243-607: The Device Forts , also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses , were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and Wales by Henry VIII . Traditionally, the Crown had left coastal defences in the hands of local lords and communities but the threat of French and Spanish invasion led the King to issue an order, called a "device", for a major programme of work between 1539 and 1547. The fortifications ranged from large stone castles positioned to protect
486-524: A circular bastion overlooking the sea. Southsea Castle and Sharpenode Fort had similar, angular bastions. Yarmouth Castle, finished by 1547, was the first fortification in England to adopt the new arrow-headed bastion design, which had further advantages over a simple angular bastion. Not all the forts in the second wave of work embraced the Italian approach however, and some, such as Brownsea Castle, retained
729-529: A consequence of the centralising of royal authority in the 12th century. Prior to the 1120s there is very little evidence of castles having existed in Scotland, which had remained less politically centralised than in England with the north still ruled by the kings of Norway . David I of Scotland spent time at the court of Henry I in the south, until he became the Earl of Huntingdon , and returned to Scotland with
972-500: A core, with the first drilled bore ordnance recorded in operation near Seville in 1247. They fired lead, iron, or stone balls, sometimes large arrows and on occasions simply handfuls of whatever scrap came to hand. During the Hundred Years' War , these weapons became more common, initially as the bombard and later the cannon . Cannons were always muzzle-loaders . While there were many early attempts at breech-loading designs,
1215-410: A cost to the Crown of £2,208. Although most garrisons were paid for by the Crown, in some cases the local community also had a role; at Brownsea, the local town was responsible for providing a garrison of 6 men, and at Sandsfoot the village took up the responsibility for supporting the castle garrison, in exchange for an exemption from paying taxes and carrying out militia service. The artillery guns in
1458-550: A dispute over the control of the defences, and Netley being abandoned to fall into ruin. Concerns about the Dutch threat were intensified after an unexpected naval raid along the Thames in 1667, during which Gravesend and Tilbury prevented the attack reaching the capital itself. In response, Charles made extensive improvements to his coastal defences. As part of this investments were made to Pendennis, Southsea and Yarmouth, while Tilbury
1701-408: A field carriage, immobility once emplaced, highly individual design, and noted unreliability (in 1460 James II , King of Scots, was killed when one exploded at the siege of Roxburgh). Their large size precluded the barrels being cast and they were constructed out of metal staves or rods bound together with hoops like a barrel, giving their name to the gun barrel . The use of the word "cannon" marks
1944-509: A final invasion of the remaining native Welsh strongholds in North Wales, intending to establish his rule over the region on a permanent basis. As part of this occupation he instructed his leading nobles to construct eight new castles across the region; Aberystwyth and Builth in mid-Wales and Beaumaris , Conwy , Caernarfon , Flint , Harlech and Rhuddlan Castle in North Wales. Historian R. Allen Brown has described these as "amongst
2187-655: A force 1,500 Flemish mercenaries in support of the revolt, but a shortage of money forced their return to the Continent. The fleet, under the command of Prince Charles , attempted to landed a fresh force in August, but despite three attempts the operation failed and suffered heavy losses. Deal surrendered on 25 August, followed by Sandown on 5 September. Unlike many castles, the Device Forts avoided being slighted – deliberately damaged or destroyed – by Parliament during
2430-654: A force under the command of Colonel Rich to deal with the castles of the Downs. Walmer Castle was the first to be besieged and surrendered on 12 July. An earthwork fort was then built between Sandown and Deal, who each may have been defended by around 150 men each. Deal, which had been resupplied by the Royalists from the sea, was besieged in July. A Royalist fleet bombarded the Parliamentary positions and temporarily landed
2673-480: A gap in the Kentish cliffs was guarded by Sandgate Castle . In many cases temporary bulwarks for artillery batteries were built in during the initial stages of the work, ahead of the main stonework being completed. The Thames estuary leading out of London, through which 80 percent of England's exports passed, was protected with a mutually reinforcing network of blockhouses at Gravesend , Milton , and Higham on
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#17327801753182916-521: A hollow iron ball filled with pitch and fuse, designed to be fired at close range and burst on contact. The most popular in Portuguese arsenals was the berço , a 5 cm, one pounder bronze breech-loading cannon that weighted 150 kg with an effective range of 600 meters. A tactical innovation the Portuguese introduced in fort defense was the use of combinations of projectiles against massed assaults. Although canister shot had been developed in
3159-410: A keep's walls could usually only be raised by a maximum of 12 feet (3.7 metres) a year, the keep at Scarborough was typical in taking ten years to build. Norman stone keeps played both a military and a political role. Most of the keeps were physically extremely robust and, while they were not designed as an intended location for the final defence of a castle, they were often placed near weak points in
3402-478: A lack of engineering knowledge rendered these even more dangerous to use than muzzle-loaders. In 1415, the Portuguese invaded the Mediterranean port town of Ceuta . While it is difficult to confirm the use of firearms in the siege of the city, it is known the Portuguese defended it thereafter with firearms, namely bombardas , colebratas , and falconetes . In 1419, Sultan Abu Sa'id led an army to reconquer
3645-564: A limited role during the Wars of the Roses and, when Henry VII invaded and seized the throne in 1485, he had not needed to besiege any castles or towns during the campaign. Henry rapidly consolidated his rule at home and had few reasons to fear an external invasion from the continent; he invested little in coastal defences over the course of his reign. Modest fortifications existed along the coasts, based around simple blockhouses and towers, primarily in
3888-412: A major programme of work that would continue until 1547. The order was known as a "device", which meant a documented plan, instruction or schema, leading to the fortifications later becoming known as the "Device Forts". The initial instructions for the "defence of the realm in time of invasion" concerned building forts along the southern coastline of England, as well as making improvements to the defences of
4131-637: A major, radical programme of work; the historian Marcus Merriman describes it as "one of the largest construction programmes in Britain since the Romans", Brian St John O'Neil as the only "scheme of comprehensive coastal defence ever attempted in England before modern times", while Cathcart King likened it to the Edwardian castle building programme in North Wales . Although some of the fortifications are titled as castles, historians typically distinguish between
4374-475: A mid-19th-century 12-pounder gun , which fired a 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) round, with a kinetic energy of 240 kilojoules, or a 20th-century US battleship that fired a 1,225 kg (2,701 lb) projectile from its main battery with an energy level surpassing 350 megajoules . From the Middle Ages through most of the modern era , artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages . In
4617-532: A mixture of brass and iron artillery guns. Guns made of brass could fire more quickly—up to eight times an hour—and were safer to use than their iron equivalents, but were expensive and required imported copper (tin could be sourced from Cornwall and Devon ). In the 1530s Henry had established a new English gun-making industry in the Weald of Kent and London, staffed by specialists from mainland Europe. This could make cast-iron weapons, but probably initially lacked
4860-497: A prelude to a decisive infantry and cavalry assault. Physically, cannons continued to become smaller and lighter. During the Seven Years War, King Frederick II of Prussia used these advances to deploy horse artillery that could move throughout the battlefield. Frederick also introduced the reversible iron ramrod, which was much more resistant to breakage than older wooden designs. The reversibility aspect also helped increase
5103-407: A significant drain on the country's national labour force. The total financial cost cannot be calculated with certainty, but estimates suggest that Edward's castle building programme cost at least £80,000 – four times the total royal expenditure on castles between 1154 and 1189. The Edwardian castles also made strong symbolic statements about the nature of the new occupation. For example, Caernarvon
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#17327801753185346-404: A single great hall, with privacy for the owner's family provided by using an upper floor for their own living accommodation. By the 14th century nobles were travelling less, bringing much larger households with them when they did travel and entertaining visitors with equally large retinues. Castles such as Goodrich were redesigned in the 1320s to provide greater residential privacy and comfort for
5589-565: A sixth of all rounds used by the Portuguese in Morocco were of the fused-shell variety. The new Ming Dynasty established the "Divine Engine Battalion" (神机营), which specialized in various types of artillery. Light cannons and cannons with multiple volleys were developed. In a campaign to suppress a local minority rebellion near today's Burmese border, "the Ming army used a 3-line method of arquebuses/muskets to destroy an elephant formation". When
5832-475: A small number of castles built in England during the 1050s, by Norman knights in the service of Edward the Confessor . These include Hereford , Clavering , Richard's Castle and possibly Ewyas Harold Castle and Dover . William , Duke of Normandy , invaded England in 1066 and one of his first actions after landing was to build Hastings Castle to protect his supply routes. Following their victory at
6075-565: A strong integrating effect on emerging nation-states, as kings were able to use their newfound artillery superiority to force any local dukes or lords to submit to their will, setting the stage for the absolutist kingdoms to come. Modern rocket artillery can trace its heritage back to the Mysorean rockets of Mysore . Their first recorded use was in 1780 during the battles of the Second , Third and Fourth Mysore Wars . The wars fought between
6318-400: A suite of small rooms, might be built within the castle to allow the result to be properly appreciated, or a viewing point constructed outside. At Leeds Castle the redesigned castle of the 1280s was placed within a large water garden, while at Ravensworth at the end of the 14th century an artificial lake was enclosed by a park to produce an aesthetically and symbolically pleasing entrance to
6561-472: A three-day long naval battle between English and Dutch forces in the Portland Roads. Some sites fell out of use: Little Dennis Blockhouse – part of the complex of defences at Pendennis – and Mersea were decommissioned between 1654 and 1655, and Brownsea Castle was sold off into private hands. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and reduced both the size and the wages of the garrisons across
6804-542: A total of seven fortifications constructed, three in Harwich itself, three protecting the estuary leading to the town, and two protecting the estuary linking into Colchester. St Andrew's Castle was begun to further protect the Solent. The work was undertaken rapidly, and 24 sites were completed and garrisoned by the end of 1540, with almost all of the rest finished by the end of 1543. By the time they were completed, however,
7047-495: A tradition of drawing on expert foreign engineers for military engineering; Italians were particularly sought after, as their home country was felt to be generally more technically advanced, particularly in the field of fortifications. One of these foreign engineers, Stefan von Haschenperg from Moravia , worked on Camber, Pendennis, Sandgate and St Mawes, apparently attempting to reproduce Italian designs, although his lack of personal knowledge of such fortifications impacted poorly on
7290-690: A turbulent period in which the rival factions of King Stephen and the Empress Matilda struggled for power. Open battles were relatively rare during the war, with campaigns instead centred on a sequence of raids and sieges as commanders attempted to gain control over the vital castles that controlled the territory in the rival regions. Siege technology during the Anarchy centred on basic stone-throwing machines such as ballistae and mangonels , supported by siege towers and mining , combined with blockade and, occasionally, direct assault. The phase of
7533-563: A type of ringfort , some of which were very heavily defended but which are not usually considered to be castles in the usual sense of the word. The kings of Connacht constructed fortifications from 1124 which they called caistel or caislen , from the Latin and French for castle, and there has been considerable academic debate over how far these resembled European castles. The Norman invasion of Ireland began between 1166 and 1171, under first Richard de Clare and then Henry II of England, with
