3D Virtual Reconstructions
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past.
Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions allow you to walk around medieval buildings as they may have appeared in the past.
These reconstuctions should work on a PC or laptop with the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox or Edge for Windows 10.
Where indicated some of these reconstruction will work on modern tablets and other mobile devices.
A Motte and Bailey Castle (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Explore a typical motte and bailey castle like those constructed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries across Europe.
Explore a medieval village. (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
The White Tower at the Tower of London. (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Siege Engines (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Reconstructions of real castles
Bodiam Castle (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Etal Castle (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
How about exploring a Northumberland castle built near the Scottish border. An excellent example of a tower house with improved fortifications.
Middleham Castle (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Middleham Castle is a large stone-built castle and located in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The first castle on the site or nearby was constructed shortly after the Conquest of England by Alan, the Earl of Richmond or by one of Alan's brothers, Ribald. At this time the construction would have been of a motte and bailey type of castle. A hundred years later in around 1170 or 1190, the castle was remodelled by Robert Fitzralf (Fitz-Ranulf) who built the large stone keep.
Portchester Castle (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Archery practice at Portchester (PC version)
Portchester Castle was a significant fort in Roman times and has remained in good condition because of its continued use over the years. It stands on the shore near Portsmouth harbour and is rectangular in shape.
Runs on a PC/Laptop or high-end tablet device.
Skenfrith Castle (PC/Laptop/Tablet)
Skenfrith Castle is one of the 'Three Castles' granted to Hubert de Burgh by King John in 1201. The other two castles are White Castle, also known as Lantilio, and Grosmont Castle. Hubert de Burgh was a wealthy baron who had learnt much about castle defence on his trips abroard. Soon after taking control of the castles he began rebuilding work at Skenfrith and Grosmont. Skenfrith castle has four sides, though not in the shape of a perfect rectangle. The central keep is circular and pictured opposite. The river Monnow passes the eastern side of the castle and a moat was dug outside the other three sides allowing the river to flow completely around and act as a very good barrier from attack. The north side of the outer wall had a gateway, but this has been destroyed.
Early Access
There are many 3D/VR reconstructions on this website and many more that are being worked on. Some are in a pre-release development stage. The reconstructions and games below have been created using Unity and should work on PCs and laptops with a modern browser, although Chrome is recommended. Use the links below to explore some of these new reconstructions and games.
ThreeJS
Three.js is a 3d javascript library useful for creating virtual reconstruction on the web. Explore the models below.
Web XR
Some experiments with Web XR. These are being tested on an Oculus Quest 2 and Google Pixel 3. Other VR headsets or mobile phones have not been tested.
Old Stuff
Old Unity Stuff
Old Unity reconstructions
Support for the Unity 3D Web Player has been removed from Google Chrome and is not supported in the Windows 10 Edge browser. To run these reconstructions a plug-in is required. They should work in Firefox and IE 11 but there is no guarantee. To run IE 11 on Windows 10 ask Cortana to find Internet Explorer.
Medieval People
A Medieval Mystery
There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.
1: Location
Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.
2: Alignment
Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.
3: Size
Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?
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