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more.
The Keep
The Keep is the oldest building at the Castle, it dates back
to 1180 and was built under the instructions of Hamelin Plantagenet the
5th Earl Warenne. It stands 27 metres (90 feet) high with walls of
4.6 metres thick and has 5 levels including the roof.
The Keep was the last bastion of defence at the
Castle; if the Castle came under attack and the walls were breached then
the defenders would retreat to the Keep, pull in the wooden bridge at
the top of the stairs and bolt the door making it almost impossible for
the attackers to gain entry.
The Keep contains a number of interesting
features including the largest hooded fire-place of its date, a very
impressive private chapel and a fine processional staircase.
At the top of the Keep are two water storage
tanks, a bread-oven, two observation turrets and a shelter.
The Keep was re-roofed and re-floored in 1994
for the first time since the 16th century making it one of the best
Norman Keep towers in the country.
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The Inner Ward
The Inner Ward or Inner Bailey is the area within the walls
of the Castle. It is in this area that many of the out-door
activities associated with the day-to-day running of the Castle would
have taken place; wood would have been chopped for the cooking fires,
small live-stock such as chickens may have been kept and the Castle's
soldiers would have practiced the art of war.
The main function of the Inner Ward was as a
staging area for the defence of the Castle. Soldiers could use the
area as a muster point before making their way out of the Castle to
attack those outside. If the defending garrison was forced to
retreat into the Keep, the Inner Ward would have become a killing-ground
which could be easily defended from the top of the Keep.
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The Curtain Walls
These walls would have formed one of the most important parts
of the Castle defences. Not only were they an impregnable barrier
to anyone wishing to attack the Castle, but they also provided a vantage
point for those defending the Castle. The battlements (which are
no longer visible) would have offered very good protection for the
defending archers making it almost impossible for attacking archers to
hit anyone on top of the walls.
It is thought that the walls were built after
the Keep, possibly around 1210-1215 during the tenure of William the 6th
Earl Warenne. Physical evidence at the Castle suggests that the
Keep was originally surrounded by a wooden palisade. The stone
walls were built inside the palisade thereby not exposing the Castle to
attack.
Today, the remains of the walls offer us many
clues as to the function and position of many of the buildings within
the Castle's Inner Ward. The walls also tell us something about
the history of the Castle, as can be seen below.
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Fallen South Wall
The South Wall of the Castle is recorded to have fallen by
1539 during the reign of Henry VIII. It is thought that the wall
collapsed as the result of a land-slide. It is worth noting that
the South Wall was the only section of wall to stand on a man-made part
of the motte (mound). This can be seen from the relationship
between the walls and the ditch that surrounds the Castle, the ditch is
three times further away from the walls on the south side than it is
anywhere else at the Castle.
The collapsed condition of the South Wall was
recorded in Leyland's Survey 1537-1539, we believe that the Castle would
have been decommissioned shortly thereafter during which, all the usable
timber and all the lead from the roofs would have been removed from the
site, making the Castle a ruin. Although this sounds like a
terrible thing to have happened to a once proud castle, it meant that by
the time of the English Civil War of the 1640s, the Castle was in such a
poor state of repair that it did not pose a threat to Cromwell's forces
and therefore did not suffer the fate of many other English castles,
thereby preserving the Keep for us today.
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The Barbican
The Barbican is thought to be a 13th century addition to the
Castle. The way that a barbican worked was quite simple.
There would have been a portcullis gate at either end of the passage.
The first gate or entrance to the barbican would
be opened so that attackers could easily gain access, once they were
inside, the first portcullis would have been dropped close. A
second portcullis gate would have been at the top of the barbican
passage way, this one would have been closed from the start. The
attacking force would have been trapped between the two gates and
contained within the barbican.
Archers and other defending soldiers could then
drop missiles or shoot arrows at the attacking force which was contained
within the natural killing field of the barbican passage.
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The Gatehouse
This Gatehouse was the original way into the Castle.
Like many of the castles of its date the gateway was a strong well
defended part of the walls, it would have consisted of an arched gate
passage flanked by two towers, above the passage would have been a room
called the Gatehouse.
Within the Gatehouse would have been the
mechanism for raising and lowering a drawbridge and another mechanism
for raising and lowering the portcullis gate. Within the floor of
the Gatehouse (or ceiling of the gate passage) would have been a number
of holes called "Murder Holes" through which any number of unpleasant
substances or missiles could have been dropped on attackers.
Close examination of the remains of the
Gatehouse will revile a number of interesting "clues", these include a
stone bench at ground level, the remains of a fireplace on the first
floor level and if you examine the remains of the fallen wall at this
point, part of the gate arch.
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The Chapel
In common with many castles of this date, Conisbrough has its
Chapel next to the Gatehouse. During the consolidation of the site
in the 1960s, the remains of a stone alter were discovered here.
The Chapel was used each day by all the
occupants of the castle for the daily religious observances.
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The
Guardhouse and Prison
Located on the opposite side of the gate to the Chapel was
the Guardhouse, again this was the usual location for the guardhouse at
a castle of this date. Armed guards would have been in attendance
at all times to protect the gate.
