126-592: Whittington Castle is a castle in northern Shropshire , England, owned and managed by the Whittington Castle Preservation Fund. The castle was originally a motte-and-bailey castle, but this was replaced in the 13th century by one with buildings around a courtyard whose exterior wall was the curtain wall of the inner bailey . As a castle of the Welsh Marches , it was built on the border of Wales and England very close to
252-606: A drawbridge , although these were often replaced by stone bridges. The site of the 13th-century Caerphilly Castle in Wales covers over 30 acres (12 ha) and the water defences, created by flooding the valley to the south of the castle, are some of the largest in Western Europe. Battlements were most often found surmounting curtain walls and the tops of gatehouses, and comprised several elements: crenellations , hoardings , machicolations , and loopholes . Crenellation
378-512: A Breton knight, was granted the feudal barony of Oswestry by King Henry I who, soon after his accession, invited Alan to England with other Breton friends, and gave him forfeited lands in Norfolk and Shropshire , including some which had previously belonged to Ernulf de Hesdin (killed at Antioch while on crusade) and Robert of Bellême . Alan's duties to the Crown included supervision of
504-485: A Briton called Meredus Fitz Beledyns ( Maredudd ap Bleddyn ). There is an alternative view that Oswestry was named after Oswy , Oswald's brother, who fought a battle here against King Penda in 655 AD. Oswy became King of Northumbria after Oswald's death in 642 AD. The battle of 655 AD was fought near to a river called the Winwead, which it is believed, was the nearby River Vyrnwy . Welsh folklore has it that this battle
630-471: A Roman fort or Byzantine tetrapyrgia which were square in plan and had square towers at each corner that did not project much beyond the curtain wall. The keep of these Crusader castles would have had a square plan and generally be undecorated. While castles were used to hold a site and control movement of armies, in the Holy Land some key strategic positions were left unfortified. Castle architecture in
756-462: A barbican was not just to provide another line of defence but also to dictate the only approach to the gate. A moat was a ditch surrounding a castle – or dividing one part of a castle from another – and could be either dry or filled with water. Its purpose often had a defensive purpose, preventing siege towers from reaching walls making mining harder, but could also be ornamental. Water moats were found in low-lying areas and were usually crossed by
882-438: A central keep . In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire . Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to
1008-574: A common origin, dealt with a particular mode of warfare, and exchanged influences. In different areas of the world, analogous structures shared features of fortification and other defining characteristics associated with the concept of a castle, though they originated in different periods and circumstances and experienced differing evolutions and influences. For example, shiro in Japan, described as castles by historian Stephen Turnbull , underwent "a completely different developmental history, were built in
1134-480: A completely different way and were designed to withstand attacks of a completely different nature". While European castles built from the late 12th and early 13th century onwards were generally stone, shiro were predominantly timber buildings into the 16th century. By the 16th century, when Japanese and European cultures met, fortification in Europe had moved beyond castles and relied on innovations such as
1260-648: A confined space and unable to retaliate. It is a popular myth that murder holes – openings in the ceiling of the gateway passage – were used to pour boiling oil or molten lead on attackers; the price of oil and lead and the distance of the gatehouse from fires meant that this was impractical. This method was, however, a common practice in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean castles and fortifications, where such resources were abundant. They were most likely used to drop objects on attackers, or to allow water to be poured on fires to extinguish them. Provision
1386-526: A curtain wall and five towers on a raised platform surrounded by a moat, beyond which there is an outer gatehouse or barbican . For the next forty years, the castle remained in English possession, but was ceded to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd by treaty. After the defeat of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, the castle became a lordly residence for the FitzWarin family. However, after the death of Fulk VII in 1349,
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#17327874739551512-413: A fortification such as a city wall . The great hall was a large, decorated room where a lord received his guests. The hall represented the prestige, authority, and richness of the lord. Events such as feasts, banquets, social or ceremonial gatherings, meetings of the military council, and judicial trials were held in the great hall. Sometimes the great hall existed as a separate building, in that case, it
1638-649: A house until the 1990s. Whittington Castle is currently owned on a 99-year lease from 2002 by the Whittington Castle Preservation Trust, a rural community trust formed in December 1998. The trust recently completed a £1.5 million renovation project. Every year the Historia Normannis historical re-enactment group gathers at the castle to re-enact battles that would have happened in the area at that time of year. One of
1764-609: A long time in a constant state of alert"; elsewhere the lord's wife presided over a separate residence ( domus , aula or mansio in Latin) close to the keep, and the donjon was a barracks and headquarters. Gradually, the two functions merged into the same building, and the highest residential storeys had large windows; as a result for many structures, it is difficult to find an appropriate term. The massive internal spaces seen in many surviving donjons can be misleading; they would have been divided into several rooms by light partitions, as in
1890-435: A lord's home or hall was fire as it was usually a wooden structure. To protect against this, and keep other threats at bay, there were several courses of action available: create encircling earthworks to keep an enemy at a distance; build the hall in stone; or raise it up on an artificial mound, known as a motte, to present an obstacle to attackers. While the concept of ditches , ramparts , and stone walls as defensive measures