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7776-474: A wooden hall with a wall enclosing various domestic buildings along with an entrance tower called a burh-geat , which was apparently used for ceremonial purposes. Although rural burhs were relatively secure their role was primarily ceremonial and they too are not normally classed as castles. The presence of castles in Britain and Ireland dates primarily from the Norman invasion of 1066 . There were, however,
8019-431: A wooden rampart; Folkestone Castle is a good example of a Norman ring work, in this case built on top of a hill although most post-invasion castles were usually sited on lower ground. Around 80 per cent of Norman castles in this period followed the motte-and-bailey pattern, but ring works were particularly popular in certain areas, such as south-west England and south Wales. One theory put forward to explain this variation
8262-421: Is a widely used generic term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions . By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines. In some armies, the artillery arm has operated field , coastal , anti-aircraft , and anti-tank artillery; in others these have been separate arms, and with some nations coastal has been a naval or marine responsibility. In
8505-538: Is that ringworks were easier to build in these shallow-soil areas than the larger mottes. The White Tower in London and the keep of Colchester Castle were the only stone castles to be built in England immediately after the conquest, both with the characteristic square Norman keep . Both these castles were built in the Romanesque style and were intended to impress as well as provide military protection. In Wales
8748-783: The British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore in India made use of the rockets as a weapon. In the Battle of Pollilur , the Siege of Seringapatam (1792) and in Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British. After the wars, several Mysore rockets were sent to England, but experiments with heavier payloads were unsuccessful. In 1804 William Congreve, considering
8991-523: The Latin word castellum and is used to refer to the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. The term tends not to be used for buildings earlier than the 11th century, but such defensive structures are known to have existed before the Norman conquest. A lack of archaeological evidence for timber buildings has tended to disguise the extent of castle-building throughout Europe prior to 1066, and many of
9234-641: The Master of Ordnance , and James Nedeham , the Surveyor of the King's Works , led on the defences along the Thames. The efforts of the Hampton Court Palace architectural team, under the leadership of the Augustinian canon, Richard Benese , contributed to the high-quality construction and detailing seen in many of Henry's Device projects. Henry himself took a close interest in the design of
9477-924: The Napoleonic Wars , the industrialist William Armstrong was awarded a contract by the government to design a new piece of artillery. Production started in 1855 at the Elswick Ordnance Company and the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich , and the outcome was the revolutionary Armstrong Gun , which marked the birth of modern artillery. Three of its features particularly stand out. Castles in Great Britain and Ireland#Decline of English castles Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following
9720-664: The Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050s, the Normans began to build motte and bailey and ringwork castles in large numbers to control their newly occupied territories in England and the Welsh Marches . During the 12th century the Normans began to build more castles in stone – with characteristic square keep – that played both military and political roles. Royal castles were used to control key towns and
9963-485: The Norman invasion of Ireland in the 1170s, under Henry II , castles were established there too. Castles continued to grow in military sophistication and comfort during the 12th century, leading to a sharp increase in the complexity and length of sieges in England. While in Ireland and Wales castle architecture continued to follow that of England, after the death of Alexander III the trend in Scotland moved away from
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10206-525: The Percies and the Nevilles , encouraged a surge in castle building at the end of the 14th century. Palace-fortresses such as Raby , Bolton and Warkworth Castle took the quadrangular castle styles of the south and combined them with exceptionally large key towers or keeps to form a distinctive northern style. Built by major noble houses these castles were typically even more opulent than those built by
10449-482: The Second Barons' War , was larger and longer still. Extensive water defences withstood the attack of the future Edward I , despite the prince targeting the weaker parts of the castle walls, employing huge siege towers and attempting a night attack using barges brought from Chester . The costs of the siege exhausted the revenues of ten English counties. Sieges in Scotland were initially smaller in scale, with
10692-553: The Tower of London were used to import, store and distribute royal wines. The English royal castles also became used as gaols – the Assize of Clarendon in 1166 insisted that royal sheriffs establish their own gaols and, in the coming years, county gaols were placed in all the shrieval royal castles. Conditions in these gaols were poor and claims of poor treatment and starvation were common; Northampton Castle appears to have seen some of
10935-432: The battle of Hastings the Normans began three phases of castle building. The first of these was the establishment, by the new king, of a number of royal castles in key strategic locations. This royal castle programme focused on controlling the towns and cities of England and the associated lines of communication, including Cambridge , Huntingdon , Lincoln , Norwich , Nottingham , Wallingford , Warwick and York . Of
11178-594: The black powder smoke generated by the guns. Moats often surrounded the sites, to protect against any attack from land, and they were further protected by what the historian B. Morley describes as the "defensive paraphernalia developed in the Middle Ages": portcullises, murder holes and reinforced doors. The smaller blockhouses took various forms, including D-shapes, octagonal and square designs. The Thames blockhouses were typically protected on either side by additional earthworks and guns. These new fortifications were
11421-467: The burhs or halls of local nobles, and might be constructed so as to imitate aspects of the previous buildings – such as the gatehouse at Rougemont Castle in Exeter , which closely resembled the previous Anglo-Saxon burh tower – this was probably done to demonstrate to the local population that they now answered to their new Norman rulers. The second and third waves of castle building were led by
11664-407: The catapult , onager , trebuchet , and ballista , are also referred to by military historians as artillery. During medieval times, more types of artillery were developed, most notably the counterweight trebuchet. Traction trebuchets, using manpower to launch projectiles, have been used in ancient China since the 4th century as anti-personnel weapons. The much more powerful counterweight trebuchet
11907-536: The contemporary era , artillery pieces and their crew relied on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation. These land versions of artillery were dwarfed by railway guns ; the largest of these large-calibre guns ever conceived – Project Babylon of the Supergun affair – was theoretically capable of putting a satellite into orbit . Artillery used by naval forces has also changed significantly, with missiles generally replacing guns in surface warfare . Over
12150-525: The nouveau riche of the south. They marked what historian Anthony Emery has described as a "second peak of castle building in England and Wales", after the Edwardian designs at the end of the 14th century. Early gunpowder weapons were introduced to England from the 1320s onwards and began to appear in Scotland by the 1330s. By the 1340s the English Crown was regularly spending money on them and
12393-616: The siege of Constantinople in 1453 weighed 19 tons , took 200 men and sixty oxen to emplace, and could fire just seven times a day. The Fall of Constantinople was perhaps "the first event of supreme importance whose result was determined by the use of artillery" when the huge bronze cannons of Mehmed II breached the city's walls, ending the Byzantine Empire , according to Sir Charles Oman . Bombards developed in Europe were massive smoothbore weapons distinguished by their lack of
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#173278017531812636-483: The widespread civil and religious conflicts across the British Isles during the 1640s and 1650s, castles played a key role in England. Modern defences were quickly built alongside existing medieval fortifications and, in many cases, castles successfully withstood more than one siege. In Ireland the introduction of heavy siege artillery by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 brought a rapid end to the utility of castles in
12879-530: The 12th century, but remained an ongoing threat to the remaining native rulers. In response the Welsh princes and lords began to build their own castles, usually in wood. There are indications that this may have begun from 1111 onwards under Prince Cadwgan ap Bleddyn with the first documentary evidence of a native Welsh castle being at Cymmer in 1116. These timber castles, including Tomen y Rhodwydd, Tomen y Faerdre and Gaer Penrhôs , were of equivalent quality to
13122-484: The 1380s possessed a moat, towers and gunports but, rather than being a genuine military fortification, the castle was primarily intended to be admired by visitors and used as a luxurious dwelling – the chivalric architecture implicitly invoking comparisons with Edward I's great castle at Beaumaris . In the north of England improvements in the security of the Scottish border, and the rise of major noble families such as
13365-412: The 13th century and saw some limited use during Edward I's occupation of Scotland in the early 14th century. The remaining English castles became increasingly comfortable. Their interiors were often painted and decorated with tapestries , which would be transported from castle to castle as nobles travelled around the country. There were an increasing number of garderobes built inside castles, while in
13608-549: The 13th century, although the deteriorating Irish economy of the 14th century brought this wave of building to an end. In Scotland Alexander II and Alexander III undertook a number of castle building projects in the modern style, although Alexander III's early death sparked conflict in Scotland and English intervention under Edward I in 1296. In the ensuing wars of Scottish Independence castle building in Scotland altered path, turning away from building larger, more conventional castles with curtain walls. The Scots instead adopted
13851-417: The 1540s, although they later declined quickly in popularity, and these, along with the polearms, would have been used by the local militia when they were called out in a crisis. After Henry's death there was a pause in the conflict with France, during which many of the new fortifications were allowed to deteriorate. There was little money available for repairs and the garrisons were reduced in size. East Cowes
14094-523: The 1540s; they were important military specialists, and the historians Audrey Howes and Martin Foreman observe that "an air of mystery and danger" surrounded them. The rates of pay across the defences were recorded in 1540, showing that the typical pay of the garrisons was 1 or 2 shillings a day for a captain; his deputy, 8 pence; porters, 8 pence; with soldiers and gunners receiving 6 pence each. In total, 2,220 men were recorded as receiving pay that year, at
14337-415: The 15th century only a few were maintained for defensive purposes. A small number of castles in England and Scotland were developed into Renaissance Era palaces that hosted lavish feasts and celebrations amid their elaborate architecture. Such structures were, however, beyond the means of all but royalty and the richest of the late-medieval barons. Although gunpowder weapons were used to defend castles from
14580-442: The 15th century. The development of specialized pieces—shipboard artillery, howitzers and mortars —was also begun in this period. More esoteric designs, like the multi-barrel ribauldequin (known as "organ guns"), were also produced. The 1650 book by Kazimierz Siemienowicz Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima was one of the most important contemporary publications on the subject of artillery. For over two centuries this work
14823-430: The 1620s. Civil war broke out across England in 1642 between the supporters of King Charles I and Parliament . Fortifications and artillery played an important role in the conflict, and most of the Device Forts saw service. The south and east of England were soon largely controlled by Parliament. The blockhouses at Gravesend and Tilbury were garrisoned by Parliament and used to control access to London. The castles along
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#173278017531815066-551: The 16th century unequalled by contemporary European neighbours, in part due to the experience gained in intense fighting in Morocco, which served as a proving ground for artillery and its practical application, and made Portugal a forerunner in gunnery for decades. During the reign of King Manuel (1495–1521) at least 2017 cannon were sent to Morocco for garrison defense, with more than 3000 cannon estimated to have been required during that 26-year period. An especially noticeable division between siege guns and anti-personnel guns enhanced
