Castle Quest - Edit this post

Forum: Medieval Life And Culture
Topic: CASTLES

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Message to Edit: HTML is OFF UBB Code is ON [IMG] UBB Code Not Allowed!	Originally posted by Levan on 03-24-2001 12:31 PM Castles would not usually have been cold and damp - especially when compared to other dwellings of their era. Most of the public rooms had large fireplaces. Thick walls also have the effect of keeping in the warm (assuming you have got the insides warm in the first place). In general, The thick walls have the effect of acting like an insulating layer (like a Thermos flask). Speaking as someone who actually lives in an ancient castle, I've found that even without the heating system running, the insides of the castle are coolish in the summer and warmer during the winter (compared to outside conditions). One of the main reasons that castles seem cold and damp nowadays is because most of them are roofless and uninhabited (your house would feel cold if someone took the roof off and didn't heat it for 200 years). Once someone starts to live in a castle (and the doors are not wide open for constant streams of visitors) you'll soon find that it's kept very warm and cosy on the inside! Eric's point about water seeping through the stone walls is also valid. However, castles built in wet climates such as Scotland were built with a protective coating on the outside walls called 'harling'. This looks a bit like pebble-dashing or concrete render, however, it's very different in that it's deliberately porus. It works like breathable fabric (such as gortex). When castles were built they didn't use cavity walls and damp-proof courses as these wouldn't be strong enough. The way to stop walls getting damp on the inside was just to make them thicker and keep the insides very warm. The heat causing any damp to be expelled through to the outside of the walls. At Castle Levan, even when the outside wall is extremely wet, the inside stays dry. However, if you go into some of the mural staircases, which are cut into the thickness of the wall, you'll find that in winter, the wall nearest the outside of the building can sometimes get damp, whilst the other side is perfectly dry. Our mural staircases get damp because we do not have any heating in them. Levan [This message has been edited by Levan (edited 03-24-2001).]