Motte and Bailey CastlesStrengths WeaknessesCheap Made with wood which meant

that they could be burned or chopped down

Quick and easy to make

Could be easily penetrated from all sidesWater-filled ditches could be easily crossed.

11th CenturyTimber Tower on Motte

Motte

Water-filled ditches

Bailey

Detached Kitchen

Stables and Barns

Stone gate tower

Timber stockade on earth bank

Chapel

Hall

Stone-built Chamber block

Motte and Bailey Castles were designed in the 11th century by William the Conqueror to control villages and protect his men from any rebellious villains or peasants. He needed to make castles quickly as he didn't have much time so he started constructing Motte and Baileys all over the country because they didn't need the two things that William didn't have; time and money.

Defence rating:

This castle began when lords with time, money and a suitable amount of land started extending their baileys and demolishing the motte before knocking down the wooden keep replacing it with a stone square one, enlarging the water-filled ditches to make a moat, adding a drawbridge and a fortified entrance called a barbican, and building tall stone walls with square towers all around that were called curtain walls in the place of the timber stockade/fence. These were so thick that they had space for patrolling soldiers to walk along the top or shoot down arrows from. One way to siege this castle was to undermine the corners of the square towers which were weak. This castle was designed to protect the lords from sieges from large armies.

Stone/Square Keep Castles

Strengths WeaknessesMade of stone which meant that they couldn’t be burned down

Could be undermined

Had towers to shoot arrows from ExpensiveHad a moat and barbican for extra layered protection Took long to build

12th CenturyKeep

Moat

Barbican

Drawbridge

Great Hall

Bailey

Stone walls

Square Towers

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Defence rating:

Concentric Castles13th Century

Strengths WeaknessesHad round towers which meant that they couldn’t be underminedHad a double layer of wallsWas impenetrableHad water defences

Defence rating:

Inner Bailey

Outer Bailey

Moat

Keep

Round towers

Inner wall

Gatehouse

Curtain wall

BarbicanDrawbridge

This type of castle was designed to improve stone/square keeps and defend the lord from any siege attacks. The idea of a concentric castle was brought back by English knights from the Middle East, Jerusalem. They had round towers instead of square ones and couldn’t be undermined as well as having a double layer of walls with towers: an inner wall and a curtain wall which could be up to 5 metres thick. The inner bailey was mainly empty as the keep, storehouse, hall and other buildings were built up against the walls.

‘A Castle within a Castle’

The TrebuchetArm

Pivot pointCounterweight

Projectile Holder

String Trigger

Designed to fire things like rocks, limestone and rotting animal corpses at or into the castle

The Siege Tower

Front View Rear View

Ladders

Storeys

Ramp

Animal skins

Designed for soldiers to cross over castle walls and into the castle itself, and protect and hide them from arrows.

Mining the Walls

How did Castles change overtime?