15309-440: The 16th century, cannon were largely (though not entirely) displaced from the battlefield—the cannon were too slow and cumbersome to be used and too easily lost to a rapid enemy advance. The combining of shot and powder into a single unit, a cartridge, occurred in the 1620s with a simple fabric bag, and was quickly adopted by all nations. It speeded loading and made it safer, but unexpelled bag fragments were an additional fouling in
15552-452: The 1880s. This spurred fresh investment in those Device Forts still thought to be militarily valuable, and encouraged the decommissioning of others. By 1900, however, developments in guns and armour had made most of the Device Forts that remained in service simply too small to be practical in modern coastal defence. Despite being brought back into use during the First and Second World Wars , by
15795-413: The 18th century, many of the Device Forts were modernised and rearmed during the Napoleonic Wars , until peace was declared in 1815. Fears over a possible French invasion resurfaced several times in the 19th century, combined with rapid changes in technology, such as the development of steamships and shell guns in the 1840s, rifled cannon and iron-clad warships in the 1850s, and torpedo boats in
16038-454: The 1950s the fortifications were finally considered redundant and decommissioned for good. Coastal erosion over the centuries had taken its toll and some sites had been extensively damaged or completely destroyed. Many were restored, however, and opened to the public as tourist attractions. The Device Forts emerged as a result of changes in English military architecture and foreign policy in
16281-431: The 20th century, target acquisition devices (such as radar) and techniques (such as sound ranging and flash spotting ) emerged, primarily for artillery. These are usually utilized by one or more of the artillery arms. The widespread adoption of indirect fire in the early 20th century introduced the need for specialist data for field artillery, notably survey and meteorological, and in some armies, provision of these are
16524-473: The Anglo-Norman lords. According to chronicler William of Newburgh royal castles formed the "bones of the kingdom". A number of royal castles were also designated as shrieval castles, forming the administrative hub for a particular county – for example Winchester Castle served as the centre of Hampshire . These castles formed a base for the royal sheriff , responsible for enforcing royal justice in
16767-472: The Anglo-Normans. Other castles, such as Trim and Carrickfergus , were built in stone as the caput centres for major barons. Analysis of these stone castles suggests that building in stone was not simply a military decision; indeed, several of the castles contain serious defensive flaws. Instead the designs, including their focus on large stone keeps, were intended both to increase the prestige of
17010-453: The British Isles are safeguarded by legislation. Primarily used as tourist attractions , castles form a key part of the national heritage industry . Historians and archaeologists continue to develop our understanding of British castles, while vigorous academic debates in recent years have questioned the interpretation of physical and documentary material surrounding their original construction and use. The English word " castle " derives from
17253-631: The Channel and arrived off the Solent with 200 ships on 19 July. Henry's fleet made a brief sortie, before retreating safely behind the protective fortifications. Annebault landed a force near Newhaven , during which Camber Castle may have fired on the French fleet, and on 23 July they landed four detachments on the Isle of Wight, including a party that took the site of Sandown Castle, which was still under construction. The French expedition moved further on along
17496-758: The Crown's possessions , detailing the weapons held by all of the forts. The number of guns varied considerably from site to site; in the late 1540s, heavily armed forts such as Hurst and Calshot held 26 and 36 guns respectively; Portland, however, had only 11 pieces. Some forts had more guns than the level of their regular, peacetime garrison; for example, despite only having an establishment of 13 men, Milton Blockhouse had 30 artillery pieces. A variety of artillery guns were deployed, including heavier weapons, such as cannons , culverins and demi-cannons , and smaller pieces such as sakers , minions and falcons . Some older guns, for example slings and bases , were also deployed, but were less effective than newer weapons such as
17739-541: The Detachment Commander, and the highest number being the Coverer, the second-in-command. "Gunner" is also the lowest rank, and junior non-commissioned officers are "Bombardiers" in some artillery arms. Batteries are roughly equivalent to a company in the infantry, and are combined into larger military organizations for administrative and operational purposes, either battalions or regiments, depending on
17982-481: The Device Forts saw almost no action before peace was declared in 1546. Some of the defences were left to deteriorate and were decommissioned only a few years after their construction. After war broke out with Spain in 1569, Elizabeth I improved many of the remaining fortifications, including during the attack of the Spanish Armada of 1588. By the end of the century, the defences were badly out of date and for
18225-526: The Device Forts were designed and built by teams of English engineers. The master mason John Rogers was brought back from his work in France and worked on the Hull defences, while Sir Richard Lee , another of the King's engineers from his French campaigns, may have been involved in the construction of Sandown and Southsea; the pair were paid the substantial sums of £30 and £36 a year respectively. Sir Richard Morris,
18468-442: The Device Forts were neglected and fell into disrepair, with their garrisons' wages left unpaid. Castles such as Deal and blockhouses like Gravesend were all assessed as needing extensive repairs, with Sandgate reported to be in such a poor condition that "neither habitable or defensible against any assault, nor any way fit to command the roads". Lacking ammunition and powder, and with only a handful of its guns in adequate repair, Hurst
18711-460: The Device forts were the property of the Crown and were centrally managed by the authorities in the Tower of London . The Tower moved them between the various fortifications as they felt necessary, often resulting in complaints from the local captains. Various surviving records record the armaments held by individual forts on particular dates, and between 1547 and 1548 a complete inventory was made of
18954-575: The Downs anchorage in Kent , to small blockhouses overlooking the entrance to Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire , and earthwork bulwarks along the Essex coast. Some forts operated independently, others were designed to be mutually reinforcing. The Device programme was hugely expensive, costing a total of £376,000 (estimated as between £2 and £82 billion in today's money); much of this was raised from
19197-723: The Downs in east Kent, an anchorage which gave access to Deal Beach and on which an invasion force of enemy soldiers could easily be landed. These defences, known as the castles of the Downs, were supported by a line of four earthwork forts, known as the Great Turf Bulwark , the Little Turf Bulwark , the Great White Bulwark of Clay and the Walmer Bulwark , and a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) long defensive ditch and bank. The route inland through
19440-572: The Downs against a feared Irish invasion which never materialised. Southsea Castle was held by the King's illegitimate son, James FitzJames , the Duke of Berwick , who was pressurised into surrendering as his father's cause collapsed. Yarmouth was controlled by Robert Holmes , a supporter of James, but was prevented from actively supporting the loyalist cause by the local inhabitants and his garrison, who sided with William. Artillery Artillery are ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond
19683-453: The Empire were in conflict with one another, raids along the English coast might still be common, but a full-scale invasion seemed unlikely. Indeed, traditionally the Crown had left coastal defences to local lords and communities, only taking a modest role in building and maintaining fortifications. Initially, therefore, Henry took little interest in his coastal defences; he declared reviews of
19926-521: The English-held towns of Jargeau, Meung, and Beaugency, all with the support of large artillery units. When she led the assault on Paris, Joan faced stiff artillery fire, especially from the suburb of St. Denis, which ultimately led to her defeat in this battle. In April 1430, she went to battle against the Burgundians, whose support was purchased by the English. At this time, the Burgundians had
20169-684: The Javanese were considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it. In 1513, the Javanese fleet led by Pati Unus sailed to attack Portuguese Malacca "with much artillery made in Java, for the Javanese are skilled in founding and casting, and in all works in iron , over and above what they have in India ". By the early 16th century, the Javanese had already started locally-producing large guns, which were dubbed "sacred cannon[s]" or "holy cannon[s]" and have survived up to
20412-569: The King, and the Dorset forts were besieged in 1644 and 1645, with Sandsfoot falling to Parliament. By March 1646, Thomas Fairfax had entered Cornwall with a substantial army. The captain of the castle was invited to retreat to the stronger fortress of Pendennis, but he surrendered immediately without putting up resistance. Pendennis was bombarded from the land and blockaded by a flotilla of ships. The captain, Sir John Arundell , agreed to an honourable surrender on 15 August, and around 900 survivors left
20655-489: The Marches. Square keeps remained common across much of England in contrast to the circular keeps increasingly prevailing in France; in the Marches, however, circular keep designs became more popular. Castles began to take on a more regular, enclosed shape, ideally quadrilateral or at least polygonal in design, especially in the more prosperous south. Flanking towers, initially square and latterly curved, were introduced along
20898-653: The Mysorian rockets to have too short a range (less than 1,000 yards) developed rockets in numerous sizes with ranges up to 3,000 yards and eventually utilizing iron casing as the Congreve rocket which were used effectively during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 . With the Napoleonic Wars, artillery experienced changes in both physical design and operation. Rather than being overseen by "mechanics", artillery
21141-437: The Norman fortifications in the area and it can prove difficult to distinguish the builders of some sites from the archaeological evidence alone. At the end of the 12th century the Welsh rulers began to build castles in stone, primarily in the principality of North Wales. Ireland remained ruled by native kings into the 12th century, largely without the use of castles. There was a history of Irish fortifications called ráths ,
21384-479: The Norman nobility across England and the Marches lacked a grand strategic plan, reflecting local circumstances such as military factors and the layout of existing estates and church lands. Castles were often situated along the old Roman roads that still formed the backbone for travel across the country, both to control the lines of communication and to ensure easy movement between different estates. Many castles were built close to inland river ports and those built on
21627-474: The Pope encouraged the two countries to attack England. An invasion of England now appeared certain; that summer Henry made a personal inspection of some of his coastal defences, which had recently been mapped and surveyed: he appeared determined to make substantial, urgent improvements. Henry VIII gave instructions through Parliament in 1539 that new defences were to be built along the coasts of England, beginning
21870-525: The Portuguese and Spanish arrived at Southeast Asia, they found that the local kingdoms were already using cannons. Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised and even outgunned on occasion. Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 said that the inhabitants of Java were great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They made many one-pounder cannons (cetbang or rentaka ), long muskets, spingarde (arquebus), schioppi (hand cannon), Greek fire , guns (cannons), and other fire-works. In all aspects
22113-549: The Second World War. Other castles were used as county gaols , until parliamentary legislation in the 19th closed most of them down. For a period in the early 18th century, castles were shunned in favour of Palladian architecture , until they re-emerged as an important cultural and social feature of England, Wales and Scotland and were frequently "improved" during the 18th and 19th centuries. Such renovations raised concerns over their protection so that today castles across
22356-820: The Solent , which led into the trading port of Southampton . The Portland Roads anchorage in Dorset was protected with new castles at Portland and Sandsfoot , and work began on two blockhouses to protect the Milford Haven Waterway in Pembrokeshire. In 1540 additional work was ordered to defend Cornwall . Carrick Roads was an important anchorage at the mouth of the River Fal and the original plans involved constructing five new fortifications to protect it, although only two castles, Pendennis and St Mawes , were actually built, on opposite sides of