2016-542: A massive scale, utilising stone, wood, iron and earth in their construction. The Romans encountered fortified settlements such as hill forts and oppida when expanding their territory into northern Europe. Their defences were often effective, and were only overcome by the extensive use of siege engines and other siege warfare techniques, such as at the Battle of Alesia . The Romans' own fortifications ( castra ) varied from simple temporary earthworks thrown up by armies on
2142-494: A mixture of castle technology from the Crusades , such as concentric fortification , and inspiration from earlier defences, such as Roman forts . Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape. Although gunpowder
2268-753: A modern 1970s building. Other Nonconformist churches include the Albert Road Evangelical Church, Hope Church, formerly Carreg Llwyd Church (Welsh for 'Grey Rock'), founded in 1964, and the Cabin Lane Church, established by members of the Hope Church in 1991 following the eastern expansion of Oswestry. Christ Church was opened by the Congregational Church in October 1972, but now shared by
2394-642: A modern office building. Even in some large castles the great hall was separated only by a partition from the lord's chamber, his bedroom and to some extent his office. Curtain walls were defensive walls enclosing a bailey. They had to be high enough to make scaling the walls with ladders difficult and thick enough to withstand bombardment from siege engines which, from the 15th century onwards, included gunpowder artillery . A typical wall could be 3 m (10 ft) thick and 12 m (39 ft) tall, although sizes varied greatly between castles. To protect them from undermining , curtain walls were sometimes given
2520-539: A number of words in other languages also derive from castellum . The word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest of 1066 to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is "a private fortified residence". This contrasts with earlier fortifications, such as Anglo-Saxon burhs and walled cities such as Constantinople and Antioch in
2646-498: A range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, and domestic. As well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory. Castles were established by Norman invaders of England for both defensive purposes and to pacify the country's inhabitants. As William the Conqueror advanced through England, he fortified key positions to secure
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#17327874739552772-627: A result there were 4,000 in the country. There are very few castles dated with certainty from the mid-9th century. Converted into a donjon around 950, Château de Doué-la-Fontaine in France is the oldest standing castle in Europe . From 1000 onwards, references to castles in texts such as charters increased greatly. Historians have interpreted this as evidence of a sudden increase in the number of castles in Europe around this time; this has been supported by archaeological investigation which has dated
2898-476: A scientific design. An example of this approach is Kerak . Although there were no scientific elements to its design, it was almost impregnable, and in 1187 Saladin chose to lay siege to the castle and starve out its garrison rather than risk an assault. During the late 11th and 12th centuries in what is now south-central Turkey the Hospitallers , Teutonic Knights and Templars established themselves in
3024-420: A stone skirt around their bases. Walkways along the tops of the curtain walls allowed defenders to rain missiles on enemies below, and battlements gave them further protection. Curtain walls were studded with towers to allow enfilading fire along the wall. Arrowslits in the walls did not become common in Europe until the 13th century, for fear that they might compromise the wall's strength. The entrance
3150-497: A stronghold and prison but was also a place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. Over time the aesthetics of the design became more important, as the castle's appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of its occupant. Comfortable homes were often fashioned within their fortified walls. Although castles still provided protection from low levels of violence in later periods, eventually they were succeeded by country houses as high-status residences. Castle
3276-424: A wall with openings that allowed objects to be dropped on an enemy at the base of the wall in a similar fashion to hoardings. Arrowslits , also commonly called loopholes, were narrow vertical openings in defensive walls which allowed arrows or crossbow bolts to be fired on attackers. The narrow slits were intended to protect the defender by providing a very small target, but the size of the opening could also impede
3402-677: A well-known circuit. The camp was reactivated in July 1939 for Royal Artillery training and the Plotting Officers' School. Following World War II , Oswestry was a prominent military centre for Canadian troops, then for the British Royal Artillery, and finally a training centre for 15 to 17-year-old Infantry Junior Leaders. The camp closed in 1975. During the 1970s some local licensed wildfowlers discharged their shotguns at some passing ducks and were shot themselves by
3528-400: A wooden door. This led to the elevation of windows to the second storey – to make it harder to throw objects in – and to move the entrance from ground level to the second storey. These features are seen in many surviving castle keeps, which were the more sophisticated version of halls. Castles were not just defensive sites but also enhanced a lord's control over his lands. They allowed
3654-581: A young military guard, who had mistaken them for an attacking IRA force. The area previously occupied by the Park Hall military camp is now mainly residential and agricultural land, with a small number of light industrial units. Park Hall Farm became a visitor attraction in 1998, it is home to the Museum of the Welsh Guards . The Park Hall Football Stadium (home of The New Saints FC ) and The Venue
3780-686: Is a Health Centre on Thomas Savin Road, next to Shelf Bank and opposite the bus station. Within the Health Centre is the Oswestry Minor Injuries Unit, Cambrian Medical Centre and a range of services run by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust . There are three other GP surgeries situated within the town, and numerous opticians, pharmacists and dentists. Oswestry is home to the second oldest 'free' (which in this context means not linked to any ecclesiastical foundation) school in
3906-543: Is a corrupted form of "donjon" and means a dark, unwelcoming prison. Although often the strongest part of a castle and a last place of refuge if the outer defences fell, the keep was not left empty in case of attack but was used as a residence by the lord who owned the castle, or his guests or representatives. At first, this was usual only in England, when after the Norman Conquest of 1066 the "conquerors lived for
