The Normans
built their first castle
at Hastings soon after they arrived in 1066. They looked for sites
that provided natural obstacles to an enemy, such as a steep hill
or a large expanse of water. It was also be important to have good
views of the surrounding
countryside.
After his coronation in
1066, William
the Conqueror claimed
that all the land in England now
belonged to him. William retained about a fifth of this land for his
own use. The rest
was distributed to those men who had helped him defeat Harold
at the Battle
of Hastings. The 170 tenants-in-chief (or barons) had to provide
armed men on horseback for military service. The number of knights
a baron had
to provide depended on the amount of land he had been given.
The
Norman conquerors realised that with only 10,000 soldiers in England,
they would be at a disadvantage if the one and a half million Anglo-Saxons
decided to rebel against them. To defend the territory they had conquered,
the Normans began building castles all over England. Richard
Fitz Gilbert, like the other Norman leaders, looked for sites
that provided natural defences such as a steep hill or a large expanse
of water. To protect his estates in Kent, Richard built a castle at
Tonbridge, by the side of the River Medway.
The
castle, built in the motte-and-bailey style, was made of wood. Local
peasants were forced to dig a deep circular ditch. The displaced earth
was then thrown into the centre to create a high mound called a 'motte'.
By the time they finished, the motte was 18 metres (60 feet) high.
Richard's labourers erected a wooden tower on top of the mound. The
tower provided accommodation and a look-out point.
A
courtyard, known as the bailey, was built next to the mound. The bailey
was linked to the mound by a bridge. If an attacking force managed
to get inside the bailey, the bridge could be pulled up to keep the
invaders away from the people in the tower. The bailey was enclosed
by a fence of wooden stakes called a palisade. The enclosed area would
provide a site for houses and stables. Richard's labourers also built
a bridge across the ditch that surrounded the castle. When filled
with water, this ditch became known as a moat. The River Medway provided
a constant supply of water for the moat at Tonbridge.
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
(1)
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Version E,
entry of 1137
And they filled the whole land with these castles. They burdened
the unhappy people of the country with forced labour on the castles.
And when the castles were made they filled them with wicked men.
(2)
Water of Terouanne describing
the motte and bailey castles built by William
the Conqueror (c. 1100)
They make a mound of earth
as high as they can, and encircle it with a ditch as broad and deep
as possible. They surround the upper edge of the mound... with a palisade
of squared timbers firmly fixed together... Within they build their
house, a stronghold that commands the whole... The gate can only be
reached by crossing a bridge, which starts from the outer edge of
the ditch.
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