22599-458: The Sussex and Kentish coastline were seized by Parliament in the opening phase of the war, Camber Castle then being decommissioned to prevent it being used by the enemy, the remainder continuing to be garrisoned. The royal fleet, which had been positioned in the Downs anchorage, sided with Parliament. The Device Forts along the Solent also fell into Parliamentary hands early in the conflict. Calshot
22842-566: The Tower of London and the 15,366 pound (6,970 kilo) heavy Mons Meg bombard was installed at Edinburgh Castle . Early cannons had only a limited range and were unreliable; in addition early stone cannonballs were relatively ineffective when fired at stone castle walls. As a result, early cannon proved most useful for defence, particularly against infantry assaults or to fire at the crews of enemy trebuchets. Indeed, early cannons could be quite dangerous to their own soldiers; James II of Scotland
23085-423: The Welsh border respectively. In these areas a baron's castles were clustered relatively tightly together, but in most of England the nobles' estates, and therefore their castles, were more widely dispersed. As the Normans pushed on into South Wales they advanced up the valleys building castles as they went and often using the larger castles of the neighbouring earldoms as a base. As a result, castle building by
23328-471: The alliance between Charles and Francis had collapsed and the threat of imminent invasion was over. Henry moved back onto the offensive in Europe in 1543, allying himself with Spain against France once again. Despite Henry's initial successes around Boulogne in northern France, King Charles and Francis made peace in 1544, leaving England exposed to an invasion by France, backed by her allies in Scotland. In response Henry issued another device in 1544 to improve
23571-530: The army. These may be grouped into brigades; the Russian army also groups some brigades into artillery divisions, and the People's Liberation Army has artillery corps. The term "artillery" also designates a combat arm of most military services when used organizationally to describe units and formations of the national armed forces that operate the weapons. During military operations , field artillery has
23814-504: The baronial owners and to provide adequate space for the administrative apparatus of the new territories. Unlike in Wales the indigenous Irish lords do not appear to have constructed their own castles in any significant number during the period. Castle design in Britain continued to change towards the end of the 12th century. After Henry II mottes ceased to be built in most of England, although they continued to be erected in Wales and along
24057-619: The bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon", an early example of field artillery . These small, crude weapons diffused into the Middle East (the madfaa ) and reached Europe in the 13th century, in a very limited manner. In Asia, Mongols adopted the Chinese artillery and used it effectively in the great conquest . By the late 14th century, Chinese rebels used organized artillery and cavalry to push Mongols out. As small smooth-bore barrels, these were initially cast in iron or bronze around
24300-463: The capacity to supply all of the artillery required for the Device forts, particularly since Henry also required more guns for his new navy. A technical breakthrough in 1543, however, led to the introduction of vertical casting and a massive increase in Henry's ability to manufacture iron cannons. Few guns from this period have survived, but during excavations in 1997 an iron portpiece was discovered on
24543-754: The castles built by William the Conqueror two-thirds were built in towns and cities, often those with the former Anglo-Saxon mints . These urban castles could make use of the existing town's walls and fortifications, but typically required the demolition of local houses to make space for them. This could cause extensive damage, and records suggest that in Lincoln 166 houses were destroyed, with 113 in Norwich and 27 in Cambridge. Some of these castles were deliberately built on top of important local buildings, such as
24786-421: The castles were occupied simultaneously. Some were built during the invasions and then abandoned while other new castles were constructed elsewhere, especially along the western borders. Recent estimates suggest that between 500 and 600 castles were occupied at any one time in the post-conquest period. There was a large degree of variation in the size and exact shape of the castles built in England and Wales after
25029-470: The centre. The main guns were positioned over multiple tiers to enable them to engage targets at different ranges. There were far more gunports than there were guns held by the individual fortification. The bastion walls were pierced with splayed gun embrasures , giving the artillery space to traverse and enabling easy fire control , with overlapping angles of fire. The interiors had sufficient space for gunnery operations, with specially designed vents to remove
25272-516: The character of the Device Forts and those of the earlier medieval castles. Medieval castles were private dwellings as well as defensive sites, and usually played a role in managing local estates; Henry's forts were organs of the state, placed in key military locations, typically divorced from the surrounding patterns of land ownership or settlements. Unlike earlier medieval castles, they were spartan, utilitarian constructions. Some historians such as King have disagreed with this interpretation, highlighting
25515-435: The circular design held military advantages, these only really mattered in the 13th century onwards; the origins of 12th-century circular design were the circular design of the mottes; indeed, some designs were less than circular in order to accommodate irregular mottes, such as that at Windsor Castle . English castles during the period were divided into those royal castles owned by the king, and baronial castles controlled by
25758-399: The civil war and involved building a basic castle during a siege, alongside the main target of attack. Typically these would be built in either a ringwork or a motte-and-bailey design between 200 and 300 yards (180 and 270 metres) away from the target, just beyond the range of a bow. Counter-castles could be used to either act as firing platforms for siege weaponry, or as bases for controlling
26001-456: The coast on 25 July, bringing an end to the immediate invasion threat. Meanwhile, on 22 July the French had carried out a raid at Seaford , and Camber Castle may have seen action against the French fleet. A peace treaty was agreed in June 1546, bringing an end to the war. By the time that Henry died the following year, in total the huge sum of £376,000 had been spent on the Device projects. Some of
26244-421: The coast were usually located at the mouths of rivers or in ports, Pevensey and Portchester being rare exceptions. Some groups of castles were located so as to be mutually reinforcing – for example the castles of Littledean Camp , Glasshouse Woods and Howle Hill Camp were intended to act as an integrated defence for the area around Gloucester and Gloucester Castle for Gloucester city itself, while Windsor
26487-466: The coast, or military aid sent to the Scots. Essex also rose in rebellion in June and the town of Colchester was taken by the Royalists. Sir Thomas Fairfax placed it under siege, and Mersea Fort was taken by Parliamentary forces and used to cut off any assistance reaching the town by river. Meanwhile, Parliament defeated the Kentish insurgency at the Battle of Maidstone at the start of June and then sent
26730-553: The conflict known as "the Castle War" saw both sides attempting to defeat each other through sieges, such as Stephen's attempts to take Wallingford , the most easterly fortress in Matilda's push towards London, or Geoffrey de Mandeville 's attempts to seize East Anglia by taking Cambridge Castle . Both sides responded to the challenge of the conflict by building many new castles, sometimes as sets of strategic fortifications. In
26973-425: The conquest, with somewhere between ten and fifteen in existence by 1100, and more followed in the 12th century until around 100 had been built by 1216. Typically these were four sided designs with the corners reinforced by pilaster buttresses . Keeps were up to four storeys high, with the entrance on the first storey to prevent the door from being easily broken down. The strength of the design typically came from
27216-523: The construction of larger castles towards the use of smaller tower houses . The tower house style would also be adopted in the north of England and Ireland in later years. In North Wales Edward I built a sequence of militarily powerful castles after the destruction of the last Welsh polities in the 1270s. By the 14th century castles were combining defences with luxurious, sophisticated living arrangements and heavily landscaped gardens and parks. Many royal and baronial castles were left to decline, so that by
27459-431: The country's defences, particularly along the south coast. Work began on Southsea Castle in 1544 on Portsea Island to further protect the Solent, and on Sandown Castle the following year on the neighbouring Isle of Wight. Brownsea Castle in Dorset was begun in 1545, and Sharpenrode Bulwark was built opposite Hurst Castle from 1545 onwards. The French invasion emerged in 1545, when Admiral Claude d'Annebault crossed
27702-431: The course of military history, projectiles were manufactured from a wide variety of materials, into a wide variety of shapes, using many different methods in which to target structural/defensive works and inflict enemy casualties . The engineering applications for ordnance delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, encompassing some of the most complex and advanced technologies in use today. In some armies,
27945-512: The culverin. With sites equipped with several tiers of weapons, the heaviest guns would typically be placed higher up in the fortification, with the smaller weapons closer to the ground. It is uncertain how far the guns of the period would have reached; analysis carried out in the 16th and 17th century on the ranges of artillery suggested that the largest weapons, such as a culverin, could hit a target up to between 1,600 and 2,743 metres (5,249–8,999 ft) away. The forts were typically equipped with
28188-461: The current context originated in the Middle Ages . One suggestion is that it comes from French atelier , meaning the place where manual work is done. Another suggestion is that it originates from the 13th century and the Old French artillier , designating craftsmen and manufacturers of all materials and warfare equipments (spears, swords, armor, war machines); and, for the next 250 years,
28431-399: The curved surfaces could deflect some of the force of the shot. Castles saw an increasing use of arrowslits by the 13th century, especially in England, almost certainly linked to the introduction of crossbows. These arrow slits were combined with firing positions from the tops of the towers, initially protected by wooden hoarding until stone machicolations were introduced in England in
28674-412: The defences and significantly expanded Henry's original fortifications with more up-to-date bastions, designed by the engineer Paul Ive. By the end of the century, however, most of the Device Forts were typically out of date by European standards. James I came to the English throne in 1603, resulting peace with both France and Spain. His government took little interest in the coastal defences and many of
28917-610: The defences at Hull and Milford Haven, but no work was actually carried out. Despite the destruction of the Armada, the Spanish threat continued; the castles in Kent were kept ready for action throughout the rest of Elizabeth's reign. In 1596 a Spanish invasion fleet carrying reportedly 20,000 soldiers set out for Pendennis, which was then garrisoned with only 500 men. The fleet was forced to turn back due to bad weather, but Elizabeth reviewed
29160-564: The defense in a siege was lost. Cannons during this period were elongated, and the recipe for gunpowder was improved to make it three times as powerful as before. These changes led to the increased power in the artillery weapons of the time. Joan of Arc encountered gunpowder weaponry several times. When she led the French against the English at the Battle of Tourelles, in 1430, she faced heavy gunpowder fortifications, and yet her troops prevailed in that battle. In addition, she led assaults against
29403-415: The development of artillery ordnance, systems, organizations, and operations until the present, with artillery systems capable of providing support at ranges from as little as 100 m to the intercontinental ranges of ballistic missiles . The only combat in which artillery is unable to take part is close-quarters combat , with the possible exception of artillery reconnaissance teams. The word as used in
29646-453: The early 15th century, the Portuguese were the first to employ it extensively, and Portuguese engineers invented a canister round which consisted of a thin lead case filled with iron pellets, that broke up at the muzzle and scattered its contents in a narrow pattern. An innovation which Portugal adopted in advance of other European powers was fuse-delayed action shells, and were commonly used in 1505. Although dangerous, their effectiveness meant
