The History of Castles for Kids

Castles are impressive buildings, even today. It is amazing to see so many still standing and being lived in after so many centuries.

People began building castles in Europe between the years 800 and 900 AD. They were built to help defend an area of land from attack, to give all the people living nearby somewhere to hide and defend themselves. Early castles were made of wood instead of the familiar stone ones we see today. The wooden castles were known as motte and bailey castles. The motte was a large mound of earth that was piled up high. The keep, or tower of the castle would be built on top of this mound. The height gave those in the castle a defensive advantage over their enemies. Around the motte, another mound would be built to help protect those who lived within the castle surroundings and for their livestock. Buildings like kitchens, barracks and stables would be located in this area. This outlying space would be surrounded by a wooden fence, called a bailey. Many of the most famous castles today, such as Windsor Castle, started out as simple motte and bailey castle.

Stone became the material of choice for building castles during the 12th century. This made the castles stronger and more durable, which is why so many are still standing today. The stone gave protection against fire and rot, the two major problems with wooden castles. Some castles utilized a moat in addition to the stone walls to deter enemies from attacking. A moat was a ring of water that had to be crossed by invaders, making them vulnerable to the castle's defences. Some moats looked more like a small lake with the castle in the middle.

A popular method of designing a castle was to surround the castle with more than one wall. This is known as a concentric castle. The Tower of London is a concentric castle. Having more than one wall made the castle more secure from attack. These castles could survive a siege better than a regular castle.

The outer wall of a castle would have a gatehouse. This was often the only way into the castle. The gatehouse might have a drawbridge or a heavy wooden door with iron studs on it. A portcullis (a wood or metal gate) would help protect the door from being battered.  Some castles also had ramparts, which were steep banks of rubble or earth piled up at the base of the castle wall. Attackers would have to climb over them to lay siege to the castle. Flanking towers are found in some castle walls. These are narrow towers stationed around the wall to help protect the castle from attack. These towers would have battlements on top where soldiers could remain protected while they shot arrows or dropped things on the attackers.

The inside of the castle housed the family of the lord or king who lived there. A great hall was important for entertaining and for large meals. Most castles also had a private chapel, which was often the most beautiful room in the castle. Kitchens were often built separately to protect the living quarters from the possibility of fire. Instead of toilets, castles had garderobes. This was sort of like a stone outhouse. Built into the outside wall, people would sit on a wooden seat when they needed to relieve themselves. The waste would drop down a chute into the moat. 

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

One in a series of articles about History written for children.

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