To many, medieval castles are the essence of Britain and Ireland's fascinating past. Immersed in history and centuries old, each one tells a story of Kings, Queens and feuding lords; war and bloody conflict; treason, revenge and murder. In Castles of Britain and Ireland, Rodney Castleden weaves a fascinating and detailed narrative of 115 of the grandest and most historically significant castles in the British Isles, including Balmoral in Scotland, Bunratty in Ireland, Caernarfon in Wales and St Michael's Mount in England. As well as the details of the construction, function, and often the destruction of these magnificent buildings, each chapter also tells the human stories behind these ancient walls, with fascinating details of everyday life within.
This text aims to bring to life every aspect of castles and castle life: why and how they were built; the weapons that were used; their social life in ordinary and extraordinary times; their provisioning; their maintenance; and their changing role in a continually evolving political climate.
Author Richard Jones takes you to 100 castles in the British Isles, from romantic ruins on sea-lashed headlands to splendid castles that have been transformed into luxury hotels.
Presents original maps, plans and archive illustrations alongside hundreds of photographs, showing ruins and surviving castles in their glory. This work includes descriptions of hundreds of special buildings, from remote ruins in isolated settings to imposing piles in towns and cities.
England, Scotland, and Wales together possess one of the largest and most impressive collections of castles anywhere in the world. Their names--Kenilworth, Edinburgh, Bodiam, Stirling, Tintagel--conjure images of romance, battles and intrigue. Trace each stage of the castles' development from Norman times through Plantagenet and Edwardian expansion, including their role in strengthening the coastline during the Tudor age, the appalling devastation suffered in the Civil War, and the gradual decay of the castle--and its renaissance.
The unforgettable silhouette of Eilean Donan Castle at the confluence of three sea lochs in the Highlands, seen against the majestic backdrop of the mountains of Kintail, is an iconic image of Scotland and of Scottish history that adorns calendars, shortbread tins and whisky bottles worldwide. Not many people realise that the castle was only built in 1932. Along with Lutyens's slightly better known Lindisfarne of 1906, and Castle Drogo of 1930, it represents the astonishing survival of a nostalgia for the middle ages well into our own lifetimes. This book is the first to investigate and illustrate the phenomenon. ÿÿThese castles were not only (relatively) modest country houses in remote and rugged areas, but some were also colossal and fabulously expensive re-creations of complete medieval complexes like Herstmonceux, Leeds, Hever, Saltwood and Allington in Kent and Sussex, specifically chosen for their proximity and ease of commuting access to London. And beyond the conventional extravagance of the millionaire (often spending the money of his American wife) there were the demented fantasies of the likes of William Randolph Hearst whose St Donat's in Wales boasted thirty bathrooms and a swimming pool with underwater lighting, and Gordon Selfridge's Hengistbury with its proposed 300 bedroom suites and a tower as high as St Paul's. ÿ Amid all these extraordinary fantasies, and the almost equally extraordinary stories associated with them, however, is a more serious narrative about the conservation and restoration of historic monuments. And, at the end of the twentieth century, when the conservation battles have been more or less resolved, again there is an almost incredible resurgence of neo-medievalism with brand-new castles being built in England, Scotland and Wales, often against substantial opposition, but undoubtedly resulting in remarkable and impressive structures. This book tells their story.