29889-669: The early 16th century. During the late medieval period, the English use of castles as military fortifications had declined in importance . The introduction of gunpowder in warfare had initially favoured the defender, but soon traditional stone walls could easily be destroyed by early artillery. The few new castles that were built during this time still incorporated the older features of gatehouses and crenellated walls , but intended them more as martial symbols than as practical military defences. Many older castles were simply abandoned or left to fall in disrepair. Although fortifications could still be valuable in times of war, they had played only
30132-515: The early wooden castles were built on the site of earlier fortifications. Before the arrival of the Normans the Anglo-Saxons had built burhs , fortified structures with their origins in 9th-century Wessex . Most of these, especially in urban areas, were large enough to be best described as fortified townships rather than private dwellings and are therefore not usually classed as castles. Rural burhs were smaller and usually consisted of
30375-414: The economically important forests, while baronial castles were used by the Norman lords to control their widespread estates. David I invited Anglo-Norman lords into Scotland in the early 12th century to help him colonise and control areas of his kingdom such as Galloway ; the new lords brought castle technologies with them and wooden castles began to be established over the south of the kingdom. Following
30618-414: The end of the 14th century, cannons were only powerful enough to knock in roofs, and could not penetrate castle walls. However, a major change occurred between 1420 and 1430, when artillery became much more powerful and could now batter strongholds and fortresses quite efficiently. The English, French, and Burgundians all advanced in military technology, and as a result the traditional advantage that went to
30861-532: The end results. Technical treatises from mainland Europe also influenced the designers of the Device Forts, including Albrecht Dürer 's Befestigung der Stett, Schlosz und Felcken which described contemporary methods of fortification in Germany, published in 1527 and translated into Latin in 1535, and Niccolò Machiavelli 's Libro dell'art della guerra , published in 1521, which also described new Italian forms of military defences. The Device Forts represented
31104-433: The enemy by obscuring their view. Fire may be directed by an artillery observer or another observer, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, or called onto map coordinates . Military doctrine has had a significant influence on the core engineering design considerations of artillery ordnance through its history, in seeking to achieve a balance between the delivered volume of fire with ordnance mobility. However, during
31347-542: The estuary. Work began on further fortifications to protect the Solent in 1541, with the construction of Hurst Castle , overlooking the Needles Passage , and Netley Castle just outside Southampton itself. Following a royal visit to the north of England, the coastal fortifications around the town of Hull were upgraded in 1542 with a castle and two large blockhouses. Further work was carried out in Essex in 1543, with
31590-459: The existing, updated architectural style. The costs of building the fortifications varied with their size. A small blockhouse cost around £500 to build, whereas a medium-sized castle, such as Sandgate, Pendennis or Portland, would come to approximately £5,000. The defensive line of Deal, Sandown and Walmer castles cost a total £27,092, while the work at Hull Castle and its two blockhouses came to £21,056. Various officials were appointed to run each of
31833-410: The fallen city, and Marinids brought cannons and used them in the assault on Ceuta. Finally, hand-held firearms and riflemen appear in Morocco, in 1437, in an expedition against the people of Tangiers . It is clear these weapons had developed into several different forms, from small guns to large artillery pieces. The artillery revolution in Europe caught on during the Hundred Years' War and changed
32076-477: The finest achievements of medieval military architecture [in England and Wales]". The castles varied in design but were typically characterised by powerful mural towers along the castle walls, with multiple, over-lapping firing points and large and extremely well defended barbicans. The castles were intended to be used by the king when in the region and included extensive high-status accommodation. Edward also established various new English towns, and in several cases
32319-458: The first few decades of the 17th century many of the forts were left to decay. Most of the fortifications saw service in the First and Second English Civil Wars during the 1640s and were garrisoned during the Interregnum , continuing to form the backbone of England's coastal defences against the Dutch after Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660. Again left to fall in ruin during
32562-446: The first recorded such event being the 1230 siege of Rothesay Castle where the besieging Norwegians were able to break down the relatively weak stone walls with axes after only three days. When Edward I invaded Scotland he brought with him the siege capabilities which had evolved south of the border: Edinburgh Castle fell within three days, and Roxburgh , Jedburgh , Dunbar , Stirling , Lanark and Dumbarton castles surrendered to
32805-432: The first wave of the Norman castles were again made of wood, in a mixture of motte-and-bailey and ringwork designs, with the exception of the stone built Chepstow Castle . Chepstow too was heavily influenced by Romanesque design, reusing numerous materials from the nearby Venta Silurum to produce what historian Robert Liddiard has termed "a play upon images from Antiquity". The size of these castles varied depending on
33048-542: The fort, some terminally ill from malnutrition. Pendennis was the penultimate Royalist fortification to hold out in the war, followed by Portland Castle which finally surrendered in April 1646. After a few years of unsteady peace, in 1648 the Second English Civil War broke out, this time with Charles' Royalist supporters joined by Scottish forces. The Parliamentary navy was based in the Downs, protected by
33291-483: The fortification. The wider parklands and forests were increasingly managed and the proportion of the smaller fallow deer consumed by castle inhabitants in England increased as a result. During the 13th century the native Welsh princes built a number of stone castles. The size of these varied considerably from smaller fortifications, such as Dinas Emrys in Snowdonia, to more substantial castles like Dinefwr and
33534-415: The fortifications in both 1513 and 1533, but not much investment took place as a result. In 1533 Henry broke with Pope Clement VII in order to annul the long-standing marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon , and remarry. Catherine was the aunt of King Charles V of Spain , who took the annulment as a personal insult. As a consequence, France and the Empire declared an alliance against Henry in 1538, and
33777-433: The fortifications, sometimes overruling his technical advisers on particular details. Southsea Castle, for example, was described by the courtier Sir Edmund Knyvet as being "of his Majesty's own device", which typically indicated that the King had taken a personal role in its design. The historian Andrew Saunders suspects that Henry was "probably the leading and unifying influence behind the fortifications". England also had
34020-548: The fortifications. The garrisons would maintain and care for the buildings and their artillery during the long periods of peacetime and, in a crisis, would be supplemented by additional soldiers and the local militia. The size of the garrisons varied according to the fortification; Camber Castle had a garrison of 29, Walmer Castle 18, while the West Tilbury Blockhouse only held 9 men. The ordinary soldiers would have lived in relatively basic conditions, typically on
34263-799: The forts. The numbers of workers varied during the course of the project, driven in part by seasonal variation, but the teams were substantial: Sandgate Castle, for example, saw an average of 640 men on the site daily during June 1540, and the work at Hull required a team of 420. A skilled worker was paid between 7 and 8 pence a day, a labourer between 5 and 6 pence, with trades including stonemasons, carpenters, carters, lime burners, sawyers, plumbers, scavelmen, dikers and bricklayers. Finding enough workers proved difficult, and in some cases men had to be pressed into service unwillingly. Labour disputes broke out, with strikes over low pay at Deal in 1539 and at Guisnes in 1541; both were quickly suppressed by royal officials. Large amounts of raw materials were also needed for
34506-486: The geography of the site, the decisions of the builder and the available resources. Analysis of the size of mottes has shown some distinctive regional variation; East Anglia , for example, saw much larger mottes being built than the Midlands or London. While motte-and-bailey and ring-work castles took great effort to build, they required relatively few skilled craftsmen allowing them to be raised using forced labour from
34749-494: The ground breaking legs and ankles. The development of modern artillery occurred in the mid to late 19th century as a result of the convergence of various improvements in the underlying technology. Advances in metallurgy allowed for the construction of breech-loading rifled guns that could fire at a much greater muzzle velocity . After the British artillery was shown up in the Crimean War as having barely changed since
34992-604: The ground floor, with the captains of the fortifications occupying more elaborate quarters, often in the upper levels of the keeps. The soldiers ate meat and fish, some of which might have been hunted or caught by the garrison. The garrisons were well organised, and a strict code of discipline was issued in 1539; the historian Peter Harrington suggests that life in the forts would have usually been "tedious" and "isolated". Soldiers were expected to provide handguns at their own expense, and could be fined if they failed to produce them. There were only around 200 gunners across England during
35235-423: The gun barrel and a new tool—a worm —was introduced to remove them. Gustavus Adolphus is identified as the general who made cannon an effective force on the battlefield—pushing the development of much lighter and smaller weapons and deploying them in far greater numbers than previously. The outcome of battles was still determined by the clash of infantry. Shells, explosive-filled fused projectiles, were in use by
35478-478: The heart of Kenilworth Castle , like Windsor the work emphasised a unifying, rectangular design and the separation of ground floor service areas from the upper stories and a contrast of austere exteriors with lavish interiors, especially on the 1st floor of the inner bailey buildings. By the end of the 14th century a distinctive English perpendicular style had emerged. In the south of England private castles were being built by newly emerging, wealthy families; like
35721-414: The hollow bastions were vulnerable to artillery. The concentric bastion design prevented overlapping fields of fire in the event of an attack from the land, and the tiers of guns meant that, as an enemy approached, the number of guns the fort could bring to bear diminished. Some of these issues were addressed during the second Device programme from 1544 onwards. Italian ideas began to be brought in, although
35964-468: The impact of Henry's foreign engineers seems to have been limited, and the designs themselves lagged behind those used in his French territories. The emerging continental approach used angled, "arrow-head" bastions, linked in a line called a trace italienne , to provide supporting fire against any attacker. Sandown Castle on the Isle of Wight, constructed in 1545, was a hybrid of traditional English and continental ideas, with angular bastions combined with
36207-422: The inside of the shell, producing a small inner courtyard. Restormel Castle is a classic example of this development with a perfectly circular wall and a square entrance tower while the later Launceston Castle , although more ovoid than circular, is another good example of the design and one of the most formidable castles of the period. Round castles were unusually popular throughout Cornwall and Devon. Although
36450-436: The intention of extending royal power across the country and modernising Scotland's military technology, including the introduction of castles. The Scottish king encouraged Norman and French nobles to settle in Scotland, introducing a feudal mode of landholding and the use of castles as a way of controlling the contested lowlands. The quasi-independent polity of Galloway, which had resisted the rule of David and his predecessors,
36693-418: The introduction in the 15th century of a dedicated field carriage with axle, trail and animal-drawn limber—this produced mobile field pieces that could move and support an army in action, rather than being found only in the siege and static defenses. The reduction in the size of the barrel was due to improvements in both iron technology and gunpowder manufacture, while the development of trunnions —projections at
36936-470: The introduction of a gun shield necessary. The problems of how to employ a fixed or horse-towed gun in mobile warfare necessitated the development of new methods of transporting the artillery into combat. Two distinct forms of artillery were developed: the towed gun, used primarily to attack or defend a fixed-line; and the self-propelled gun, intended to accompany a mobile force and to provide continuous fire support and/or suppression. These influences have guided