At Conisbrough Castle there is also a Prison
Cell located below ground level just under the location of the
guardhouse. Today, the cell contains the best preserved medieval
latrine on the Castle site, access to the cell would have been by means
of a trap-door in the floor of the guardhouse.
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The
Accommodation Range
The principal use for these buildings is thought to be as
living quarters. However, it is not certain whether they were for
the castle staff or used as guest accommodation. What is known is
that this range was a two story building, this has been proposed as a
result of the archaeological evidence visible along the curtain wall at
this point; a number of flat stone pads were discovered, they would have
supported timber beams which in turn would have supported a first floor
which was also made from wood.
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The Latrine Pit
This pit utilises a natural fissure in the rock that the Castle
is built upon. Today the remains of only one latrine slide can be
seen, however it has been suggested that as many as nine toilets could
have emptied in to this hole. The pit would have to have been
emptied by hand on a regular basis, the produce of which would probably
have been used to fertilise nearby farm land.
The close proximity of the latrine pit adds
weight to the idea of the Accommodation Range, after all what is one of
the last things we do at night before going to bed and the first thing
we do in a morning when we get up?
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The Great Chamber
Evidence visible at the first floor level in the curtain
walls at this point (a large fireplace) suggests that at some time in
the Castle's history a grand apartment was located at this spot.
One of the only people to have visited the Castle on a regular enough
basis to need such a grand room would have been the Earl Warenne.
The Keep would not have been favoured as accommodation because of the
constant draughts that blow through the building, so a cosy apartment on
the west side of the Castle to catch the setting sun would have been
favoured.
There is some evidence for major building work
having taken place in this area in the late fourteenth or fifteenth
century, possibly the placing of a large window within the west wall.
Sadly all traces have been robbed from the site a long time ago.
It is worth noting that the last person who may have used this apartment
was Maud, the Countess of Cambridge, she was the grandmother of Edward
IV and the last person of note to have lived at the castle, she is
recorded to has died in 1446 possible at the castle.
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The North-West
Tower
Visitors to the Castle will note an opening high in the
north-west corner of the curtain wall. This was a doorway leading
into a small room within a "D" shaped tower, this tower has long-since
fallen into the ditch. However, evidence can be seen from the
outside that this tower once contained a latrine, possibly connected to
the Great Chamber.
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The Great Hall
As with any community during the early middle ages most
castles had some form of Great Hall. Conisbrough's Great Hall was
of the isled variety, a line of 3 large columns supported the high roof.
The original 13th century central hearth is still visible in the remains
of the Hall, this fireplace would have had no chimney, smoke from the
fire would have vented through holes in the roof of the hall.
Evidence suggests that in the 14th century
however, the central hearth was covered over and a fireplace with a
chimney was installed into the north wall of the Hall. At about
the same time the curved west end of the Hall had a dividing wall built
across it producing a new room into which a fireplace was built.
The Hall is the only part of the castle to show
any sign of a mortar render which still adheres to a few of the stones
on the north wall. Incidentally, evidence of a similar rendering
can be found on the walls of part of St. Peter's Church in the village
of Conisbrough, the stone that this part of the church is built from is
of a similar quality as that found in the Hall area of the Castle.
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The Services
Although no one can confirm exactly what this area is for,
there are a number of diverse theories. Within this "room" there
is a finely crafted stone drainage trough with a semi-circular end, and
evidence for a flag-stone floor all of which is assumed to be medieval.
High in the north wall at this point are a
number of socket holes thought to be for timber beams, the problem is
that these sockets are not in a horizontal line and are unlikely to be
of medieval origin.
There is evidence for a 14th century building
alteration that placed a doorway through into this area from the great
hall. This "room" is thought most likely to be a scullery or
pantry.
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The Buttery
Despite the name, this room has nothing to do with dairy
products. A butt was a wooden container for holding 108 gallons of
ale or beer and the buttery was where they were stored. At the
Castle it was a room below ground.
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The Covered
Passage
Leading from the kitchens to the Great Hall, this passageway
was probably nothing more than a simple lean-to structure with a simple
roof allowing food to be brought from the kitchen to Hall.
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The Bake-house
Situated next to the kitchens, the bake-house shared a nest of
ovens the remains of which can still be seen. This is where all
the bread would have been baked that was used at the castle.
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The Kitchens
The remains seen today are probably of the kitchen that was
modified in the 14th century. It is laid out with two large fires
that would have had their own chimneys. There is also evidence for
a small oven next to the eastern most fire, this fire also has a shallow
trough in front of it, thought to be for collecting fat that dripped
from meat being cooked in front of the fire.
The kitchen shares a nest of ovens with the
bake-house next door, the complete remains of one of these ovens is
still visible.
Discolouration of the north wall stone work in
this area points to a possibly destructive fire in the kitchen at some
time in the Castle's history.
A complete 14th century kitchen of a similar
layout to that at Conisbrough can be found at
Haddon Hall
near Bakewell in Derbyshire.
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The Guard's Latrines
and Wall Walk Stairs
Situated at either side of the Keep are two openings into the
Curtain Wall, the better preserved of these is the one next to the
kitchen. A short flight of steps lead into a latrine that would
probably have been used by the guards who patrolled the Wall Walk that
ran around the top of the Curtain Wall. Also in this area are the
remains of the stone stairs that allowed access to the top of the walls.
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