From ancient earth-sculpted defences to the lavish palaces now inhabited by our monarchy, Britain is indeed a land of castles. Dominating the countryside where they still stand, these vast buildings are both a potent reminder of our battle-fraught history and places of soul stirring romance. I will try here to give some sense of the range of constructions that are castles, referring where I can to sites I have seen for myself.

The oldest fortifications we have are earthworks; prehistoric defences that are awe inspiring, especially when you consider the simple tools with which the great ditches were dug and vast mounds constructed. A dwelling area might be surrounded by a ditch and a bank – a surprisingly good defence, making attack either on foot or horseback challenging. This simple defence has been developed to construct castles of turf.

My favourite example of this castle type is British Camp, carved into a hilltop in the Malverns, with stunning views across the Severn plain and in to Wales. With Offa’s dyke (an earthwork marking an old border between England and Wales) to one side, and a series of banks, ditches and earthen ramparts scaling an already steep hill, British Camp is an amazing place. Walking as a tourist along the easier way up will soon make you realise how hard it would be to challenge this hilltop with an armed force. Looking down from the summit, wind whipped and breathless, you can see the steep assent facing any would-be aggressor. The top is big enough that a small and temporary settlement could have been made there in times of war, and the place was certainly in use during the Roman invasion.

The Romans themselves, of course, left us a considerable legacy in military fortifications, many of which exist only as ruins now. There are forts dotted across the country, some impressive still, others little more than a collection of foundations, hinting at the past. The most memorable of such forts, for me at least, is perched high in a mountain pass in the Lake District. With commanding views of both sea and land, this is a place of chill mists and strong winds, an incredibly lonely spot surrounded by boggy ground and with only wild birds for company. Only a few walls remain to show the layout of this fort, but it is enough to help you picture it, if you stand amongst its remains.

While many early forts existed purely as military strongholds, there is also a tradition of the fortified settlement – from individual dwelling places to cities with some rudimentary defences against would be attackers. The castle as most popularly imagined has risen out of both the military and domestic traditions and consequently fills both functions; providing homes and strategic defences for a military elite.

The location of castles is critical – they don’t spring up just anywhere in a landscape. Their need for defence means they are most likely found on hilltops, cliff edges, in the bends of rivers or, as with York, defended by marshes. Where no natural vantage points occurred, they have been constructed, usually in the form of a raised mound with a surrounding ditch or moat (echoing the early earth castles.) Not only will a castle be in a defendable place, it will more than likely be at some spot where it can control a road, a waterway or a border. 

Castles played a vital role in protecting the land from intruders while the inhabitants were able to profit from the influence this gave them over trade routes and local resources. Chepstow castle makes an ideal illustration of all of these points: it is built on an outcrop of rock, giving it height above much of the surrounding landscape and both protects and is defended by the river Wye. It stands in a border region between England and Wales, at a river crossing point.

The Land of Castles - 2 >>>Continued