37179-411: The invasion. One popular form was the motte and bailey , in which earth would be piled up into a mound (called a motte ) to support a wooden tower, and a wider enclosed area built alongside it (called a bailey); Stafford Castle is a typical example of a post-invasion motte castle. Another widespread design was the ring work in which earth would be built up in a circular or oval shape and topped with
37422-550: The king with hunting grounds, raw materials, goods and money. Forests were typically tied to castles, both to assist with the enforcement of the law and to store the goods being extracted from the local economy: Peveril Castle was linked to the Peak Forest and the local lead mining there; St Briavels was tied to the Forest of Dean ; and Knaresborough , Rockingham and Pickering to their eponymous forests respectively. In
37665-465: The king. Subsequent English sieges, such as the attacks on Bothwell and Stirling, again used considerable resources including giant siege engines and extensive teams of miners and masons. A number of royal castles, from the 12th century onwards, formed an essential network of royal storehouses in the 13th century for a wide range of goods including food, drink, weapons, armour and raw materials. Castles such as Southampton , Winchester , Bristol and
37908-438: The kingdom. The Device Forts initially remained at the heart of the defences along the south coast, but their design was by now badly antiquated. Deal continued to play an important role in defending the Downs during the Second and Third Dutch Wars , supported by local trained bands , and castles such as Hurst, Portland and Sandgate remained garrisoned. Others, however, were decommissioned with Sandsfoot closing in 1665 following
38151-495: The land, while the smaller blockhouses were primarily focused on the maritime threat. Although there were extensive variations between the individual designs, they had common features and were often built in a consistent style. The larger sites, such as Deal or Camber, were typically squat, with low parapets and massively thick walls to protect against incoming fire. They usually had a central keep , echoing earlier medieval designs, with curved, concentric bastions spreading out from
38394-486: The largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to shell -firing guns , howitzers , and mortars (collectively called barrel artillery , cannon artillery or gun artillery ) and rocket artillery . In common speech,
38637-431: The largest, Castell y Bere . Native Welsh castles typically maximised the defensive benefits of high, mountainous sites, often being built in an irregular shape to fit a rocky peak. Most had deep ditches cut out of the rock to protect the main castle. The Welsh castles were usually built with a relatively short keep, used as living accommodation for princes and nobility, and with distinctive 'apsidal' D-shaped towers along
38880-404: The late 13th century some castles were built within carefully "designed landscapes", sometimes drawing a distinction between an inner core of a herber , a small enclosed garden complete with orchards and small ponds, and an outer region with larger ponds and high status buildings such as "religious buildings, rabbit warrens, mills and settlements", potentially set within a park. A gloriette , or
39123-446: The late 13th century. The crossbow was an important military advance on the older short bow and was the favoured weapon by the time of Richard I; many crossbows and vast numbers of quarrels were needed to supply royal forces, in turn requiring larger scale iron production. In England, crossbows were primarily made at the Tower of London but St Briavels Castle, with the local Forest of Dean available to provide raw materials, became
39366-414: The late 14th century onwards it became clear during the 16th century that, provided artillery could be transported and brought to bear on a besieged castle, gunpowder weapons could also play an important attack role. The defences of coastal castles around the British Isles were improved to deal with this threat, but investment in their upkeep once again declined at the end of the 16th century. Nevertheless, in
39609-533: The local estates; this, in addition to the speed with which they could be built – a single season, made them particularly attractive immediately after the conquest. The larger earthworks, particularly mottes, required an exponentially greater quantity of manpower than their smaller equivalents and consequently tended to be either royal, or belong to the most powerful barons who could muster the required construction effort. Despite motte-and-bailey and ringworks being common designs amongst Norman castles, each fortification
39852-421: The major magnates, and then by the more junior knights on their new estates. The apportionment of the conquered lands by the king influenced where these castles were built. In a few key locations the king gave his followers compact groups of estates including the six rapes of Sussex and the three earldoms of Chester , Shrewsbury and Hereford ; intended to protect the line of communication with Normandy and
40095-410: The middle of the 13th century Henry III began to redesign his favourite castles, including Winchester and Windsor , building larger halls, grander chapels, installing glass windows and decorating the palaces with painted walls and furniture. This marked the beginning of a trend towards the development of grand castles designed for elaborate, elite living. Life in earlier keeps had been focused around
40338-451: The modern period, the consideration of protecting the gunners also arose due to the late-19th-century introduction of the new generation of infantry weapons using conoidal bullet , better known as the Minié ball , with a range almost as long as that of field artillery. The gunners' increasing proximity to and participation in direct combat against other combat arms and attacks by aircraft made
40581-419: The monastic buildings were pulled down, and much of this was recycled. Netley Castle, for example, was based on an old abbey and reused many of its stones, East Tilbury Blockhouse reused parts of St Margaret's Chantry, Calshot Castle took the lead from nearby Beaulieu Abbey , East and West Cowes castles stone from Beaulieu and Quarr , and Sandwich had the stone from the local Carmelite friary. Milton Blockhouse
40824-400: The most advanced in England at the time, an improvement over earlier medieval designs, and were effective in terms of concentrating firepower on enemy ships. They contained numerous flaws, however, and were primitive in comparison to their counterparts in mainland Europe. The multiple tiers of guns gave the forts a relatively high profile, exposing them to enemy attack, and the curved surfaces of
41067-519: The most wealthy lords could afford to redesign castles to produce palace-fortresses. Edward III spent £51,000 on renovating Windsor Castle; this was over one and a half times Edward's typical annual income. In the words of Steven Brindle the result was a "great and apparently architecturally unified palace... uniform in all sorts of ways, as to roof line, window heights, cornice line, floor and ceiling heights", echoing older designs but without any real defensive value. The wealthy John of Gaunt redesigned
41310-835: The national centre for quarrel manufacture. In Scotland, Edinburgh Castle became the centre for the production of bows, crossbows and siege engines for the king. One result of this was that English castle sieges grew in complexity and scale. During the First Barons' War from 1215 to 1217, the prominent sieges of Dover and Windsor Castle showed the ability of more modern designs to withstand attack; King John 's successful siege of Rochester required an elaborate and sophisticated assault, reportedly costing around 60,000 marks, or £40,000. The siege of Bedford Castle in 1224 required Henry III to bring siege engines, engineers, crossbow bolts, equipment and labourers from across all of England. The Siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266, during
41553-490: The nearby Henrician castles, but by May a Royalist insurrection was underway across Kent. Sandown Castle declared for the King, and the soldier and former naval captain Major Keme then convinced the garrisons at Deal and Walmer to surrender. Sandgate Castle probably joined the Royalists as well. With both the coastal fortresses and the navy now under Royalist control, Parliament feared that foreign forces might be landed along
41796-427: The new castles were designed to be used alongside the fortified town walls as part of an integrated defence. Historian Richard Morris has suggested that "the impression is firmly given of an elite group of men-of-war, long-standing comrades in arms of the king, indulging in an orgy of military architectural expression on an almost unlimited budget". James of Saint George , a famous architect and engineer from Savoy ,
42039-427: The new technology began to be installed in English castles by the 1360s and 1370s, and in Scottish castles by the 1380s. Cannons were made in various sizes, from smaller hand cannons to larger guns firing stone balls of up to 7.6 inches (19 cm). Medium-sized weapons weighing around 20 kg each were more useful for the defence of castles, although Richard II eventually established 600 pound (272 kilo) guns at
42282-418: The north-east, Hull also sided with Parliament, and its castle and blockhouses were used as part of the town's defences during multiple sieges. Much of the south-west sided with the King; Device Forts such as St Catherine's were held by the Royalists from the beginning of the conflict. The Royalists invaded Parliamentary-controlled Dorset in 1643, taking Portland and Sandsfoot. The flow of the war turned against
42525-468: The nuts, bolts and screws made their mass production and repair much easier. While the Gribeauval system made for more efficient production and assembly, the carriages used were heavy and the gunners were forced to march on foot (instead of riding on the limber and gun as in the British system). Each cannon was named for the weight of its projectiles, giving us variants such as 4, 8, and 12, indicating
42768-514: The occupation of southern and eastern Ireland by a number of Anglo-Norman barons. The rapid Norman success depended on key economic and military advantages, with castles enabling them to control the newly conquered territories. The new lords rapidly built castles to protect their possessions, many of these were motte-and-bailey constructions; in Louth at least 23 of these were built. It remains uncertain how many ringwork castles were built in Ireland by
43011-438: The policy of slighting , or deliberately destroying, castles captured in Scotland from the English to prevent their re-use in subsequent invasions – most of the new Scottish castles built by nobles were of the tower house design; the few larger castles built in Scotland were typically royal castles, built on the command of Scottish kings. Some of these changes were driven by developments in military technology. Before 1190 mining
43254-701: The present day - though in limited numbers. These cannons varied between 180 and 260 pounders, weighing anywhere between 3–8 tons, measuring between 3–6 m. Between 1593 and 1597, about 200,000 Korean and Chinese troops which fought against Japan in Korea actively used heavy artillery in both siege and field combat. Korean forces mounted artillery in ships as naval guns , providing an advantage against Japanese navy which used Kunikuzushi (国崩し – Japanese breech-loading swivel gun ) and Ōzutsu (大筒 – large size Tanegashima ) as their largest firearms. Bombards were of value mainly in sieges . A famous Turkish example used at
43497-596: The proceeds of the Dissolution of the Monasteries a few years before. These utilitarian fortifications were armed with artillery , intended to be used against enemy ships before they could land forces or attack ships lying in harbour. The first wave of work between 1539 and 1543 was characterised by the use of circular bastions and multi-tiered defences, combined with many traditional medieval features . These designs contained serious military flaws, however, and
43740-493: The projects, including a paymaster , a comptroller , an overseer and commissioners from the local gentry. A few fortifications were built by local individuals and families; St Catherine's Castle, for example, was reportedly paid for by the town and local gentry, and the Edgcumbe family built Devil's Point Artillery Tower to protect Plymouth Harbour. Much of the expenditure was on the construction teams, called "crews", who built
43983-461: The range and power of infantry firearms . Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges , and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines . As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing
44226-468: The rate of fire, since a soldier would no longer have to worry about what end of the ramrod they were using. Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval , a French artillery engineer, introduced the standardization of cannon design in the mid-18th century. He developed a 6-inch (150 mm) field howitzer whose gun barrel, carriage assembly and ammunition specifications were made uniform for all French cannons. The standardized interchangeable parts of these cannons down to
44469-411: The region in their own right. Most counter-castles were destroyed after their use but in some cases the earthworks survived, such as the counter-castles called Jew's Mount and Mount Pelham built by Stephen in 1141 outside Oxford Castle . Matilda's son Henry II assumed the throne at the end of the war and immediately announced his intention to eliminate the adulterine castles that had sprung up during
