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.
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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!
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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.
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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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