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4032-678: Is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire , England, close to the Welsh border . It is at the junction of the A5 , A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Oswestry until that was abolished in 2009. Oswestry is the third-largest town in Shropshire, following Telford and Shrewsbury . At the 2021 Census, the population
4158-605: Is a small Orthodox Christian community in Oswestry, which has increased in size over years due to the town's growing Bulgarian community. There is no Orthodox church in Oswestry, however, so congregants have to travel to the Greek Orthodox Community of the Holy Fathers of Nicaea, Shrewsbury, to worship. There used to be an Orthodox outreach at Holy Trinity Church for a few years, but a disagreement over
4284-462: Is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders . Scholars usually consider a castle to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion , palace , and villa , whose main purpose was exclusively for pleasance and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified. Use of
4410-562: Is also an independent co-educational preparatory school in Church Street, Bellan House, which is run by Oswestry School. Secondary education is provided by both Oswestry School and the state secondary school with academy status: The Marches School , Morda Road. Further education is provided by The Marches School's Sixth Form and the North Shropshire College which is situated in the town at Shrewsbury Road and at
4536-433: Is ancient, raising a motte is a medieval innovation. A bank and ditch enclosure was a simple form of defence, and when found without an associated motte is called a ringwork; when the site was in use for a prolonged period, it was sometimes replaced by a more complex structure or enhanced by the addition of a stone curtain wall. Building the hall in stone did not necessarily make it immune to fire as it still had windows and
4662-537: Is divided into two Church of England parishes, which are part of the Diocese of Lichfield : Holy Trinity, which encompasses Oswestry East and eastern part of Oswestry Rural; and St. Oswald, which encompasses Oswestry South, Oswestry West and the western part of Oswestry Rural. Each parish has its own parish church. St Oswald's Church was first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday book and a tithe document in Shrewsbury
4788-501: Is hung above the castle archway. It is also claimed that the castle formed part of the lordship of a noble Welshman called Tudur Trefor or Tudor Trevor in both the Maelors (that is Maelor Saesneg and Maelor Gymraeg . Though his father Rhys Sais did hold the former, the rest seems to be an invention of Lewis Dwnn in 1846. Whittington Castle appeared on an episode of Most Haunted on 7 July 2016. Castle A castle
4914-519: Is now closed. Old Oswestry , on the northern edge of the town, dominates the northern and eastern approaches. The 3,000-year-old settlement is one of the most spectacular and best preserved Iron Age hill forts in Britain , with evidence of construction and occupation between 800 BC and AD 43. Other attractions in and around Oswestry include: Cae Glas Park, Shelf Bank , Wilfred Owen Green, Saint Oswald's Well at Maserfield, Oswestry Castle , and
5040-580: Is sometimes used as a catch-all term for all kinds of fortifications , and as a result has been misapplied in the technical sense. An example of this is Maiden Castle which, despite the name, is an Iron Age hill fort which had a very different origin and purpose. Although castle has not become a generic term for a manor house (like château in French and Schloss in German), many manor houses contain castle in their name while having few if any of
5166-407: Is the collective name for alternating crenels and merlons : gaps and solid blocks on top of a wall. Hoardings were wooden constructs that projected beyond the wall, allowing defenders to shoot at, or drop objects on, attackers at the base of the wall without having to lean perilously over the crenellations, thereby exposing themselves to retaliatory fire. Machicolations were stone projections on top of
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5292-535: Is the grave of a child Holocaust refugee. The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust in Oswestry provides elective orthopaedic surgery and musculoskeletal medical services. The hospital is located towards Gobowen. The hospital is now home to the UK's first orthopaedic outpatient centre for British Armed Forces veterans following a fund-raising appeal by the RJAH League of Friends in 2018. There
5418-461: Is widely thought to have been fought at Oswestry in 641 or 642, between the Anglo-Saxon kings Penda of Mercia and Oswald of Northumbria . However, the location of the battle is debated among scholars. The Domesday Book (1086) records the castle being built by Rainald, a Norman Sheriff of Shropshire : L'oeuvre ( French for 'The work'). Alan fitz Flaad (died c.1120),
5544-909: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , where they discovered an extensive network of sophisticated fortifications which had a profound impact on the architecture of Crusader castles . Most of the Armenian military sites in Cilicia are characterized by: multiple bailey walls laid with irregular plans to follow the sinuosities of the outcrops; rounded and especially horseshoe-shaped towers; finely-cut often rusticated ashlar facing stones with intricate poured cores; concealed postern gates and complex bent entrances with slot machicolations; embrasured loopholes for archers; barrel, pointed or groined vaults over undercrofts, gates and chapels; and cisterns with elaborate scarped drains. Civilian settlement are often found in
5670-451: The Battle of Maserfield in 641/642. The location of the battle is debated among scholars, but for much of the twentieth century was assumed to be at Oswestry. However, A. D. Mills's Dictionary of English Place Names concluded that 'the traditional connection with St Oswald, 7th-century king of Northumbria, is uncertain'. The name and the association with King Oswald have attracted more fanciful interpretations. According to legend, one of
5796-492: The Bayeux Tapestry 's depiction of Château de Dinan . Sometimes a motte covered an older castle or hall, whose rooms became underground storage areas and prisons beneath a new keep. A bailey, also called a ward, was a fortified enclosure. It was a common feature of castles, and most had at least one. The keep on top of the motte was the domicile of the lord in charge of the castle and a bastion of last defence, while
5922-598: The FitzWarin peerage into the Bourchier family. Their grandson John Bourchier was made Earl of Bath , but his son John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath exchanged the lordship and castle in 1545 with Henry VIII , for some former monastic estates nearer the main family home in Devon . A detailed survey of the castle was made at the time of the exchange. This describes some of the buildings as 'in decay'. The castle itself
