Medieval Castle Shell-Keeps
 t the heart of motte and bailey castles is the motte, the mound of earth
on which a keep was usually built. At the top of the motte around its edge a wooden palisade was constructed to protect the keep from
attack. Sometimes the motte was large enough and strong enough for the wooden palisade to be replaced by stone. These stone structures
are known as shell-keeps. There are two forms of shell-keep. The first type is where the structure is located on the top of the
motte. The second type of shell-keep is where the keep totally encloses the motte itself so its base extends down to the ditch surrounding
the motte.
Restormel Castle, Cornwall
The plan on the left shows Restormel Castle in Cornwall which is an excellent example of a shell-keep. The keep is just over 100 feet in diameter, almost perfectly
circular in shape and sits on top of the motte. A gatehouse on one side and the chapel on the other extend out into the ditch
that surrounds the motte. Inside the outer wall of the keep is a second circular inner wall and between these two walls are
the chambers that form the two floors of rooms of the castle.
The inner courtyard was open to the elements but this is not the case with all shell-keeps. The top of the outer wall
had battlements and there would have been a wall-walk around the edge for guards to keep watch.
Rooms within the castle would have included a kitchen, a hall for entertainment and meetings, sleeping and living chambers
for the owners and their attendants, a chapel and a room for the castle guard.
Shell-Keeps: Built on top of the motte
| Castle Name |
Date |
Location |
Notes |
On this site |
| Arundel Castle | | West Sussex | | |
| Cardiff Castle | | Glamorgan | | |
| Carisbrooke Castle | | Isle of Wight | | |
| Launceston Castle | | Cornwall | | |
| Restormel Castle | | Cornwall | | |
| Totnes Castle | | Devon | | |
| Windsor Castle | | Berkshire | | |
| York Castle | | Yorkshire | | |
Shell-Keeps: Built surrounding the motte
| Castle Name |
Date |
Location |
Notes |
On this site |
| Berkeley Castle | | Gloucestershire | | |
| Farnham Castle | | Surrey | | |
| Carmarthen Castle | | Carmarthenshire | | |
|
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