Shell keep: Difference between revisions
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In English [[castle]] morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to [[motte-and-bailey]] castles, with the wooden fence around the top of the motte replaced by a stone wall. Castle engineers during the [[History of England#Norman_England|Norman]] period did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep. A common solution was to replace the [[palisade]] with a stone wall then build wooden buildings backing onto the inside of the wall. This construction was lighter than a keep and prevented the walls from being [[Mining_(military)|undermined]], meaning they could be thinner and lighter. |
In English [[castle]] morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to [[motte-and-bailey]] castles, with the wooden fence around the top of the motte replaced by a stone wall. Castle engineers during the [[History of England#Norman_England|Norman]] period did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep. A common solution was to replace the [[palisade]] with a stone wall then build wooden buildings backing onto the inside of the wall. This construction was lighter than a keep and prevented the walls from being [[Mining_(military)|undermined]], meaning they could be thinner and lighter. |
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A gazetteer compiled by archaeologist Robert Higham counted 21 shell keeps in England and Wales.{{sfn|Higham|2016|p=63}} Examples include the Round Tower at [[Windsor Castle]] and Clifford's Tower at [[York Castle]],{{sfn|Pettifer|2002|p=7}}{{sfn|Darvill|Stamper|Timby|2002|p=196}}{{sfn|Hull|2006|p=99}} and the majority were built in the 11th and 12th centuries.{{sfn|Hislop|2013|p=96}} |
A gazetteer compiled by archaeologist Robert Higham counted 21 shell keeps in England and Wales.{{sfn|Higham|2016|p=63}} Examples include the Round Tower at [[Windsor Castle]]<!-- and Clifford's Tower at [[York Castle]],-->{{sfn|Pettifer|2002|p=7}}{{sfn|Darvill|Stamper|Timby|2002|p=196}}<!--{{sfn|Hull|2006|p=99}}--> and the majority were built in the 11th and 12th centuries.{{sfn|Hislop|2013|p=96}} |
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File:Windsor Castle Round Tower.JPG|The shell keep of Windsor Castle was built by [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] and remodelled in the 19th century. |
File:Windsor Castle Round Tower.JPG|The shell keep of Windsor Castle was built by [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] and remodelled in the 19th century. |
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File:York castle exterior.jpg|[[York Castle|York Castle's]] Clifford Tower: A shell keep on a motte |
<!--File:York castle exterior.jpg|[[York Castle|York Castle's]] Clifford Tower: A shell keep on a motte--> |
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File:Clifford Mound Crosssection.jpg|A cross-section of [[York Castle|York Castle's]] shell keep and motte, produced in 1903 by Sir [[Basil Mott]]; "A" marks the 20th century concrete [[underpinning]]s of the motte; the low walls enclosing the base of the motte are a 19th-century addition. |
<!--File:Clifford Mound Crosssection.jpg|A cross-section of [[York Castle|York Castle's]] shell keep and motte, produced in 1903 by Sir [[Basil Mott]]; "A" marks the 20th century concrete [[underpinning]]s of the motte; the low walls enclosing the base of the motte are a 19th-century addition.--> |
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File:RestormelCastle.JPG|[[Restormel Castle]] built around the motte |
File:RestormelCastle.JPG|[[Restormel Castle]] built around the motte |
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File:Restormel Castle keep plan - labelled.png|Plan of Restormel Castle |
File:Restormel Castle keep plan - labelled.png|Plan of Restormel Castle |
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*{{citation |last=Higham |first=Robert |title=Shell-keeps revisited: the bailey on the motte? |publisher=Castle Studies Group |year=2016 |url=http://www.castlestudiesgroup.org.uk/Shell%20Keeps-Essay-low-resRev22a.pdf |format=PDF}} {{open access}} |
*{{citation |last=Higham |first=Robert |title=Shell-keeps revisited: the bailey on the motte? |publisher=Castle Studies Group |year=2016 |url=http://www.castlestudiesgroup.org.uk/Shell%20Keeps-Essay-low-resRev22a.pdf |format=PDF}} {{open access}} |
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*{{cite book |last1=Hislop |first1=Malcolm |title=How to read castles |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |location=London |isbn=9781472521613}} |
*{{cite book |last1=Hislop |first1=Malcolm |title=How to read castles |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |location=London |isbn=9781472521613}} |
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*{{cite book|ref=harv |last=Hull |first=Lise |year= 2006 |title=Britain's medieval castles |edition=illustrated |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-275-98414-1|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fBbNJLEWiLIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false 99]}} |
<!--*{{cite book|ref=harv |last=Hull |first=Lise |year= 2006 |title=Britain's medieval castles |edition=illustrated |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-275-98414-1|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fBbNJLEWiLIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false 99]}}--> |
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*{{cite book|ref=harv |last=Pettifer |first=Adrian |year=2002 |title=English Castles: A Guide by Counties |edition=illustrated |publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=0-85115-782-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=47iheRUGKIEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false 7]}} |
*{{cite book|ref=harv |last=Pettifer |first=Adrian |year=2002 |title=English Castles: A Guide by Counties |edition=illustrated |publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=0-85115-782-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=47iheRUGKIEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false 7]}} |
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Revision as of 14:55, 11 March 2017
A shell keep is a style of medieval fortification, best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte.
In English castle morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte-and-bailey castles, with the wooden fence around the top of the motte replaced by a stone wall. Castle engineers during the Norman period did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep. A common solution was to replace the palisade with a stone wall then build wooden buildings backing onto the inside of the wall. This construction was lighter than a keep and prevented the walls from being undermined, meaning they could be thinner and lighter.
A gazetteer compiled by archaeologist Robert Higham counted 21 shell keeps in England and Wales.[1] Examples include the Round Tower at Windsor Castle[2][3] and the majority were built in the 11th and 12th centuries.[4]
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The shell keep of Windsor Castle was built by Henry II and remodelled in the 19th century. -
Restormel Castle built around the motte -
Plan of Restormel Castle
Notes
- ^ Higham 2016, p. 63.
- ^ Pettifer 2002, p. 7.
- ^ Darvill, Stamper & Timby 2002, p. 196.
- ^ Hislop 2013, p. 96.
References
- Brown, Reginald Allen (1989). Castles from the air:Cambridge air surveys (illustrated ed.). CUP Archive. p. 52. ISBN 0-521-32932-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Darvill, Timothy; Stamper, Paul; Timby, Jane (2002). England: an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600 (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 196. ISBN 0-19-284101-7.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Higham, Robert (2016), Shell-keeps revisited: the bailey on the motte? (PDF), Castle Studies Group
- Hislop, Malcolm (2013). How to read castles. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781472521613.
- Pettifer, Adrian (2002). English Castles: A Guide by Counties (illustrated ed.). Boydell & Brewer. p. 7. ISBN 0-85115-782-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