6048-457: The Iron Age . Hillforts in Britain typically used earthworks rather than stone as a building material. Many earthworks survive today, along with evidence of palisades to accompany the ditches. In central and western Europe, oppida emerged in the 2nd century BC; these were densely inhabited fortified settlements, such as the oppidum of Manching . Some oppida walls were built on
6174-480: The Romans . The gatehouse contained a series of defences to make a direct assault more difficult than battering down a simple gate. Typically, there were one or more portcullises – a wooden grille reinforced with metal to block a passage – and arrowslits to allow defenders to harry the enemy. The passage through the gatehouse was lengthened to increase the amount of time an assailant had to spend under fire in
6300-586: The Stewart Royal family . The town changed hands between the English and the Welsh a number of times during the Middle Ages and still retains some Welsh-language street and place names . In 1972, ITV broadcast a television report asking residents if they thought the town should be English or Welsh, with mixed responses. In 1149 the castle was captured by Madog ap Maredudd during ' The Anarchy ', and it remained in Welsh hands until 1157. Occasionally in
6426-738: The United Reformed Church and the Presbyterian Church of Wales , was the home church of the composer Walford Davies , who sang in the choir. There is a Welsh-speaking church, the Seion Church, and the Holy Anglican Church, a Western Rite Anglican establishment. Coney Green has a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall. The Religious Society of Friends also holds meetings in Oswestry. The Grade II* star Hermon Chapel, by chapel architect Thomas Thomas ,
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#17327874739556552-416: The fourth Lord Harlech, William Ormsby-Gore , in 1952. There is a range of arts related activities in the town. There have been the following royal visits to Oswestry: In the 2011 Census , 68.7% of the population of Shropshire stated that their religion was 'Christian'. The second largest group (22.8%) stated that they had 'no religion'. There are a number of places of worship in Oswestry. Oswestry
6678-539: The 13th century it is referred to in official records as Blancmuster (1233) or Blancmostre (1272), meaning "White Minster". Later, Oswestry was attacked by the forces of Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr during the early years of his rebellion against the English King Henry IV in 1400; it became known as Pentrepoeth or "hot village" as it was burned and nearly totally destroyed by the Welsh. The castle
6804-400: The 14th century. This discovery was significant in that it proved the advanced state (as compared to those of the French or Flemish) of English gardening habits. The "lavish" garden was installed by one of the FitzWarin family . The viewing mound in the centre may be the oldest of its type yet discovered in England. Whittington lies on the English side of Offa's Dyke , which in this area was
6930-538: The 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a Romantic revival of Gothic architecture , but they had no military purpose. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum , which is a diminutive of the word castrum , meaning "fortified place". The Old English castel , Occitan castel or chastel , French château , Spanish castillo , Portuguese castelo , Italian castello , and
7056-533: The 9th and 10th centuries after the fall of the Carolingian Empire , which resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them and they were both offensive and defensive structures: they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as offered protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies,
7182-654: The Cambrian Railway Museum located near the former railway station. Oswestry Guildhall , the meeting place of Oswestry Town Council, was completed in 1893. A story incorporating the names of all of the many pubs once open in Oswestry can be found hanging on a wall inside The Oak Inn on Church Street. There is a tapestry of forty Oswestry pub signs on display in Oswestry Guildhall on the Bailey Head. The Stonehouse Brewery opened in 2007, on
7308-613: The Christians were victorious in the First Crusade (1096–1099), rather than nearly 100 years later. Remains of Roman structures in Western Europe were still standing in many places, some of which had flanking round-towers and entrances between two flanking towers. The castle builders of Western Europe were aware of and influenced by Roman design; late Roman coastal forts on the English " Saxon Shore " were reused and in Spain
7434-628: The East became more complex around the late 12th and early 13th centuries after the stalemate of the Third Crusade (1189–1192). Both Christians and Muslims created fortifications, and the character of each was different. Saphadin , the 13th-century ruler of the Saracens, created structures with large rectangular towers that influenced Muslim architecture and were copied again and again, however they had little influence on Crusader castles. In
7560-528: The Iberian Peninsula was the use of detached towers, called Albarrana towers , around the perimeter as can be seen at the Alcazaba of Badajoz . Probably developed in the 12th century, the towers provided flanking fire. They were connected to the castle by removable wooden bridges, so if the towers were captured the rest of the castle was not accessible. When seeking to explain this change in
7686-475: The Italian trace italienne and star forts . A motte was an earthen mound with a flat top. It was often artificial, although sometimes it incorporated a pre-existing feature of the landscape. The excavation of earth to make the mound left a ditch around the motte, called a moat (which could be either wet or dry). Although the motte is commonly associated with the bailey to form a motte-and-bailey castle, this
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#17327874739557812-473: The Middle East; castles were not communal defences but were built and owned by the local feudal lords, either for themselves or for their monarch. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for military service and the expectation of loyalty, the lord would grant the vassal land. In the late 20th century, there was a trend to refine the definition of a castle by including
7938-566: The Newgate Pillar visible today. After the foot and mouth outbreak in the late 1960s the animal market was moved out of the town centre. In the 1990s, a statue of a shepherd and sheep was installed in the market square as a memorial to the history of the market site. Park Hall, a mile east of the town, was taken over by the Army during World War I in 1915 and used as a training camp and military hospital. On 26 December 1918 it burnt to
