HST 164 Medieval Castles II: Dover and
Conwy
I. Dover Castle
- aerial view of the castle from the east
- aerial view of the castle from the northwest
- map
A. Background
1. strategically valuable site; just over 20 miles to the continent
2. probably built on the site of an iron age hillfort
- aerial view showing probable iron age earthen ramparts
3. Roman occupation
a. fort
b. harbor
c. lighthouse - Roman pharos at Dover
d. reconstructed view of the fort, harbor and both lighthouses
e. Saxon shore fort - diagram showing the placement of the fort
4. Norman occupation
a. William took Pevensey, Hastings and Dover in 1066
b. likely built a motte and bailey castle at Dover
B. Henry II (1154-89)
1. Dover was one of the Cinque Ports - MAP
(with Hastings, Sandwich, Romney and Hythe)
2. king usually departed for Normandy from Southampton
or Portsmouth [MAP]
3. the French king's visit (1179)
a. Louis VII wanted to visit Canterbury
b. Dover provided the most direct route
c. miracles had been reported at Thomas Becket's tomb
since his martyrdom in 1170
d. it becomes an important pilgrimage site
e. the king's son is ill and he wants to pray at Becket's shrine
C. Rebuilding of Dover Castle
1. begins almost immediately after Louis VII's visit
a. impressive reception for visitors to Becket's shrine
b. Henry can control pilgrim traffic and reassert his authority
2. work begins in 1180
3. Great Tower and inner curtain wall probably completed
by Henry's death in 1189 [reconstructed view]
4. the Great Tower
a. similar to the Tower of London
b. 98 x 96 feet; 84 feet tall
c. four stories, but top floor is a dummy floor
1. there is a countersunk roof
2. only 3 floors of livable space
3. cutaway reconstruction
d. fore building entrance in the eastern corner
1. stairs to a chapel
2. then stairs to a gate and drawbridge
3. then stairs to the 2nd floor landing
e. second floor
1. huge hall with vaulted ceiling
2. private chambers behind the hall
3. bedchambers, chapel, latrines
4. no fireplaces
f. first floor
1. reached by stairs from 2nd floor
2. probably for noble visitors or
members of the royal family
g. ground floor
1. reached by stair from 1st floor
2. storage rooms and a large bread oven
5. John (1199-1216)
a. outer curtain walls finished because of
the threat from France
b. Dover castle besieged by Prince Louis of France
c. the castle was held despite French efforts to
tunnel under the walls
d. but one of the towers of the north gate began
to collapse
6. Henry III (1216-72)
a. Hubert de Burgh was constable of the castle
b. he oversaw a refortification of the castle
1. rebuilt the collapsed tower of the north gate,
which was no longer an actual gate
2. built a new gate on the western side of the castle
(Constable's Gate) - aerial view
3. built outer defenses to the north
a. St. John's Tower
b. the spur
c. tunnels
d. aerial view
c. a few other internal additions
1. granary
2. windmill
3. new great hall (Arthur's Hall)
d. no major changes after this until the 18th century
II. Conwy Castle
- aerial view of the castle
- view of the castle from the west
- map
- map: close up
- map: even closer
A. Background
1. frontier castle
a. meant to control foreign subjects
b. built from scratch by Edward I between 1283-87
2. Anglo-Welsh border history
a. borders wars began in 7th and 8th c. [map]
b. Alfred was allowed to become overlord of the Welsh kings
in the 9th c. in order to protect them from the Vikings
c. later English kings used this to claim that they were
the true rulers of Wales
d. William I gave land on the border to his Norman followers
e. they conquered land in Wales, built castles and created
the March
f. the Welsh resented this and occasionally rebelled
B. Edward I
1. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd refused to pay homage to Edward
2. Edward invaded Wales in 1276
a. forced Llywelyn to agree to a peace treaty
b. started building castles in northern Wales
3. Llywelyn and the Welsh rebelled in 1282
a. Edward sent in a massive army (~8000)
b. Llywelyn killed in December, but the Welsh kept fighting
c. Edward march through northern Wales
d. controlled the Conwy Valley by 1283
4. Edward set up his Welsh headquarters at the mouth of the
River Conwy
C. Building of Conwy Castle
1. Edward decided that this was a great place for a castle
- it was surrounded by water on three sides
2. but first, he had to deal with the local abbey (Aberconwy)
a. he arranged for a new abbey to be built 8 miles upriver
b. his master mason, James of St. George, had the abbey
completed by 1284
3. work on the walls and towers of the castle began in late 1283
a. James of St. George worked his men practically non-stop
b. the walls and towers were completed by late 1284
or early 1285
4. James of St. George also built town walls between 1285-87
a. aerial view of the town and castle from the north
b. exterior view of the walls
c. reconstructed view of the castle and town from the east
d. map of the town walls
5. Conwy Castle
a. the walls and towers
1. the towers are over 30 ft in diameter, over 70 ft tall
2. the walls are up to 15 ft thick
3. northern wall and towers
b. the landward gate complex
1. outer gate had drawbridge, portcullis, massive doors
2. main gate has two towers, portcullis, massive doors
3. murder holes (machicolations)
c. the water gate
d. castle interior - plan
1. outer ward - view from above
a. great hall
b. chapel
c. kitchen
d. latrines
2. inner ward
a. gate with drawbridge
b. private chambers for king and queen
c. private chapel, kitchen
6. short history of the castle
a. Edward only stayed there once (1294-5)
b. occasionally popped up in English history
1. Richard II stayed there in 1399 during
Bolingbroke's rebellion
2. Welsh rebels took the castle in 1401
during the Glyn Dwr rebellion
c. decreased in importance and fell into disuse
1. Henry Tudor was part Welsh
2. he repealed statutes that had relegated the Welsh
to an inferior position
