TimeRef.com
  • Episodes
    Episode Index
    Key Dates Timelines
    By Category
    This day in history
  • People
    A..Z List of Medieval People
    Kings and Queens of England Kings of Scotland Kings of France Kings of Denmark Emporers of Byzantine Popes and Antipopes Crusader States and their Rulers
    Family Trees
  • Life
    Life in Medieval Times
    Life in a Castle The Feudal System Country Life and Agriculture Life in a Medieval Town Life in a Religious Community
  • Castles
    Castle Index Page Castle Development
    Early Fortifications Motte and bailey Castles Square Keeps Castle of William the Conqueror Concentric Castles Castles of Edward I
    Castle Siege Tactics Parts of a Castle
    Locations of over 300 Castles
  • Places
    A..Z list of Medieval Buildings 3D Virtual Reconstructions Maps Photographs
    Abbeys and Monasteries Cathedrals Medieval Architecture
  • 3D/VR
    3D Virtual Reconstructions VR Experiences
    Virtual Motte and Bailey Castle Virtual Norman Keep Virtual Siege Engines
    Etal Castle Skenfrith Castle Middleham Castle
    Knights Training
  • More
    Glossary of Terms
    Games Early Access
    Copyright / About TimeRef.com Contact the Author
TimeRef.com
  • Episodes
    Episode Index
    Key Dates Timelines
    By Category
    This day in history
  • People
    A..Z List of Medieval People
    Kings and Queens of England Kings of Scotland Kings of France Kings of Denmark Emporers of Byzantine Popes and Antipopes Crusader States and their Rulers
    Family Trees
  • Life
    Life in Medieval Times
    Life in a Castle The Feudal System Country Life and Agriculture Life in a Medieval Town Life in a Religious Community
  • Castles
    Castle Index Page Castle Development
    Early Fortifications Motte and bailey Castles Square Keeps Castle of William the Conqueror Concentric Castles Castles of Edward I
    Castle Siege Tactics Parts of a Castle
    Locations of over 300 Castles
  • Places
    A..Z list of Medieval Buildings 3D Virtual Reconstructions Maps Photographs
    Abbeys and Monasteries Cathedrals Medieval Architecture
  • 3D/VR
    3D Virtual Reconstructions VR Experiences
    Virtual Motte and Bailey Castle Virtual Norman Keep Virtual Siege Engines
    Etal Castle Skenfrith Castle Middleham Castle
    Knights Training
  • More
    Glossary of Terms
    Games Early Access
    Copyright / About TimeRef.com Contact the Author

Medieval Castles

  • Castle Index Page
  • Why build and live in castles
  • Castle development timeline

Types of castles

  • Early Fortifications
  • Castles of William the Conqueror
  • Earthwork castles
  • Motte and bailey castles
  • Square keeps
  • Shell-Keeps
  • Polygonal Keeps
  • Concentric Castles

Other details

  • Castles of Edward I
  • Medieval Castle Builders
  • Medieval Siege Tactics
  • The Trebuchet
  • Siege Towers
  • Parts of a castle
  • Location of 300+ UK castles
  • Location by UK county

Explore the White Tower

Explore four floors of the keep at the Tower of London.

 

Adventure Game - Early Access

Early Access to the TimeRef card-based Adventure Game.

 

Medieval Village - Early Access

Explore the medieval village.

 

Castles
Castles
Please note that the TimeRef website is currently being redesigned.

Concentric Castles

Tweet

Key Features

  • An inner and outer wall
  • Inner walls higher than outer walls
  • Multiple gatehouses

 

The concentric castle is effectively two castles in one. A concentric castle has an outer wall with a gatehouse as in an ordinary castle, but it also has one or more inner walls with one or more gatehouses. The diagram shown on the left shows an example of a concentric castle. The main gatehouse is shown on the left side of the castle. To gain access to the inner bailey, where the large keep is located, you have to travel the length of the castle to find the gatehouse at the back. An attacking army who managed to get through the first gatehouse would find that they are under attack by the castle's soldiers from all sides as they tried to get around to the other side. Both the inner and outer baileys would have had extra buildings (not shown here) to house soldiers, servants and animals. The Keep at the centre of the castle was the most secure location and this is where the King or Lord would have lived. The inner walls tended to be higher than the outer walls so they could look down and protect them.

Hoardings are shown in the diagram on the upper sections of the outer wall. Hoardings were made of wood and extended out over the edge of the wall. They were designed to give defenders extra protection against missiles, and had arrow loops for the defenders to shoot through. They also had holes in the floor from which things could be dropped onto the attacking soldiers below.

Concentric Castles in Wales

There are the remains of several concentric castles around the country. These include those at Rhuddlan, Harlech and Beaumaris, which is shown below. Rhuddlan, Harlech and Beaumaris castles were all built during the reign of Edward I in North Wales by the master castle builder James of St. George. James understood the importance of the extra protection a concentric castle could provide.

Examples of Concentric Castles

  • Beaumaris Castle
  • Caerphilly Castle
  • Harlech Castle
  • Rhuddlan Castle

Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle is the earliest of the concentric castles to be built in Britain and is the largest to be built in Wales. Its construction was begun in 1268 by Gilbert de Clare one of the rich marcher lords. During the building work the Welsh made several attempts to destroy it before its completion, but these failed and by 1277 the castle was complete.

Explore Beaumaris Castle

Virtual reconstruction of Beaumaris Castle. Click the image to find out more.

Parts of a Concentric Castle

A
Outer Gatehouse

The main entrance of the castle with drawbridge, wooden gates and one or more portculis. The constable of the castle would have quarters here and would check all visiters were who they said they were.

B
Outer Bailey

Space for workshops etc.

C
Outer Curtain Wall

D
Inner Wall

E
Inner Gatehouse

Fortified access to the inner bailey.

F
Inner Bailey

G
Water Filled Moat

Water filled ditch sometimes with access to the sea.

H
Keep

The King's or Lord's residence. The most secure place in the castle.

I
Postern

A small gate from which the castle's occupants could escape in an emergency.

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 will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.

More castle pages

  • Castle Index Page
  • Why build and live in castles
  • Castle development timeline

Pages in this section

  • Introduction and simple keep example
  • Tower of London plans and 3d model
  • Middleham Castle floor plans
  • Hedingham Castle floor plans
  • Dover Castle floor plans
  • Timeline of Square Keep construction
  • Explore 3d reconstructions

Types of castles

  • Early Fortifications
  • Castles of William the Conqueror
  • Keep and bailey castles
  • Motte and bailey castles
  • Square keeps
  • Shell-Keeps
  • Polygonal Keeps
  • Concentric Castles

Other details

  • Castles of Edward I
  • Medieval Castle Builders
  • Medieval Siege Tactics
  • The Trebuchet
  • Siege Towers
  • Parts of a castle
  • Location of 300+ UK castles
  • Location by UK county

^ Back to top

          x-small

          small

          medium

          large

          x-large

          x-x-large

          This popup will contain more information
          This popup will contain more information
          xyz
          xyz