8064-492: The Norman boundary between England and Wales . The castle of Whittington may have begun as a Norman manor house , although there is no evidence for this. The site was fortified as a castle for William Peverel , in 1138, in support of Empress Matilda , the daughter of Henry I against King Stephen , nephew of King Henry I, and claimant to the throne during The Anarchy . In 1149, the lordship of Whittington , like Oswestry ,
8190-524: The Walford Campus near Baschurch . Regional TV news is provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals can be received from either The Wrekin or Sutton Coldfield TV transmitters. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Shropshire on 96.0 FM, Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire on 103.1 FM and Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire on 107.1 FM. The Border Counties Advertizer and Shropshire Star are
8316-482: The Welsh border. He also founded Sporle Priory in Norfolk. He married Ada or Adeline, daughter of Ernulf de Hesdin. Their eldest son William FitzAlan was made High Sheriff of Shropshire by King Stephen in 1137. He married a niece of Robert of Gloucester . Alan's younger son, Walter , travelled to Scotland in the train of King David I , Walter becoming the first hereditary Steward of Scotland and ancestor of
8442-404: The architectural characteristics, usually as their owners liked to maintain a link to the past and felt the term castle was a masculine expression of their power. In scholarship the castle, as defined above, is generally accepted as a coherent concept, originating in Europe and later spreading to parts of the Middle East, where they were introduced by European Crusaders. This coherent group shared
8568-426: The bailey was the home of the rest of the lord's household and gave them protection. The barracks for the garrison, stables, workshops, and storage facilities were often found in the bailey. Water was supplied by a well or cistern . Over time the focus of high status accommodation shifted from the keep to the bailey; this resulted in the creation of another bailey that separated the high status buildings – such as
8694-455: The castle went through a long period when the lords were almost always under age and usually absentees, though some repairs were carried out in about 1402. The lordship was laid waste in 1404 during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr , so that the lordship was worth nothing in 1407. However, the castle was not captured. It had been occupied during the minority of Fulk XI by his mother and her new husband William Lord Clinton , during whose time there
8820-555: The castle. In 1632, the Castle Gatehouse was let, the tenant being allowed to take 'freestone out of the castle'. By the time of the English Civil War , Whittington Castle was evidently no longer defensible and there is no evidence that it played any role in that war. In 1673, the castle (or rather the gatehouse) was let as a romantic dwelling to Thomas Lloyd, a London merchant, probably retired. About 1760, one of
8946-583: The church layout brought this service to an end. Congregants also used to benefit from a Greek Orthodox priest at Weston Rhyn , who left the area in the 1990s. There is a very small Liberal Jewish community within Oswestry, who are served by the Welshpool Jewish Group, over 15 miles away. Oswestry's Jewish history is little known, but has had Jewish businesses and families since at least the 1850s. Located within Oswestry Cemetery
9072-578: The complexity and style of castles, antiquarians found their answer in the Crusades. It seemed that the Crusaders had learned much about fortification from their conflicts with the Saracens and exposure to Byzantine architecture . There were legends such as that of Lalys – an architect from Palestine who reputedly went to Wales after the Crusades and greatly enhanced the castles in the south of
9198-454: The construction of castle sites through the examination of ceramics. The increase in Italy began in the 950s, with numbers of castles increasing by a factor of three to five every 50 years, whereas in other parts of Europe such as France and Spain the growth was slower. In 950, Provence was home to 12 castles; by 1000, this figure had risen to 30, and by 1030 it was over 100. Although
9324-474: The country – and it was assumed that great architects such as James of Saint George originated in the East. In the mid-20th century this view was cast into doubt. Legends were discredited, and in the case of James of Saint George it was proven that he came from Saint-Georges-d'Espéranche , in France. If the innovations in fortification had derived from the East, it would have been expected for their influence to be seen from 1100 onwards, immediately after
9450-867: The country, Oswestry School , which was founded in 1407. (The oldest, Winchester College , was founded in 1382.) Oswestry School's 15th century site, adjacent to St Oswald's Parish Church, is now a café restaurant. It used to house the Tourist Information Centre, now moved to Castle view. There are four state primary schools in Oswestry: The Meadows Primary School, Cabin Lane; Woodside Primary School, Gittin Street; Holy Trinity C.E. Primary Academy & Nursery, Beech Grove and Middleton Road; and Our Lady & St. Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Upper Brook Street. There
9576-463: The criterion of feudal ownership, thus tying castles to the medieval period; however, this does not necessarily reflect the terminology used in the medieval period. During the First Crusade (1096–1099), the Frankish armies encountered walled settlements and forts that they indiscriminately referred to as castles, but which would not be considered as such under the modern definition. Castles served
9702-427: The defender if it was too small. A smaller horizontal opening could be added to give an archer a better view for aiming. Sometimes a sally port was included; this could allow the garrison to leave the castle and engage besieging forces. It was usual for the latrines to empty down the external walls of a castle and into the surrounding ditch. A postern is a secondary door or gate in a concealed location, usually in
9828-441: The dismembered Oswald's arms was carried to an ash tree by a raven. Miracles were subsequently attributed to the tree, and the legend has it that this was "Oswald's Tree", and gave its name to the town. A spring called 'Oswald's Well' is supposed to have originated where the bird dropped the arm from the tree, though one historian has suggested that it was likely to have had sacred associations long before Oswald's time. The water from
