The later stone castles

At the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 seven castles were mentioned in Herefordshire, but it is not stretching the imagination to think that the actual number may have been far greater than this. The Domesday Survey was concerned with recording income and value, not expenditure, and castles were often classed as expenditure. In the years following 1066 Herefordshire would have had "castles" scattered across the region. These would have ranged from small mounds with simple timber towers to stone motte and bailey castles and fortified manor houses, not identified as castles until they had been given a licence to crenellate (build defensive battlements) by the King.

As stone defences became more common the wooden palisades (fences) round the tops of mottes were sometimes replaced with stone walls for added strength. These structures are now called shell keeps.

In Herefordshire stone castles were most notably built during the 13th century, with castles being constructed at Snodhill (HER no. 1557), Longtown (HER no. 1036), Lyonshall (HER no. 355), Huntington (HER no. 944) and Goodrich (HER no. 349).

The biggest problem with rectangular stone keep towers was that an enemy could undermine them quite easily. Tunnels could be dug under the corner, filled with wood and set alight, causing the foundation to give way and the tower to partially collapse. Many of the rectangular castle keeps were eventually replaced with circular ones as these were less vulnerable to undermining and damage by the enemy. The best example of a circular keep is the one at Ewyas Harold (HER no. 1499), but there are further examples at Longtown and Lyonshall.

In the earlier timber castles the gateway had been little more than a gap in the timber wall, but in the more sophisticated stone castles it became an important part of the castle's defensive system. The entrance to the castle evolved into a passage running through a tower within the curtain wall. Some castles, such as Brampton Bryan, had twin towers with the gatehouse passage running between them. This tower and passage system created an area for surveillance and enabled control of entry into the castle via the barbican (projecting watchtower) and portcullis gates.

The gatehouse was not the only defensive feature that occurred as a result of building in stone. Improvements were also made to the curtain wall. Corner towers were often added, as well as towers in the sides of the curtain wall as at Wigmore Castle (HER no. 179). These towers would give the castle a better defensive advantage over an attacking enemy.

[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2002]