A few questions for a school project

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Topic: A few questions for a school project

SilverElf
Member

posted 05-06-2000 05:42 PM

I really need good answers to a few qusetions. I am 14 years old and doing a English project on Castles;
1) About how many Castles are there in England and France?
2) How much does a castle cost to build and maintain on average?
3) How much are castles worth now?

I really would apreciate answers by E-Mail at silvermajik@hotmail.com

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SilverElf

Philip Davis
unregistered

posted 05-06-2000 07:48 PM

I'm afraid there are no simple answers to your questions.
1)The number of castles in England depends very much on how you define castle. Some very strongly built houses (called tower houses or fortified manor houses) are often called castles but some serious writers don't include them as true fortifications, since they where mainly built to keep bands of robbers out rather than defend against attacking armies. However, some of these houses were defended against attacking armies so it's a difficult point. The rough answer would be between 1500 and 2000 true castles and another thousand or so strong tower and manor houses, however there were also several thousand smaller moated houses and there is some over lap. On my web site is a list of the castles and strong houses that various authors have considered to be strong enough to call castles. There are about 2,400 site listed in England but these also include a type of defensible farmhouse called a Bastle.
2)Perhaps from the above you can see there is no such thing as an average castle. Castles come in all shapes and sizes. At it's cheapest a castle might cost next to nothing, since a Lord might build a Motte and Bailey using peasants for forced labour, and local trees to provide the wooden walls of a quick castle. At it most expensive a castle might cost several thousand pounds over several years (It's difficult to say how much castles cost in modern terms because so much has changed. Certainly a big royal castle would be many millions of pounds)
3)This very much depends on the state of the castle. A few years ago a man brought Bow and Arrow castle in Dorset for one Pound, but this castle is a complete ruin and needs much money spent on it to stop it becoming even more ruinous. On the other hand the big and important castles like Windsor or the Tower of London are priceless since it would be impossible to buy them. Even some smaller castles are so historical important or well loved by the people of England that they could never be sold. However, you can buy some castles that are fit to live in, though these tend to be the smaller tower houses of fortified manors, and they cost much the same as a large spacious house.

I'm afraid I don't answer by private email. This is to protect you. When I post my answer here, if it's wrong someone will point it out. Plus other people may also be interested in the same question.

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And as I rode by Dalton-Hall Beneath the turrets high, A maiden on the castle-wall Was singing merrily: The Outlaw by Sir Walter Scott
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/members/philipdavis/index.html