9954-552: The dominant form of castle in England, Wales, and Ireland well into the 12th century. At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated. The donjon was at the centre of this change in castle architecture in the 12th century. Central towers proliferated, and typically had a square plan, with walls 3 to 4 m (9.8 to 13.1 ft) thick. Their decoration emulated Romanesque architecture , and sometimes incorporated double windows similar to those found in church bell towers. Donjons, which were
10080-617: The early 13th century, Crusader castles were mostly built by Military Orders including the Knights Hospitaller , Knights Templar , and Teutonic Knights . The orders were responsible for the foundation of sites such as Krak des Chevaliers , Margat , and Belvoir . Design varied not just between orders, but between individual castles, though it was common for those founded in this period to have concentric defences. Oswestry Oswestry ( / ˈ ɒ z w ə s t r i / OZ -wəss-tree ; Welsh : Croesoswallt )
10206-413: The economy and justice. However, while castles proliferated in the 9th and 10th centuries the link between periods of insecurity and building fortifications is not always straightforward. Some high concentrations of castles occur in secure places, while some border regions had relatively few castles. It is likely that the castle evolved from the practice of fortifying a lordly home. The greatest threat to
10332-592: The garrison to control the surrounding area, and formed a centre of administration, providing the lord with a place to hold court . Building a castle sometimes required the permission of the king or other high authority. In 864 the King of West Francia, Charles the Bald , prohibited the construction of castella without his permission and ordered them all to be destroyed. This is perhaps the earliest reference to castles, though military historian R. Allen Brown points out that
10458-591: The ground following an electrical fault. The ruined hall and camp remained derelict between the wars, the camp hospital, however, was still in use; the Baschurch Convalescent and Surgical Home moved there in February 1921 and it became known as the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital . One of the main uses of the land from the 1920s was for motorcycle racing and it became quite
10584-433: The historic fort of Old Oswestry . Whittington Castle resides on a 12-acre (49,000 m) property in the village of Whittington , in the district of North Shropshire, in the county of Shropshire in England. It abuts Castle Road. In 2003, a historical and archaeological investigation by Peter Brown and Peter King identified that the outer bailey of the castle had been two elaborate gardens and surrounded by water in
10710-703: The immediate proximity of these fortifications. After the First Crusade, Crusaders who did not return to their homes in Europe helped found the Crusader states of the Principality of Antioch , the County of Edessa , the Kingdom of Jerusalem , and the County of Tripoli . The castles they founded to secure their acquisitions were designed mostly by Syrian master-masons. Their design was very similar to that of
10836-428: The increase was slower in Spain, the 1020s saw a particular growth in the number of castles in the region, particularly in contested border areas between Christian and Muslim lands. Despite the common period in which castles rose to prominence in Europe, their form and design varied from region to region. In the early 11th century, the motte and keep – an artificial mound with a palisade and tower on top –
10962-571: The land he had taken. Between 1066 and 1087, he established 36 castles such as Warwick Castle , which he used to guard against rebellion in the English Midlands . Towards the end of the Middle Ages, castles tended to lose their military significance due to the advent of powerful cannons and permanent artillery fortifications; as a result, castles became more important as residences and statements of power. A castle could act as
11088-414: The lay of the land (the result was often irregular or curvilinear structures). The design of castles was not uniform, but these were features that could be found in a typical castle in the mid-12th century. By the end of the 12th century or the early 13th century, a newly constructed castle could be expected to be polygonal in shape, with towers at the corners to provide enfilading fire for
11214-499: The lord's chambers and the chapel – from the everyday structures such as the workshops and barracks. From the late 12th century there was a trend for knights to move out of the small houses they had previously occupied within the bailey to live in fortified houses in the countryside. Although often associated with the motte-and-bailey type of castle, baileys could also be found as independent defensive structures. These simple fortifications were called ringworks . The enceinte
11340-420: The loss of the donjon. Where keeps did exist, they were no longer square but polygonal or cylindrical. Gateways were more strongly defended, with the entrance to the castle usually between two half-round towers which were connected by a passage above the gateway – although there was great variety in the styles of gateway and entrances – and one or more portcullis. A peculiar feature of Muslim castles in
11466-467: The main living quarters of the castle and usually the most strongly defended point of a castle before the introduction of concentric defence . "Keep" was not a term used in the medieval period – the term was applied from the 16th century onwards – instead " donjon " was used to refer to great towers, or turris in Latin. In motte-and-bailey castles, the keep was on top of the motte. "Dungeon"
11592-607: The most prominent legends concerning Whittington Castle regards the Marian Chalice , thought by some to be the Holy Grail . According to this legend, Sir Fulk FitzWarin, the great grandson of Payne Peveril and one in the line of guardians of the Grail and King Arthur . A story from the 13th century states that the Grail was kept in a private chapel of the castle when Sir Foulke was there. The coat of arms of Fulk FitzWarin
11718-444: The move, to elaborate permanent stone constructions, notably the milecastles of Hadrian's Wall . Roman forts were generally rectangular with rounded corners – a "playing-card shape". In the medieval period, castles were influenced by earlier forms of elite architecture, contributing to regional variations. Importantly, while castles had military aspects, they contained a recognisable household structure within their walls, reflecting
11844-438: The multi-functional use of these buildings. The subject of the emergence of castles in Europe is a complex matter which has led to considerable debate. Discussions have typically attributed the rise of the castle to a reaction to attacks by Magyars , Muslims , and Vikings and a need for private defence. The breakdown of the Carolingian Empire led to the privatisation of government, and local lords assumed responsibility for
