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 Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:38 pm
A lot of castles in UK came under siege at some time in their history. Simply because they had to endure two civil wars. The first was the wars of the roses, where everyone changed sides so often it was difficult to know who was fighting who. And the second was the English Civil War where only those castles that survived came from the few nobles who supported Cromwell. There are a lot of ruined castles around the UK because Cromwell didn't like them very much.
There were basically three periods of english castle building. Norman, number 2, and Edwardian. I forget what number 2 was.
Motte and Bailey was the typical Norman castle, you raised and flattened the land for several hundred yards and dug a trench around it, you threw the earth into a mound to create a taller hill on which you would build the castle proper. At first these were built of wood but as defence and presence became more important they gradually turned to stone as a building material. This essence of a castle remained the only constant in English castle building through the centuries. The keep may move and become more integrated with the walls and other defenses, but it was always (supposed to be) on higher ground than the surrounding area.
Edwardian brought the most grand castles of the England, partly as was correctly stated for a status symbol but also because they were in active use, particularly along the welsh border which has the highest concentration of castles in the UK.
However, the first true defensive structures in the british isles were bronze and iron age. These are called usually hill forts and one of the most impressive of these in the UK is Cadbury castle.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:02 am
Rebaillion, have you ever been to Norwich before? I know you're coming up in a couple of weeks time depending on the weather, but I just wondered if you'd ever been here before. If not, you'll see the Norman castle atop the hill in the city centre, and for whoever's not been inside it before it's well worth a look. It's pretty much just a standard museum though. They have Egyptian artifacts in there, as well as an area with stuffed animals (which I'm not partial to, but if it had something to do with the history surrounding the castle then I can see the point but I don't think it does). To be honest, I don't really know why the Egyptian stuff is in there. However, the rest of it is pretty interesting unless you've been in there several times like myself.
The last time I went in there, I went on top of the battlements where you can see for a good number of miles. You can see the whole of the city and some of the countryside beyond from the top of Norwich Castle.
I was then about to go on about Norwich Cathedral and the Great Hospital grounds (the elderly people's home where my mother works), but I'm wondering whether I should make a subforum relating to history entirely.
What do you guys think?
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 4:50 pm
Most of you are making me cry. The closest castle to me is the Cinderella Castle, at Walt Disney World. crying
But I love going in the summer to stay with family in Germany. Done it for the past few years and they always take us to see the castle and medieval walled cities. But I can't wait till I can go and see all the great castles in England and Scotland. We went to Ireland three years ago, and it was great.
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:46 am
When you get a chance to, visit England. My hometown, Norwich, has a lot of history and is now cosidered in league with cities like Prague and Paris (been to Prague and it's absolutely amazing - the castle is rather a "castle district" there). There are also many similar places all around the UK. Have a look at the cathedrals thread. There's a pic of Norwich Cathedral on it. I'm disappointed nobody's posted on it.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:13 pm
Am I the only person who think that Castles are great, but that if I read about another one I will cry. I generally try to avoid them as a writer so many people work with castles that the fun is gone, but the science behind them still amuses me to this day.
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:05 am
I think castle-like fortresses are much more fun, although I still love castles.
Norwich Castle is exceptionally interesting, but the interior has been modernised and turned into a local history museum. The local history is really interesting, but after you've been to that particular museum a few times, the novelty wears off. The outside of it is still beautiful.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:30 am
When I do castles I'll have to do something to make them less mundane. I drew the plans for a steam powered bolt launcher that could be fun, or maybe a castle made of bodies, The closest thing to a castle I've worked with would be the home of the seven, but that was a long time ago and had heavy HP and LotR influences so I'd have to revamp it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:41 am
This is the Museum guys, anything created out of one's own imagination should be kept to the Writer's Circle unless you're referencing real castles and making comments between the two.
Sorry if I sound harsh, I don't mean to, I just don't want too much in the way of people talking about the wrong subjects in the wrong areas. sad
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:41 pm
 Bwahahah! Just the topic for me. The Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany was a finalist for the New seven wonders (Sorry the pic is so big) sweatdrop
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 4:44 pm
Very nice castle pic FP! It's not as big as I thought so it's fine. Or at least, to me it is. 3nodding
I've always loved castles but I never have anything good to say about the subject, he-he. sweatdrop
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Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:04 am
Ah, Neuschwanstein. Did you know, that Neuschwanstein was buildet in the 19th century? It's one of the first buildings, in wich they used steel and beton. That's the castle in Marburg, in wich Lutherans and Zwinglians had their conference because of the eucharist in 1529. Castle Marburg
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:01 pm
Ekklesiast Ah, Neuschwanstein. Did you know, that Neuschwanstein was buildet in the 19th century? It's one of the first buildings, in wich they used steel and beton. That's the castle in Marburg, in wich Lutherans and Zwinglians had their conference because of the eucharist in 1529. Castle Marburg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_Castle
It's a big stone cube, but that's the way the Normans did it usually. It's about 20 minutes drive into the city from my house. It's on a man-made hill and has had an underground shopping mall built beneath it (the Castle Mall isn't very big and it's not that interesting down there anymore).
I've mentioned it before, but thought I would again to show you. Otherwise it'd mean sifting through the entire thread.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:13 pm
Ekklesiast Ah, Neuschwanstein. Did you know, that Neuschwanstein was buildet in the 19th century? It's one of the first buildings, in wich they used steel and beton. That's the castle in Marburg, in wich Lutherans and Zwinglians had their conference because of the eucharist in 1529. Castle MarburgI had no idea about that one. Thanks for the pic Church guy! I'm just kidding here cuz the word "Ecclesia" has something to do with church, right? Anywho. I can't remember if I've mentioned here the castle we have here in Guatemala that is quite famous. Has anyone heard about "Castillo de San Felipe"? I could post about it later if you wish... 3nodding Hmm, that's very interesting Mel. wink
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:09 pm
all the best fairy tales have a castle. ive heavent seen one through. but its certainly a life goal for me.
the closest old builds where i live is in PORT ARTHUR - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur,_ Tasmania and dont get me wrong its a great place. but its not a castle or anything like that. it has great ghost tour through gonk blaugh
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