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Castles: Form and Function c.1000–1750

The appearance and layout of Kenilworth Castle at different times in its history

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

The first motte and bailey, Caesar's Tower, the causeway dam, John of Gaunt's great hall, the outer towers and King John's walls, the Pleasance, Dudley's additions, the slighting of 1649, what the changes reveal, and contracts, aerial photographs and drawings as evidence.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What did the first castle on the site, raised in the 1120s, look like?

Key term

Which towers defended the outer wall and the entrance from the causeway?

Numbers

Who paid for the outer stone curtain wall and the water defences, and roughly when?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did the first castle on the site, raised in the 1120s, look like?

    Model answer

    An earth-and-timber motte and bailey: a raised mound carrying a timber tower, with an enclosed courtyard of hall, stables and workshops below, ringed by a ditch and palisade.

  2. 2

    Describe the great Norman stone tower known as Caesar's Tower.

    Model answer

    A massive square keep of red sandstone with walls up to about four metres thick and square turrets clasping its corners, holding the lord's hall and private chamber.

  3. 3

    What was the broad earth causeway on the southern side of the castle, and what two purposes did it serve?

    Model answer

    It was the dam holding back the Great Mere, and it carried the main approach to the gate as well as serving later as the tiltyard where knights jousted.

  4. 4

    What made John of Gaunt's great hall one of the finest rooms in England?

    Model answer

    It was raised over a vaulted undercroft, reached by a grand porch and stair, and lit by tall windows looking out across the water.

  5. 5

    Which towers defended the outer wall and the entrance from the causeway?

    Model answer

    Mortimer's Tower guarded the gate at the causeway end, while Lunn's Tower and the Swan Tower stood out along the outer curtain wall.

  6. 6

    Who paid for the outer stone curtain wall and the water defences, and roughly when?

    Model answer

    King John, in about 1210–15, spending heavily on the outer walls, their towers and the dams that flooded the valley.

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