11970-523: The number of castles being built went into decline. This has been partly attributed to the higher cost of stone-built fortifications, and the obsolescence of timber and earthwork sites, which meant it was preferable to build in more durable stone. Although superseded by their stone successors, timber and earthwork castles were by no means useless. This is evidenced by the continual maintenance of timber castles over long periods, sometimes several centuries; Owain Glyndŵr 's 11th-century timber castle at Sycharth
12096-626: The parish of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Oswald, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury . The single Catholic church is Our Lady and St Oswald's Catholic Church. There is an associated primary school. There are two Methodist churches: the Horeb Church on Victoria Road and the Oswestry Methodist Church. Cornerstone Baptist Church is on the corner of Lower Brook Street and Roft Street in
12222-424: The residence of the lord of the castle, evolved to become more spacious. The design emphasis of donjons changed to reflect a shift from functional to decorative requirements, imposing a symbol of lordly power upon the landscape. This sometimes led to compromising defence for the sake of display. Until the 12th century, stone-built and earth and timber castles were contemporary, but by the late 12th century
12348-469: The same year. St Oswald's Church is Grade II* listed , having a tower dating from late 12th or early 13th century and later additions particularly in the 17th and 19th centuries. There is a new window in the east nave, designed by stained glass artist Jane Gray in 2004. In June 2022, it was announced that, from January 2023, oversight of traditional Catholics within the Anglican Church in
12474-520: The site of the former Weston Wharf railway station at Weston, in nearby Oswestry Rural; Stonehouse Brewery supplies many of the pubs with real ale. Brogyntyn Hall, which belonged to the Lords Harlech , lies just outside the town. Brogyntyn Park is five and a half acres of parkland occupying the southern slope of the Grade II listed Brogyntyn Estate. It was gifted to Oswestry Town Council by
12600-542: The structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills, fertile land, or a water source. Many northern European castles were originally built from earth and timber but had their defences replaced later by stone . Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits and relying on
12726-410: The term has varied over time and, sometimes, has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls , arrowslits , and portcullises , were commonplace. European-style castles originated in
12852-486: The towers fell into the moat. This and other parts of the castle were used to make roads, probably including the new turnpike road to Ellesmere in 1776, during the minority of William Lloyd. The castle fronts onto the old line of the Holyhead Road and was thus noticed by visitors. William Lloyd undertook the restoration of the gatehouse in about 1808, letting it as a farmhouse. This continued to be occupied as
12978-571: The wall around the city of Ávila imitated Roman architecture when it was built in 1091. Historian Smail in Crusading warfare argued that the case for the influence of Eastern fortification on the West has been overstated, and that Crusaders of the 12th century in fact learned very little about scientific design from Byzantine and Saracen defences. A well-sited castle that made use of natural defences and had strong ditches and walls had no need for
13104-413: The walls. The towers would have protruded from the walls and featured arrowslits on each level to allow archers to target anyone nearing or at the curtain wall. These later castles did not always have a keep, but this may have been because the more complex design of the castle as a whole drove up costs and the keep was sacrificed to save money. The larger towers provided space for habitation to make up for
13230-468: The well was believed to have healing properties, particularly for curing eye trouble. Offa's Dyke runs near the well, to the west. This interpretation is supported by a passage in Fouke le Fitz Waryn (13th century romance ) which states that Oswaldestré was derived from Arbre Oswald (Oswald's tree), which in turn was changed from La Blanche Launde ( Welsh : y tir Gwyn ) which belonged to
13356-570: The west of Province of Canterbury (formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet 's area) would be taken by a new Bishop of Oswestry , suffragan to the Bishop of Lichfield. The Bishop of Oswestry serves the western 13 dioceses of the southern province ( Bath and Wells , Birmingham , Bristol , Coventry , Derby , Exeter , Gloucester , Hereford , Lichfield, Oxford , Salisbury , Truro , and Worcester ). The town of Oswestry and surrounding villages fall into
13482-452: The word trēow ('tree'). Thus the name seems once to have meant 'tree of a man called Ōswald'. However, the traditional Welsh name for the town, Croesoswallt (first attested in 1254), means 'Oswald's cross', and 'cross' is a possible meaning of Old English trēow . Thus the town's name may have meant 'Oswald's cross' in both English and Welsh. The Oswald mentioned is widely imagined to have been Oswald of Northumbria , who died at
13608-460: The word castella may have applied to any fortification at the time. In some countries the monarch had little control over lords, or required the construction of new castles to aid in securing the land so was unconcerned about granting permission – as was the case in England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and the Holy Land during the Crusades . Switzerland is an extreme case of there being no state control over who built castles, and as
13734-543: Was 17,509. The town is five miles (8 km) from the Welsh border and has a mixed English and Welsh heritage. Oswestry is the largest settlement within the Oswestry Uplands , a designated natural area and national character area . The name Oswestry is first attested in 1191, as Oswaldestroe . This Middle English name transparently derives from the Old English personal name Ōswald and
13860-649: Was a Welsh-speaking Congregational church and is now an arts and community centre. A small Muslim community exists in the town. A plan to transform a 19th-century former Presbyterian church on Oswald Road into a permanent base for meetings and prayer services fell through in March 2013 due to cost. New plans were submitted to Shropshire Council for approval in 2019, to convert the former Salvation Army citadel in King Street into an Islamic Prayer Centre. These plans were eventually approved by Shropshire Council. There