44712-416: The relevant shire; the role of the sheriff became stronger and clearer as the century progressed. A number of royal castles were linked to forests and other key resources. Royal forests in the early medieval period were subject to special royal jurisdiction; forest law was, as historian Robert Huscroft describes it, "harsh and arbitrary, a matter purely for the King's will" and forests were expected to supply
44955-406: The responsibility of the artillery arm. The majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars , World War I , and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was "the god of war". Although not called by that name, siege engines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first known catapult
45198-491: The right to occupy and use any castle in the kingdom in response to external threats, in those cases he would staff the occupied castles with his own men; the king also retained the right to authorise the construction of new castles through the issuing of licenses to crenellate . It was possible for bishops to build or control castles, such as the important Devizes Castle linked to the Bishop of Salisbury , although this practice
45441-400: The role of Orford Castle whose expensive, three-cornered design most closely echoes imperial Byzantine palaces and may have been intended by Henry II to be more symbolic than military in nature. Another improvement from the 12th century onwards was the creation of shell keeps , involving replacing the wooden keep on the motte with a circular stone wall. Buildings could be built around
45684-548: The role of providing support to other arms in combat or of attacking targets, particularly in-depth. Broadly, these effects fall into two categories, aiming either to suppress or neutralize the enemy, or to cause casualties, damage, and destruction. This is mostly achieved by delivering high-explosive munitions to suppress, or inflict casualties on the enemy from casing fragments and other debris and from blast , or by destroying enemy positions, equipment, and vehicles. Non-lethal munitions, notably smoke, can also suppress or neutralize
45927-503: The ruling family, while retaining strong defensive features and a capacity to hold over 130 residents at the castle. The design influenced subsequent conversions at Berkeley and by the time that Bolton Castle was being built, in the 1380s, it was designed to hold up to eight different noble households, each with their own facilities. Royal castles such as Beaumaris , although designed with defence in mind, were designed to hold up to eleven different households at any one time. Kings and
46170-524: The second half of the century. Traditionally this transition was believed to have been driven by the more crude nature of wooden fortifications, the limited life of timber in wooden castles and its vulnerability to fire; recent archaeological studies have however shown that many wooden castles were as robust and as complex as their stone equivalents. Some wooden castles were not converted into stone for many years and instead expanded in wood, such as at Hen Domen . Several early stone keeps had been built after
46413-475: The second period of construction until 1547 saw the introduction of angular bastions and other innovations probably inspired by contemporary thinking in mainland Europe. The castles were commanded by captains appointed by the Crown, overseeing small garrisons of professional gunners and soldiers, who would be supplemented by the local militia in an emergency. Despite a French raid against the Isle of Wight in 1545,
46656-680: The sense of the word "artillery" covered all forms of military weapons. Hence, the naming of the Honourable Artillery Company , which was essentially an infantry unit until the 19th century. Another suggestion is that it comes from the Italian arte de tirare (art of shooting), coined by one of the first theorists on the use of artillery, Niccolò Tartaglia . The term was used by Girolamo Ruscelli (died 1566) in his Precepts of Modern Militia published posthumously in 1572. Mechanical systems used for throwing ammunition in ancient warfare, also known as " engines of war ", like
46899-466: The side of the cannon as an integral part of the cast—allowed the barrel to be fixed to a more movable base, and also made raising or lowering the barrel much easier. The first land-based mobile weapon is usually credited to Jan Žižka , who deployed his oxen-hauled cannon during the Hussite Wars of Bohemia (1418–1424). However, cannons were still large and cumbersome. With the rise of musketry in
47142-476: The siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460. The able use of artillery supported to a large measure the expansion and defense of the Portuguese Empire , as it was a necessary tool that allowed the Portuguese to face overwhelming odds both on land and sea from Morocco to Asia. In great sieges and in sea battles, the Portuguese demonstrated a level of proficiency in the use of artillery after the beginning of
47385-454: The siege sixty-nine guns in fifteen separate batteries and trained them at the walls of the city. The barrage of Ottoman cannon fire lasted forty days, and they are estimated to have fired 19,320 times. Artillery also played a decisive role in the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs of 1444. Early cannon were not always reliable; King James II of Scotland was killed by the accidental explosion of one of his own cannon, imported from Flanders, at
47628-492: The similarities between the two periods, with the historian Christopher Duffy terming the Device Forts the "reinforced-castle fortification". The forts were positioned to defend harbours and anchorages, and designed both to focus artillery fire on enemy ships, and to protect the gunnery teams from attack by those vessels. Some, including the major castles, including the castles of the Downs in Kent, were intended to be self-contained and able to defend themselves against attack from
47871-735: The site of the South Blockhouse in Kingston on Hull. The weapon, now known as "Henry's Gun", is one of only four such guns in the world to have survived and is displayed at the Hull and East Riding Museum. In addition to artillery, the Device Forts were equipped with infantry weapons. Handguns, typically an early form of matchlock arquebus , would have been used for close defence; these were 6-foot (1.8 m) long and supported on tripods. Many forts also held supplies of bows, arrows and polearms, such as bills , pikes and halberds . Longbows were still in military use among English armies in
48114-554: The south coast. In 1588 the Spanish armada sailed for England and the Device Forts were mobilised in response. As part of this work, West Tilbury was brought back into service and supported by a hastily raised army, which was visited by Queen Elizabeth I, and further enlargement followed under the direction of the Italian engineer, Federigo Giambelli . Gravesend was improved and several of the Essex fortifications were temporarily brought back into use; there were discussions about enhancing
48357-466: The south side of the river, and West Tilbury and East Tilbury on the opposite bank. Camber Castle was built to protect the anchorage outside the ports of Rye and Winchelsea , defences were built in the port of Harwich and three earth bulwarks were built around Dover . Work was also begun on Calshot Castle in Fawley and the blockhouses of East and West Cowes on the Isle of Wight to protect
48600-499: The south-west Matilda's supporters built a range of castles to protect the territory, usually motte and bailey designs such as those at Winchcombe , Upper Slaughter , or Bampton . Similarly, Stephen built a new chain of fen-edge castles at Burwell , Lidgate , Rampton , Caxton , and Swavesey – all about six to nine miles (10–15 km) apart – in order to protect his lands around Cambridge. Many of these castles were termed "adulterine" (unauthorised), because no formal permission
48843-610: The south-west and along the Sussex coast, with a few more impressive works in the north of England, but they were very limited in scale. His son, Henry VIII inherited the throne in 1509 and took a more interventionist approach in European affairs, fighting one war with France between 1512 and 1514, and then another between 1522 and 1525, this time allying himself with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire . While France and
49086-433: The south-west, where the Crown oversaw the lead mining industry, castles such as Restormel played an important role running the local stannery courts . Baronial castles were of varying size and sophistication; some were classed as a caput , or the key stronghold of a given lord, and were usually larger and better fortified than the norm and usually held the local baronial honorial courts. The king continued to exercise
49329-557: The strongest and largest gunpowder arsenal among the European powers, and yet the French, under Joan of Arc's leadership, were able to beat back the Burgundians and defend themselves. As a result, most of the battles of the Hundred Years' War that Joan of Arc participated in were fought with gunpowder artillery. The army of Mehmet the Conqueror , which conquered Constantinople in 1453, included both artillery and foot soldiers armed with gunpowder weapons. The Ottomans brought to
49572-443: The surrounding lands and estates was particularly important during this period. Many castles, both royal and baronial, had deer parks or chases attached to them for the purposes of hunting. These usually stretched away from the village or borough associated with the castle, but occasionally a castle was placed in the centre of a park, such as at Sandal . Civil war broke out in England and raged between 1139 and 1153, forming
49815-406: The term "gunners" for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either "crews" or "detachments". Several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery , although sometimes called a company. In gun detachments, each role is numbered, starting with "1"
50058-505: The thickness of the walls: usually made of rag-stone , as in the case of Dover Castle , these walls could be up to 24 feet (7.3 metres) thick. The larger keeps were subdivided by an internal wall while the smaller versions, such as that at Goodrich , had a single, slightly cramped chamber on each floor. Stone keeps required skilled craftsmen to build them; unlike unfree labour or serfs, these men had to be paid and stone keeps were therefore expensive. They were also relatively slow to erect –
50301-405: The towns of Calais and Guisnes in France, then controlled by Henry's forces. Commissioners were also to be sent out across south-west and south-east England to inspect the current defences and to propose sites for new ones. The initial result was the construction of 30 new fortifications of various sizes during 1539. The stone castles of Deal , Sandown and Walmer were constructed to protect
50544-634: The use and effectiveness of Portuguese firearms above contemporary powers, making cannon the most essential element in the Portuguese arsenal. The three major classes of Portuguese artillery were anti-personnel guns with a high borelength (including: rebrodequim , berço , falconete , falcão , sacre , áspide , cão , serpentina and passavolante ); bastion guns which could batter fortifications ( camelete , leão , pelicano , basilisco , águia , camelo , roqueira , urso ); and howitzers that fired large stone cannonballs in an elevated arch, weighted up to 4000 pounds and could fire incendiary devices, such as
50787-418: The walls and gatehouses began to grow in size and complexity, with portcullises being introduced for the first time. Castles such as Dover and the Tower of London were expanded in a concentric design in what Cathcart King has labelled the early development of "scientific fortification". The developments spread to Anglo-Norman possessions in Ireland where this English style of castles dominated throughout
51030-445: The walls to provide supporting fire. Many keeps made compromises to purely military utility: Norwich Castle included elaborate blind arcading on the outside of the building, in a Roman style, and appears to had a ceremonial entrance route; The interior of the keep at Hedingham could have hosted impressive ceremonies and events, but contained numerous flaws from a military perspective. Similarly there has been extensive debate over
51273-462: The walls. In comparison to Norman castles the gatehouses were much weaker in design, with almost no use of portcullises or spiral staircases, and the stonework of the outer walls was also generally inferior to Norman built castles. The later native Welsh castles, built in the 1260s, more closely resemble Norman designs; including round towers and, in the case of Criccieth and Dinas Brân , twin-towered gatehouse defences. In 1277 Edward I launched
51516-585: The war, but it is unclear how successful this effort was. Robert of Torigny recorded that 375 were destroyed, without giving the details behind the figure; recent studies of selected regions have suggested that fewer castles were probably destroyed than once thought and that many may simply have been abandoned at the end of the conflict. Certainly many of the new castles were transitory in nature: Archaeologist Oliver Creighton observes that 56 per cent of those castles known to have been built during Stephen's reign have "entirely vanished". Castles in Scotland emerged as
51759-447: The war, while in Scotland the popular tower houses proved unsuitable for defending against civil war artillery – although major castles such as Edinburgh put up strong resistance. At the end of the war many castles were slighted to prevent future use. Military use of castles rapidly decreased over subsequent years, although some were adapted for use by garrisons in Scotland and key border locations for many years to come, including during
