History of Castles

Hill Fort

500

Hill Forts were the first casltes ever made and are very basic castles. They were made from stone,earth soil/gravel and wood. Some of their features were that they had ditches in them and that they were on high hills which gave them sights from far away. They weren't too strong because they were very basic castles.

Motte and Bailey

Jan 1, 1000

The Motte and Bailey was the second castle made. It included an obvious give away, a motte and a bailey. The Bailey stored animals and people while the motte was a defensive feature because it was on a hill and would be easily spot intruders, so practically it was like a watch tower. To protect the Motte and bailey since it was easily taken down they dug a ditch surrounding the Motte and Bailey and normally put water in the ditch.

Stone Keep

Jan 1, 1070

Stone keeps were made out of stone and were very solid types of castles. It gave more defence than Motte and Baileys and the Stone Keep walls were very thick. They had a keep in the middle and that is how the Stone keep got it's name, it was made out of stone and there was a keep in the middle. This type of castle also included a draw bridge which would open and close by turning a handle ontop of the entrance.

Concentric Castles

Jan 1, 1200

Concentric Castles were the best at defending. The main feature of defense was the walls, the walls were really high making it difficult on the archers to hit the people. The castle was surrounded by a moat and would be accessible through the drawbridge

Fortifield Manor Houses

Jan 1, 1350

Fortified Manor Houses had pretty high walls and towers. They were made out of brick and didn't offer too much protection but it was a very comfortable place to live in, These were for the rich people and was the closes thing to a house.