13986-470: Was a dispute with the people of Oswestry who had cut down oak trees in his woods. When the FitzWarin line died out in 1420, the lordship passed to Fulk XI's sister Elizabeth, who married Richard Hankeford . In 1422, the castle was captured by escalade by William Fitzwaryn (presumably a cousin claiming the castle as heir male) and Richard Laken, but evidently soon restored to Lord Clinton. Their daughter, Thomasia, married William Bourghchier, thus carrying
14112-536: Was annexed by Madog ap Maredudd and became part of the Kingdom of Powys until Madog's death in 1160. In 1165 Henry II conferred the castle on Roger de Powys , to whom he gave funds for its repair in about 1173. Roger was followed by his son Meurig (or Maurice), he was followed by his son Werennoc. A rival claim from Fulk III FitzWarin (who apparently claimed it under the Peverels) was not recognised until 1204, leading him to rebel against King John . FitzWarin
14238-625: Was called a hall-house. Historian Charles Coulson states that the accumulation of wealth and resources, such as food, led to the need for defensive structures. The earliest fortifications originated in the Fertile Crescent , the Indus Valley , Europe, Egypt, and China where settlements were protected by large walls. In Northern Europe , hill forts were first developed in the Bronze Age , which then proliferated across Europe in
14364-530: Was called the battle of Pengwern and in it their leader Cynddylan was also killed. The earliest known human settlement in Oswestry is Old Oswestry , one of the best-preserved Iron Age hill forts in Britain, with evidence of construction and occupation between 800 BC and 43 AD. The site is known in Welsh as Caer Ogyrfan , meaning 'City of Gogyrfan', referring to the father of Guinevere in Arthurian legend. The Battle of Maserfield
14490-477: Was common, and usually between local lords. Castles were introduced into England shortly before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Before the 12th century castles were as uncommon in Denmark as they had been in England before the Norman Conquest. The introduction of castles to Denmark was a reaction to attacks from Wendish pirates, and they were usually intended as coastal defences. The motte and bailey remained
14616-430: Was in short supply. Although stone construction would later become common elsewhere, from the 11th century onwards it was the primary building material for Christian castles in Spain, while at the same time timber was still the dominant building material in north-west Europe. Historians have interpreted the widespread presence of castles across Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries as evidence that warfare
14742-556: Was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery star forts with no role in civil administration, and château or country houses that were indefensible. From
14868-420: Was made in the upper storey of the gatehouse for accommodation so the gate was never left undefended, although this arrangement later evolved to become more comfortable at the expense of defence. During the 13th and 14th centuries the barbican was developed. This consisted of a rampart , ditch, and possibly a tower, in front of the gatehouse which could be used to further protect the entrance. The purpose of
14994-419: Was not always the case and there are instances where a motte existed on its own. "Motte" refers to the mound alone, but it was often surmounted by a fortified structure, such as a keep, and the flat top would be surrounded by a palisade . It was common for the motte to be reached over a flying bridge (a bridge over the ditch from the counterscarp of the ditch to the edge of the top of the mound), as shown in
15120-417: Was often the weakest part in a circuit of defences. To overcome this, the gatehouse was developed, allowing those inside the castle to control the flow of traffic. In earth and timber castles, the gateway was usually the first feature to be rebuilt in stone. The front of the gateway was a blind spot and to overcome this, projecting towers were added on each side of the gate in a style similar to that developed by
15246-456: Was pardoned, and the castle and lordship of Whittington, not including Overton Castle was given to him. The castle then descended in the FitzWarin family , all called Fulk, until the death of Fulk XI in 1420. The castle was captured and destroyed by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Gwynedd in 1223. It was returned under the peace treaty, and was rebuilt in stone, replacing the tower keep of a motte and bailey with inner bailey with buildings along
15372-529: Was probably never inhabited again. It passed through various hands to William Albany, a London merchant taylor , but he and his descendants (from 1750 the Lloyd family of Aston near Oswestry, who still own the castle) lived at Great Fernhill . William's grandson, Francis Albany, fell into debt and sold his wood in Babbinswood to Arthur Kynaston of Shrewsbury , who built a forge at Fernhill, using stone from
15498-614: Was reduced to a pile of rocks during the English Civil War . The town is now the home of the Shropshire libraries ' Welsh Collection. In 1190 the town was granted the right to hold a market each Wednesday. The town built walls for protection, but these were torn down in the English Civil War by the Parliamentarians after they took the town from the Royalists after a brief siege on 22 June 1644, leaving only
15624-422: Was still in use by the start of the 15th century, its structure having been maintained for four centuries. At the same time there was a change in castle architecture. Until the late 12th century castles generally had few towers; a gateway with few defensive features such as arrowslits or a portcullis; a great keep or donjon, usually square and without arrowslits; and the shape would have been dictated by
15750-425: Was the castle's main defensive enclosure, and the terms "bailey" and "enceinte" are linked. A castle could have several baileys but only one enceinte. Castles with no keep, which relied on their outer defences for protection, are sometimes called enceinte castles; these were the earliest form of castles, before the keep was introduced in the 10th century. A keep was a great tower or other building that served as
15876-516: Was the most common form of castle in Europe, everywhere except Scandinavia. While Britain, France, and Italy shared a tradition of timber construction that was continued in castle architecture, Spain more commonly used stone or mud-brick as the main building material. The Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century introduced a style of building developed in North Africa reliant on tapial , pebbles in cement, where timber
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