What Is A Castle?

A castle isn't a castle just because it looks like a castle. A true castle was the residence of a lord, king or baron which was fortified to resist attack and protect from the enemy. Castles were built also as a symbol of power.

Castles were first brought to England from France by William the Conqueror around 1066. I'm not familiar with castles from France, Germany or any other country to be able to give any info on their origin, so if someone knows something about it, please let me know.

The site for a castle was chosen with several things in mind. The site had to offer natural obstacles, such as a hillside which would make it difficult for the enemy to climb. On the hillside, the castle guards were able to see approaching invaders. Good water and good pasture for cattle was a necessity if they wanted to feed the residents of the castle. Materials for building the castle had to be available as well.

Many professionals were hired and paid highly for their skills in building a castle. These professionals were masons, cutters, layers, other skilled workmen, carts, wagons, boats for transporting materials, quarrymen, smiths and carpenters. Building a castle was expensive and workers were not paid promptly. It took many years to build a castle. On average, a castle rose 10 or 12 feet each year.

Many materials were needed in building a castle. Earth was used for creating the moat. Limestone was commonly used because it was soft when first quarried and then it hardened quickly after exposure to the air. Brick was used in later years when and where clay was plentiful and quarries were too far from the site. Huge amounts of sand, limestone, and water were used to make mortar for bonding brick and stone. Timber was used for scaffolding, wooden floors, roof beams, window shutters, and panelling etc. Iron and steel were needed for nails and tools. Window glass and plaster were not required to strengthen the castle, but were used for decor and functionality.

The first castles were simple in design. They were called motte and bailey castles. The motte was an earthen mound topped by a wood framed tower. The bailey was a large area of land, a courtyard, which was enclosed by another mound and placed next to the motte. The bailey was used for activities such as stables and livestock, workshops, household chores. The tower was used for observation. The motte and bailey castle wasn't very strong because it could burn and rot. Then the construction of stone castles began. Stone castles were stronger because they didn't rot or burn and were able to withstand battle. Walls were 8 to 20 feet in thickness to withstand attack, battering rain, or catapult. Over time, the design of the towers changed from square shaped to round, because they were considered more sturdy and couldn't be undermines as easily as the squared tower.

Undermining was a method used in pulling down a tower. The enemy would dig a tunnel under one corner of the tower and prop it up with wood and set it on fire. The wood would burn so the tower would become unstable and fall to the ground. Sometimes the wood would fall before the enemy could get out of the tunnel.

The round shaped tower was introduced by the Norman knight, William Marshall. The round shaped tower was much more effective in battle although it was harder to build. Some castles used a splayed plinth, like piers or legs into the earth at the base so it couldn't fall or lean.
The curtain wall became thicker over time. It was intersected at various points by different types of towers, most were for observation but some were also living quarters, chapels, storage or housed the dungeon.

The gatehouse was just a simple doorway and was the only way in and out, but soon became the strong points of many castles. The gatehouse was equipped with many defensive techniques such as a heavy iron gate with bars that was lowered to block the entrance, also known as the portcullis. Heavy wooden doors that could be barred, arrow slits in the stone walls, murder holes from which boiling liquids or fire balls etc. could be thrown down onto attackers, were among those defense tactics.

Outside the castle there were also many added features to provide security and strength. Most castles were surrounded by a ditch, or moat, which were very deep, cut into the bedrock or earth around the main part of the castle. Many ditches were filled with water and some were not. Even those that had no water in them were as difficult to cross as the water filled moats because they were very steep and deep.

Wooden drawbridges were built for crossing moats. They were designed to be moved away from the ditch to prevent unwanted visitors from gaining access to the castle. Sometimes a wooden ladder was used to gain entry by way of some of the towers, but could be removed quickly to prevent unwanted access. Sometimes more than one ditch and drawbridge were made to make unwanted access even more difficult. The construction of fortified castles steadily declined during the 15th and 16th centuries, except for Scotland where the tower house was very popular.

The development of firearms and the use of gunpowder ended the castle's endurance. Even the castles that lasted through cannon battles did not survive long after the English Civil War because it was policy to disable captured castles. By 1650 most of the great castles were rendered useless.