Hertford was one of the burgs founded by King Edward the Elder during the English re-conquest of the Danelaw.
It was no doubt soon after 1066 that William the Conqueror raised the castle beside the River Lea.
In general form, Hertford Castle resembles Berkhamsted - a motte and bailey once surrounded by a [...]
Christchurch was in the beginning called Twineham and Richard de Redvers, Earl of Devon, in all probability founded its castle in the region of 1100.
The town is noted for its priory church, a gem of Norman architecture, but close by stands the Norman House, which is as well of great interest.
This [...]
Haddon Hall stands on a bluff overlooking the River Wye, two miles southeast of Bakewell.
The situation and the embattled outline give an impression of strength from a distance, but as a castle Haddon is something of a mystery.
Its complex building history suggests a manor house, which developed defenses but has been [...]
Cockermouth Castle crowns a promontory between the rivers Derwent and Cocker.
The notorious William de Fortibus acquired the manor in 1215 and built a castle here, possibly on an older site, but Henry III ordered its destruction upon his downfall six years later.
It seems to have survived this episode but most of [...]
At the heart of this great mansion is one of England’s finest medieval manor houses.
Sir John de Pulteney, four times Lord Mayor of London, built it after he purchased the manor about 1338.
His house conforms to the usual domestic layout of the later Middle Ages, the hall being flanked on one [...]
The Tower of London and Dover Castle were the strongest castles of medieval England.
There are those who would put Dover first and London second, but this is a matter of preference.
Both castle retain their majesty in spite of extensive later mutilation.
It must be admitted that Dover makes the most of [...]
Tattershall Castle posses one of the most splendid of later medieval tower houses.
It has justly been described as the finest piece of medieval brickwork in England.
Ralph, Lord Cromwell, erected this tower in the years 1434046.
Rising over a hundred feet to the top of its corner turrets, with a view stretching [...]
Its nucleus is one of the coastal forts of Henry VIII, expanded as a result of another invasion scare in Victorian times.
The original castle was built in 1539-44 and the master mason, Thomas Bertie, later became captain of the garrison here, a curious but not uncommon reward for a castle builder.
Like [...]
Chester originated as the Roman legionary fortress of Deva.
Stone defenses first rose around AD 100 and for the next three centuries it housed the Twentieth Legion.
When the Roman occupation came to an end the site appears to have been deterred, but the Danes took refuge one winter behind the old walls [...]
Castle and cathedral have faced each other across the hilltop since Norman times.
Lincoln Castle was raised over the southwest quarter of the citadel by order of William the Conqueror in 1068.
The site had previously been densely occupied - Domesday Book tells us that 166 houses were destroyed to make way for [...]
