Jeff Moses KSSPC1 THE CURTAIN WALL CASTLE By the start of the thirteenth century the Normans were building stronger castles which had inner and outer baileys. Keeps were replaced with towers and gatehouses.

Jeff Moses KSSPC2 Projecting towers were placed at regular intervals along the curtain walls and gave the defenders an extra field of fire. Going up the curtain walls would be arrow slits or loops. These were slots which were always widened out inside gave protection to the archers. Battlements were built around the top of the curtain wall. A good example of this can be found at Llanstephan Castle. Gateways were built with towers each side of the entrance. These were protected by an iron gate - the portcullis.

Jeff Moses KSSPC3 The Marcher Lords gradually occupied the Welsh valley and the heart of Wales. By the reign of Edward I ( ), only Gwynedd was still resisting Norman domination. The ruler of Gwynedd, Llewellyn missed Edward’s coronation ceremony and refused to renew his homage. D To secure his grasp on Wales, Edward built castles around the fringes of Snowdonia. Powerful fortresses were built at Conway, Caernarvon, Harlech and Beaumaris. These new concentric castles were built with up to three rings of defending walls, portcullises, projecting towers and moats. In South Wales the Norman baron Gilbert de Clare built an enormous new castle at Caerphilly. In 1277 Edward declared war and led an army along the north coast of Wales. The Welsh prince withdrew to the mountains around Snowdon, but Edward’s fleet cut off his food supplies and starved him into surrender. In 1282, Llewelyn and his brother David rose in revolt. The King now decided to destroy the troublesome Welsh once and for all. Both Welsh princes were killed and Llewellyn’s head sent in triumph to London and fixed on a pole above the Tower.

Jeff Moses KSSPC4 CAERPHILLY CASTLE Large-scale use of water for defence Projecting towers and fortified portcullises All five of Edward I’s greatest castles could be contained within the vast limits of Caerphilly.

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6 DOLWYDDELAN CASTLE

Jeff Moses KSSPC7 In our region, we have several castles that have concentric features: Kidwelly, Carreg Cennen and Dryslwyn were all originally Welsh castles, built by Lord Rhys, as outposts to his castle at Dinefwr. When the Normans completed their conquest of Wales in the second half of the thirteenth century, their defences were strengthened. However, imposing castles such as Carreg Cennen positioned on a sheer cliff rising 100 metres over the valley, made the full concentric idea both needless and, in any case, impossible to realise.

Jeff Moses KSSPC8 KEY SKILLS PROBLEM SOLVING ASSIGNMENT The Brief: Castles had to be built in the best possible place. Investigate and explain how the builders of all three castles you have studied used location and design to maximum effect. Things to consider:  Access to building materials  Use of natural surroundings  Water  Travel/access  Invention and innovation  Scale and size