:
- Kenyon, J. R., Castles, Town Defences and Artillery Fortifications in the United Kingdom and Ireland: a bibliography 1945-2006 (2008).
- Colvin, H.M. et al, The History of the King's Works. 6 vols (RCHME 1973-82) covers royal castles of the English monarchy, with full references.
- Coventry, M., Castles of Scotland, 2nd edn. (1997). Gazetteer without references of 2,068 castles including ruins.
- Davis, P., The Gatehouse: an online gazetteer with bibliography of castles and other fortifications in England, Wales , the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man, built or in use from 1000 to 1600. An updated and expanded version of King (below). It includes a list of licences to crenellate.
- Higham, R. and Barker, P., Timber Castles (1992). Includes a gazetteer.
- Hogg, I.A., Coast Defences of England and Wales 1856-1956 (1974).
- King, D.J.C., Castellarium Anglicanum: an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. 2 vols (1982). Gives a bibliography for each castle, including references to the relevant volume of the VCH. An updated and expanded version is online at The Gatehouse.
- MacGibbon, D., and Ross, T., The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century, 5 vols (1887-92).
- McNeill, T., Castles in Ireland: Feudal power in a Gaelic world (1997). Selected gazetteer with references.
- Perriam, D.R. and Robinson, J., The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria: an illustrated gazetteer and research guide, Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Extra Series vol. 29 (1998).
- Renn, D.F., Norman Castles in Britain, 2nd edn. (1973). Gazetteer with references covers British Isles before Henry III.
- Salter, M., Castles and Stronghouses of Ireland (1993). Gazetteer covers Eire and N.I.
- Thompson covers castles of bishops in England and Wales, with references.
Society
The Castle Studies Group includes members both professional and amateur from a wide range of historical and archaeological backgrounds, both in the British Isles and overseas.
Primary sources
Images
Castles were popular subjects for 18th and
19th-century artists and books of engravings, listed by Anderson. For topographical views
online see the lists and links by area and period in the image finder and the combined online databases
under museums and art galleries.
Domesday Book
The Domesday book mentions 48 castles. References to the number of houses destroyed to clear space for a castle gives an idea of the degree of disruption caused by Norman castle-building.
Building accounts
Surviving accounts are mainly for castles belonging to the English (later British) monarchy, which are preserved in the National Archives. References to them are included in Colvin, H.M. et al, The History of the King's Works. 6 vols. (RCHME 1973-82). A few are in print:
- The Accounts of the Constables of Bristol Castle in the Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Centuries ed. M. Sharp, Bristol Record Society (1982).
- Some references to the castles of the Anglo-Norman settlement in Leinster can be found in the collection Historical and Municipal Documents of Ireland, AD 1172-1320, Rolls Series (1870).
- Documents relating to the castles, towns and lordships of Haverford, Cilgerran and Narberth are in print in A Calendar of the Public Records Relating to Pembrokeshire ed. H. Owen (Cymmrodorion Record Series, no.7, 3 vols., 1911-18.)
- Documents relating to Carmarthen Castle are in print in West Wales Historical Records vols. 3-4 (1913-4).
- Documents relating to the castle, town and lordship of Llanstephen are in print in West Wales Historical Records vol. 12 (1927).
Chronicles and travel descriptions
Licences to crenellate
In medieval England, Ireland and Wales a royal
licence to crenellate was required for private fortifications. Most of these
are recorded in The Calendar of Patent Rolls (Henry III to
Elizabeth). A list from the Patent Rolls was drawn up by J.H.Parker, Some
Account of Domestic Architecture in England from Richard II to Henry VIII
(1859), Vol. 3, pp.401-22; also printed in the Gentleman's
Magazine 1856.
Charles Coulson has prepared an enlarged list, from which Thompson listed licences to bishops, and Emery those for England and Wales. An updated version for England and Wales is online at The Gatehouse: licenses to crenellate.
For post-medieval fortifications see public buildings. For town walls and gates see Town Walls.