VIDEO:

Secrets of the Castle: Why Build a Castle? (Episode 1, 58 min.; start at 5:55):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydoRAbpWfCU

Readings:Gies and Gies, Life, pp. 21-31

Macaulay, pp. 5-37

Pounds, pp. 102-6, 126-9

Some major castles built in Wales by Edward I (r. 1272-1305):

From the following photos, identify some of the features used by David Macaulay in creating his fictional castle at Aberwyvern:

Beaumaris: plan;  aerial view; photos

Conway (or Conwy): plan; aerial photo; photos

Carnarvon (or Caernarfon): plan; aerial view; photos; banding on walls

Harlech: plan; aerial view; gatehouse approach; gatehouse; photos

Some minor castles/fortified manor houses built by private lords in the 13th century:

From the following photos, identify some defensive features and some non-defensive or purely decorative features:

Eaton Bray (Bedfordshire): site of castle (only moat remains, at left)

Acton Burnell (Shropshire):  exterior and interior

Stokesay (Shropshire): aerial photo; exterior; interior of hall ; engraving of 1731 showing wet moat; plan

Aydon Castle (Northumberland): aerial view; another aerial photo

Some details of castle design:

Gateway (Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthenshire )
Wooden gates (Chepstow Castle, Monmouthshire, 1190s)
Portcullis (unknown English castle)
Moat and battered walls (Grosmont Castle, Monmouthshire)
Moat and drawbridge (White Castel or Castell Gwyn, Monmouthshire; Dirleton Castle, Midlothian
Square keep (12th cent.) (Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire)
Concentric curtain walls (Beaumaris Castle, )
Battlements or crenellations, with merlons and crenels (Dinefwr Castle, Carmarthenshire; Ludlow Castle, Shropshire)
Wall walk (Framlingham Castle, Suffolk; Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthenshire)
Arrow loop (Carreg Cennan Castle, Carmarthenshire)

    Wall construction: ashlar facings with rubble fill (Rhuddlan Castle, Denbighshire and Denbigh Castle, Denbighshire)
Putlog (scaffolding) holes (Wigmore Castle, Herefordshire)
Corbels: stone brackets to support beams and other timbers (Dinefwr Castle, Carmarthenshire)
Spiral staircase (Dolbadarn Castle, Gwynedd)
Window seats in hall (Dirleton Castle, Midlothian)

12d. = 1 s.
20s. = £1
thus: £1 = 20s. = 240d.

Other standard divisions of a pound were:

Project Guédelon in Burgundy (France): current (begun 1997) construction of a castle using 13th-century methods and materials:
the site
construction materials
rubble and ashlar walls
treadmill for lifting heavy materials  and drawing of a similar treadmill (13th cent.)
dragging large timbers
stone archways:  assembling the blocks;  using centering to form the arch; setting the blocks
stone vaults
carving stone blocks
framing and tiling a roof (scroll down)
completed roof
decorating floor tiles

Video on Guédelon (4 minutes)

(Description of the project, from  website “How Stuff Works” at http://history.howstuffworks.com/middle-ages/castle5.htm [seen 16 Sept. 2008]:)

“As an experiment in archaeology, Michel Guyot and Maryline Martin have assembled a team of 50 workers (architects, archaeologists and skilled workers) to build a medieval castle from scratch by using techniques and materials of the Middle Ages. The project, in Treigny in the Burgundy region of France, is called Project Guédelon . The design is based on 13th-century castle architecture — it consists of a dry moat, curtain walls, corner towers and a large tower keep. Construction started in 1997 and is expected to last about 25 years. After the initial investment, the cost of the project has been covered by tourism. In 2006, the site hosted more than 245,000 visitors, and the project brought in about $2.6 million.”The building materials are stone, clay soil and oak trees that are found near the site. The workers use traditional techniques from the 13th century. To split stones for the walls, quarrymen “read” the rock face to see the lines where it will fracture. They then drive a line of holes into the stone and then pound corners into the holes, which makes shock waves go through the stone and break it.

“Workers use horse-drawn wagons to haul the stones from the quarry to the building site. Stone masons then chisel the raw stone into blocks. Workers use man-powered cranes to lift the finished stones to the scaffolding on the castle wall.

“Other workers make mortar on the site from lime, soil and water. The masons on the wall fit the stones together and use the mortar to hold the blocks together.

“Workers use traditional tools to measure and lay out castle pieces. For example, craftsmen use a long rope with knots placed every meter to measure wood beams and layout pieces. They also use wooden right angles and calipers for measurements. They use a wooden triangle with a line and plumb bob suspended from one angle as a level when placing stones.

“As the castle wall gets higher, new scaffolding must be placed in the wall and the old ones removed, leaving square holes in the walls. As of 2007, Castle Guedelon is about a third complete.”