52002-436: The way that battles were fought. In the preceding decades, the English had even used a gunpowder-like weapon in military campaigns against the Scottish. However, at this time, the cannons used in battle were very small and not particularly powerful. Cannons were only useful for the defense of a castle , as demonstrated at Breteuil in 1356, when the besieged English used a cannon to destroy an attacking French assault tower. By
52245-600: The wealthier castles the floors could be tiled and the windows furnished with Sussex Weald glass, allowing the introduction of window seats for reading. Food could be transported to castles across relatively long distances; fish was brought to Okehampton Castle from the sea some 25 miles (40 km) away, for example. Venison remained the most heavily consumed food in most castles, particularly those surrounded by extensive parks or forests such as Barnard Castle , while prime cuts of venison were imported to those castles that lacked hunting grounds, such as Launceston . By
52488-580: The weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery. The actions involved in operating an artillery piece are collectively called "serving the gun" by the "detachment" or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The manner in which gunnery crews (or formations) are employed is called artillery support. At different periods in history, this may refer to weapons designed to be fired from ground-, sea-, and even air-based weapons platforms . Some armed forces use
52731-421: The weight in pounds. The projectiles themselves included solid balls or canister containing lead bullets or other material. These canister shots acted as massive shotguns, peppering the target with hundreds of projectiles at close range. The solid balls, known as round shot , was most effective when fired at shoulder-height across a flat, open area. The ball would tear through the ranks of the enemy or bounce along
52974-636: The word "artillery" is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings, although these assemblages are more properly called "equipment". However, there is no generally recognized generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth: the United States uses "artillery piece", but most English-speaking armies use "gun" and "mortar". The projectiles fired are typically either " shot " (if solid) or "shell" (if not solid). Historically, variants of solid shot including canister , chain shot and grapeshot were also used. "Shell"
53217-448: The work at Windsor, these castles drew on the architectural themes of earlier martial designs, but were not intended to form a serious defence against attack. These new castles were heavily influenced by French designs, involving a rectangular or semi-rectangular castle with corner towers, gatehouses and moat; the walls effectively enclosing a comfortable courtyard plan not dissimilar to that of an unfortified manor. Bodiam Castle built in
53460-412: The work, including stone, timber and lead and many other supplies. Camber, for example, probably required over 500,000 bricks, Sandgate needed 44,000 tiles, while constructing a small blockhouse along the Thames was estimated by contemporaries to require 200 tonnes (200 long tons; 220 short tons) of chalk just to enable the manufacture of the lime mortar . Some materials could be sourced locally, but coal
53703-436: The worst abuses. The development of the baronial castles in England were affected by the economic changes during the period. During the 13th and 14th centuries the average incomes of the English barons increased but wealth became concentrated in the hands of a smaller number of individuals, with a greater discrepancy in incomes. At the same time the costs of maintaining and staffing a modern castle were increasing. The result
53946-532: The year before as well. Richard I used them in his sieges during the Third Crusade and appears to have started to alter his castle designs to accommodate the new technology on his return to Europe. The trebuchet seems to have encouraged the shift towards round and polygonal towers and curved walls. In addition to having fewer or no dead zones, and being easier to defend against mining, these castle designs were also much less easy to attack with trebuchets as
54189-584: The years of the Interregnum . Many of the forts remained garrisoned with substantial numbers of men due to fears of a Royalist invasion, overseen by newly appointed governors; Netley was brought back into service due to the threat. Many were used to hold prisoners of war or political detainees , including Hull, Mersea, Portland, Southsea and West Cowes. During the First Anglo-Dutch War between 1652 and 1654, castles such as Deal were reinforced with earthworks and soldiers. Portland saw action during
54432-503: Was a particular focus for this colonisation. The size of these Scottish castles, primarily wooden motte-and-bailey constructions, varied considerably from larger designs, such as the Bass of Inverurie , to smaller castles like Balmaclellan . As historian Lise Hull has suggested, the creation of castles in Scotland was "less to do with conquest" and more to do with "establishing a governing system". The Norman expansion into Wales slowed in
54675-475: Was abandoned around 1547 and fell into ruin, while the bulwarks along the Downs were defaced and their guns removed; they were formally removed from service in 1550. In 1552 the Essex fortifications were decommissioned, and several were subsequently pulled down. The expense of maintaining the fortifications in Hull led the Crown to agree a deal with the town authorities to take over management of them. Milton and Higham were demolished between 1557 and 1558. Mersea Fort
54918-480: Was challenged on occasion. In the 12th century the practice of castle-guards emerged in England and Wales, under which lands were assigned to local lords on condition that the recipient provided a certain number of knights or sergeants for the defence of a named castle. In some cases, such as at Dover , this arrangement became quite sophisticated with particular castle towers being named after particular families owing castle-guard duty. The links between castles and
55161-407: Was constructed on land that had recently been confiscated from Milton Chantry . By the second phase of the programme, however, most of the money from the dissolution had been spent, and Henry instead had to borrow funds; government officials noted that at least £100,000 was needed for the work. The garrisons of the Device Forts comprised relatively small teams of men who typically lived and worked in
55404-644: Was decorated with carved eagles, equipped with polygonal towers and expensive banded masonry, all designed to imitate the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, then the idealised image of imperial power. The actual site of the castle may also have been important as it was positioned close to the former Roman fort of Segontium . The elaborate gatehouse, with an excessive five sets of doors and six portcullises, also appears to have been designed to impress visitors and to invoke an image of an Arthurian castle, then believed to have been Byzantine in character. In
55647-496: Was developed in Syracuse in 399 BC. Until the introduction of gunpowder into western warfare, artillery was dependent upon mechanical energy which not only severely limited the kinetic energy of the projectiles, it also required the construction of very large engines to accumulate sufficient energy. A 1st-century BC Roman catapult launching 6.55 kg (14.4 lb) stones achieved a kinetic energy of 16 kilojoules , compared to
55890-530: Was garrisoned throughout, as was Brownsea, which was strengthened and equipped with additional guns. West Cowes was rapidly taken after firing on a nearby Parliamentary ship, and the Royalist commander at Yarmouth quickly negotiated a surrender of his tiny garrison. The heavily outnumbered garrison at Southsea Castle was stormed by Parliamentary forces in a night attack. Like Camber, St Andrew's and Netley were rapidly occupied and then decommissioned by Parliament. In
56133-432: Was given for their construction. Contemporary chroniclers saw this as a matter of concern; Robert of Torigny suggested that as many as 1,115 such castles had been built during the conflict, although this was probably an exaggeration as elsewhere he suggests an alternative figure of 126. Another feature of the war was the creation of many " counter-castles ". These had been used in English conflicts for several years before
56376-620: Was hugely expanded with an updated system of ramparts, bastions and moats at considerable cost. In the final phases of Charles's work, the castle and southern blockhouse at Hull were incorporated into a massive new fortification called the Citadel during the 1680s. Some of the Device Forts played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 against Charles' brother, King James II . The townsfolk of Deal seized their local castle in support of William of Orange , and took steps to defend
56619-454: Was invented in the eastern Mediterranean region in the 12th century, with the earliest definite attestation in 1187. Early Chinese artillery had vase-like shapes. This includes the "long range awe inspiring" cannon dated from 1350 and found in the 14th century Ming dynasty treatise Huolongjing . With the development of better metallurgy techniques, later cannons abandoned the vase shape of early Chinese artillery. This change can be seen in
56862-482: Was one of a ring of castles built around London, each approximately a day's march apart. Some regional patterns in castle building can also be seen – relatively few castles were built in East Anglia compared to the west of England or the Marches; this was probably due to the relatively settled and prosperous nature of the east of England and reflected a shortage of available serfs , or unfree labour . Not all of
57105-406: Was probably responsible for the bulk of the construction work across the region. The castles were extremely costly to build and required labourers, masons, carpenters, diggers, and building resources to be gathered by local sheriffs from across England, mustered at Chester and Bristol, before being sent on to North Wales in the spring, returning home each winter. The number of workers involved placed
57348-457: Was shipped from the north of England and prefabricated items were brought in from London. Most of the money for the first phase of Device works came from Henry's dissolution of the monasteries a few years before, and the revenues that flowed in from the Court of Augmentations and First Fruits and Tenths as a result. In addition, the dissolution had released ample supplies of building materials as
57591-438: Was slightly different – some castles were designed with two baileys attached to a single motte, and some ring works were built with additional towers added on; yet other castles were built as ringworks and later converted to motte-and-bailey structures. From the early 12th century onwards the Normans began to build new castles in stone and convert existing timber designs. This was initially a slow process, picking up speed towards
57834-550: Was temporarily decommissioned, before being brought back into active service. The strategic importance of south-east England declined after peace was declared with France in 1558. Military attention instead shifted towards the Spanish threat to the increasingly prosperous south-west of the country; tensions grew and war finally broke out in 1569. The new threat led to improvements being made to Pendennis and St Mawes castles in Cornwall, and repairs to Calshot, Camber and Portland along
58077-412: Was that although there were around 400 castles in England in 1216, the number of castles continued to diminish over the coming years; even the wealthier barons were inclined to let some castles slide into disuse and to focus their resources on the remaining stock. The castle-guard system faded into abeyance in England, being replaced by financial rents, although it continued in the Welsh Marches well into
58320-451: Was unable to prevent Flemish ships from passing along the Solent. Pendennis's garrison's pay was two years in arrears, reportedly forcing them to gather limpets from the shoreline for food. Some of the forts fell out of use; Camber Castle, whose original function of protecting the local anchorage had by now been made redundant by the changing shoreline, was decommissioned by King Charles I in 1637, while Sharpenrode Bulwark lay in ruins by
58563-501: Was used in Europe as a basic artillery manual. One of the most significant effects of artillery during this period was however somewhat more indirect—by easily reducing to rubble any medieval-type fortification or city wall (some which had stood since Roman times), it abolished millennia of siege-warfare strategies and styles of fortification building. This led, among other things, to a frenzy of new bastion -style fortifications to be built all over Europe and in its colonies, but also had
58806-399: Was used rarely and the siege engines of the time were largely incapable of damaging the thicker castle walls. The introduction of the trebuchet began to change this situation; it was able to throw much heavier balls, with remarkable accuracy, and reconstructed devices have been shown to be able to knock holes in walls. Trebuchets were first recorded in England in 1217, and were probably used
59049-423: Was viewed as its own service branch with the capability of dominating the battlefield. The success of the French artillery companies was at least in part due to the presence of specially trained artillery officers leading and coordinating during the chaos of battle. Napoleon , himself a former artillery officer, perfected the tactic of massed artillery batteries unleashed upon a critical point in his enemies' line as
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