The Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire, by Mike Salter
The Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire, by Mike Salter
Booklet published by Folly Publications in 1992, 56 pages. A5 size booklet (N5613)
Booklet published by Folly Publications in 1992, 56 pages. A5 size booklet (N5613)
This booklet provides a fascinating account of the castles in Warwickshire, and is illustrated throughout with lots of black and white photographs.
From the introduction: This booklet is essentially about medieval buildings in Warwickshire which illustrate the old saying that an Englishman's home is his castle. Those which are described here either had a genuine dual purpose as both fortress and private residence or were basically domestic buildings which were given features normally associated with fortifications to display the owner's rank, power, or prestige.
The concept of a privately owned fortress cum residence was little known in England prior to the invasion of William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. He established in England the feudal system in which lords held numerous units of land called manors directly from the King in return for military service. The lords kept some manors for their own use but the majority were given to knights and lesser lords, again in return for military service. The veneer of French speaking Norman lords consolidated their fragile hold on the lands inhabited by the Saxon populace by building themselves fortified residences which they called castles. Some Saxon lords remained in power, however, at least for a while. The Domesday Book of 1086, King William's inquisition into land usage and tenure, shows that Warwickshire had an abnormally high number of Saxon sub-tenants. The Bagot family are thought to be amongst these. Edwin, the Saxon Earl of Mercia, remained neutral in 1066, and was allowed to stay in power until he rebelled in 1071 and was defeated and killed.
In the spring of 1068 King William took the precaution of having several new castles erected in the Midlands, one of them being at Warwick. These castles were not structures of mortared stone for the construction of which several years of peaceful conditions and large numbers of unavailable skilled masons would have been needed. Instead they were earthworks hastily built with the aid of Saxon slave labour and surmounted by stockades and timber buildings with thatched roofs. Each comprised an enc.Loaed court called a bailey defended by a rampart, stockade, and ditch, and containing a hall, chapel, stables, barns, and workshops. At one end of the bailey was a high conical mound dominating the site and having on its summit a wooden two or three storey tower within a small palisaded court. This latter served as the lord's residence and citadel. Today we call such a citadel-cum-private suite a keep but this term is quite modern. In an era when a castle would have no other tower except perhaps for a modest structure over the gateway it was adequate for chroniclers simply to refer to the tower or the motte.
The condition of the booklet is generally very good. The cover has one or two minor scuffs, but the staple spine is tight and intact, and all pages are intact, unblemished and tightly bound. There is an old price and small price sticker on the rear side cover
Condition | New |