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 Shell keep castles
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| Author | Topic: Shell keep castles |
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Dennisjordan Member |
posted 02-13-2000 10:48 AM
  
Can any one help clarify what a shell keep castle was, my books have differing views. Many thanks Liam Jordan |
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Philip Davis unregistered |
posted 02-13-2000 02:02 PM
A shell keep is a stone wall on a motte. The motte is a small hill, often manmade, which was the heart of many castles. These mottes could be tall with a watch tower on top or low, with a large flat area on the top, large enough for a hall or other buildings. The motte would then have palisades (fences) to add to it's protection. Often these palisades where wood, but then could be replaced by stone walls producing a shell keep. When a castle has a tall motte the keep is clearly on top of the motte. Cardiff castle has a very fine example http://www.castlewales.com/cardiff.html . However if the motte is low a lords could build the wall on top of the slope of the motte, or around the motte. If around the motte this would then look like a wall at ground level. Berkeley castle in Gloucestershire (where King Edward II was very unpleasently murdered) has a shell keep of this type as does Franham http://members.xoom.com/AndrewMuller/farnham.html in Surrey. This type of shell keep, where the wall revets the motte is much less common. Interestingly the motte at South Mymms, in Hertfordshire, was revetted in this way by a wooden wall, which may well have been covered in clay and whitewash and then painted to look like a stone wall. ------------------ |
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knightmare Senior Member |
posted 02-09-2001 03:14 PM
hello!!!! ------------------ |
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