After Roman Roads

Kings and Lords around the world built castles to protect their families from enemies.

The early ones were first built in Europe around 900 years ago, and were no more than a wooden stronghold and tower on a large mound of earth called a motte. The area inside the fence was called a bailey.

Between 1277 and 1285, King Edward 1 of England built many great castles out of stone using masons and builders with extraordinary building skills.

A master mason would draw up the plans for a castle and find men willing and able to do the work. They would move around the country, and sometimes the world, spending between seven to ten years at each castle "project".

Stone for the castle walls came from quarries nearby and men called stonecutters used picks and chisels to form the building blocks.

Carpenters built frames of poles, ramps and ladders called scaffolding as the castle's walls grew taller. And when the stone work was finished, carpenters added wooden floors, furniture and roof beams.

These builders used a mortar, or paste, made of burnt chalk, sand and water to bind the stones together. Slits in the castle walls were incorporated so that arrows could be fired at enemies and towers deliberately jutted out - known as a machicolation - so that rocks or stones could be thrown onto attackers.

Some castles in England, France and the Holy Land where the Crusades were being fought, even had secret tunnels so that noblemen could escape if they were surrounded or under siege from enemies.

The main entrance or gatehouse needed special protection. It usually had a thick wooden door and spiked gate called a portcullis and a drawbridge above a flooded moat.

The Love Of God

Not all the great building work at this time in history involved strongholds and castles.

To show their love of God, many successful townspeople gave money or helped to build their churches or cathedrals, some taking more than 100 years to complete.

Cathedral builders in particular were craftsmen. They each had a specialist skill, for example master masons or architects drew up their plans, masons carved the stone, stonecutters were paid to cut the blocks and several generations of builders would work on a single cathedral.

Other specialists were needed to create beautiful stained glass windows, sculpt the pinnacles and gargoyles and produce bells for the bell towers.

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