Herefordshire Through Time
Herefordshire Through Time
A castle was exceptional in that it was required to fulfil two roles at the same time, those of fortress and residence.
The castle was the administrative centre of the area governed by a particular baron or lord. Villages would often grow up outside the castle walls, as the castle was where subjects would pay their taxes and fines, as well as where courts of law were held.
The castle keep (main fortified building) was where much of the activity would go on. On the first floor, in the Great Hall, members of the castle staff would eat and sleep. The ground floor contained the kitchens, with the storerooms and brewery in the basement. Often the castle keep would also contain a private room (the solar) for the lord and his family, and an attached chapel for private prayer. The Baron would sit in judgment over criminal cases and land disputes in the Great Hall. The castle prison was found inside the keep, as well as the castle armoury.
Records of the 11th and 12th centuries recount dovecotes and gardens within the castle grounds and fish ponds and parks associated with castles, such as Bredwardine (HER no. 1564) and Kilpeck (HER no. 714) Castles.
When a lord was visiting one his castles the number of inhabitants of the castle would suddenly rise overnight. The lord would bring with him a variety of servants so that his stay in the castle would be in relative comfort and his every whim attended to.
There were chamberlains, ladies-in-waiting, laundresses and weavers to ensure that the lord and his family were suitably dressed for every occasion. They would travel with the lord from castle to castle.
In the kitchen were:
At banquet times there would be people employed who ensured that the castle inhabitants enjoyed themselves. These included a brewer, a vintner (wine-maker), a butler, and various jesters and minstrels, who would perform humorous acts to entertain the lord and his guests.
The main meal of the day was usually eaten around eleven in the morning and would consist of several courses, which could last perhaps several hours. The lord and his family ate a lot of meat, with game and fowl, such as pigeons and peacock. To ensure that there was enough meat to last through winter they would salt their meat in large vats to preserve it. Salt was very expensive and so this process was only really an option for the lords and barons of castles.
To take away the heavy salted taste the food was flavoured with herbs such as sweet violet, parsley, primrose and borage. Onions and garlic were also used in large amounts to disguise the salty, stale taste. The food was often served on large slices of bread, called trenchers. This was to soak up all the juices and grease of the meal. After the meal these trenchers might be given to the peasants who waited around the castle hoping for some scraps from the lord's table.
For pleasure the lord would often go hunting on the land surrounding the castle. The lord treasured his right to hunt in his forests. If anyone else was caught hunting in the lord's forests he would be severely punished, possibly having his right hand cut off or even being hanged. The lord employed huntsmen to ensure that his forests were well stocked with prey and to organise the day's hunting.
Ladies did not go hunting, although King John once bet the royal laundress that she could not keep up with the royal hunt, so she borrowed a horse and kept up with all the men, so proving the king wrong. Ladies did, however, enjoy falconry and hunting with other birds of prey. This type of hunting was considered more genteel than the fast pace of hunting on horseback. A falconer would look after the hawks, which were trained to catch rabbits and game birds.
A dog-keeper would care for the lord's hounds and train them to catch wild boar and deer. The lord would often have a favourite dog which would follow him around the castle and eat and sleep with the lord, sometimes appearing to be better treated than the men who worked for the lord.
The castle was also a business for the lord, with income and expenditure. There was a steward who was in charge of the day-to-day running of the household. It is likely that the steward was in residence all year round and did not follow the lord from castle to castle. There was also a reeve and bailiffs, who organised the estate for the lord and collected rents, taxes and fines. A treasurer would collect the rents and taxes from the tenants of the lord. They would also mete out punishments to those that did not pay or were caught committing an offence.
The final person employed in the castle was the chaplain. He would conduct the religious services in the castle chapel. Sometimes a castle might have two chapels, the main one for the servants of the castle and another for the lord and his family situated in their private chambers. The lord and lady would attend a prayer service every morning to begin the day. The chaplain was one of the few members of the castle who could read and write. He would also say the grace before each meal, thanking God for the food He had given them.
[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2002]