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 city to built 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 a range of fortifications from Dark Age and Saxon earthworks to medieval castles. Such extreme views have been effectively challenged, but they do draw attention to the non-military aspects of castles, which predominated 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).
- O'Keeffe, T., Ireland's Round Towers (2004). Includes a gazetteer of examples.
- Liddiard, R., Tutor's Guide to Teaching Medieval Castles (2005) provides a commentary on the paradigm change in approach to castles in recent decades, together with an extensive bibliography [pdf file].
- 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).
- Time Team, Medieval Castles provides a good online introduction.
- 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.
- Castles of Herefordshire: online gazetteer from the Herefordshire Sites and Monuments Record.
- 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 and Wales 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.
Images
Castles were popular
subjects for 18th and 19th-century artists (see Barley, and books of
engravings, listed by Anderson.)
Topographical engravings are listed and in some cases illustrated
online by print-sellers Steve
Bartrick, Postaprint
and Richard
Nicholson and some public repositories - see the Archives
section of this site.
Primary sources
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
See Primary Sources.
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, which 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.