1. How important were geographical reasons, amongst other factors, for the location of your site.

Transcription

1 Dover Castle 1. How important were geographical reasons, amongst other factors, for the location of your site. Dover Castle was built on a hill because Dover is The Key to England and is in a defensive position, overlooking France. The geographical reasons are more important than the other factors due to why Dover Castle was built on a hill. Another reason is that there was an Incorporation of an outer ditch and bank from an Iron Age hillfort and Norman wooden forts foundation on the hill, so Henry II thought it was easier and cheaper to build a castle on top. In the 1250s, Henry II asked the greatest military engineer Maurice to build the first concentric castle in Europe, spending 6,440. Earlier, the place was used for an Iron Age and Norman wooden fort. The Castle looked like, as stated by the English Heritage Guidebook, It was built over ten years from about It is an impressive building, and stands 25.3m high, with walls up to 6.4m thick in places. The ground floor was primarily used for storage, but the two floors above formed two pairs of magnificent great halls, divided by a full height cross wall. There are also economic reasons why Dover Castle was built on a hill, the most important is that there was already foundation of Iron Age moulds and William I s wooden fort; consequently there is less work to do and it is cheaper. Also Henry had the best engineer to show off the Castle and have it for protection. The last economic reason is that all the money was spent for the Castle to; last long; impress enemies; and to protect England. The important religious reason was because of Thomas Becket. The story of Thomas Becket is that Thomas was a friend to Henry, but Henry wanted to change the church. After helping him, Henry made Thomas the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Soon after Thomas became very religious and refused Henry to make the church weaker, this resulted to an argument and Thomas running away to France. Six years later, Henry and Thomas worked together again, until Thomas fired three Bishops that worked for Henry. That made Henry furious and four knights heard him and decided to kill Thomas to please the king. Sadly it didn t work and Henry made a chapel called The Chapel of Thomas Becket along with the Two richly decorated chapels. Also it was near a stop for pilgrims on the route to Canterbury Cathedral. The personal and political reasons for Dover Castle to be built on a hill because it is a great place to be used as a stronghold, which has been for hundreds of years, and the English Heritage Guidebook supposed The medieval defences were becoming obsolete, and were adapted for artillery warfare. A personal reason is that Henry II thought Dover is a symbol of royal authority, looking over at France, to show off at Phillip II, his rival of France. In 1173, Henry planned to revolt at the same time as the princes and counts of France and Scotland plan to invade. Henry also thought that having no Castle in Kent was shameful and excruciating. Therefore he built Dover Castle to show off power and authority. Last but not least, the geographical reasons. Henry thought Dover is The Key of England because Dover is the spot closest to France, therefore if Dover falls, England falls. There were also Iron Age moulds and Norman wooden forts in the space thus the foundation, roads and motte finished easily. Dover Castle was on a cliff because it is about 80 meters above the channel, which means Dover Castle is Overlooking the Straits to the lands of the count of Flanders, a dependent of the king of

2 France. As it is on a cliff it has better defence and attack because it is up high and protected by the sea and if someone is a threat, they re in arrow aim, as there was Banked and ditched enclosures. Another good reason is that it is near the route pilgrims travel to Canterbury Cathedral for Thomas Becket s Chapel. But Dover Castle had another role after the Great Siege of 1216, and the English Heritage Guidebook indicated Thereafter, it reverted to a military role: as prisoner of war accommodation in the early 18th century, then as barracks for troops. Late in the 1790s a new brickvaulted roof was constructed as a platform for heavy guns. After that, the keep became a weapons and ammunition store and during the First World War searchlights were mounted on the roof against German air attacks. During the Second World War, it was used as military offices. The most important factor for Henry II to build the Castle on the Dover cliff is the geographical factor. Out of all the reasons, the most important was that it is the best place to overlook France and be a good defence. This is the most important reason because Henry II needed a place for defence which is easy to defend England. The second important reasons are economic because Henry II can t waste all his money for a Castle but can spend it on warriors to defend Dover Castle. The least has got to be religious reason because Henry II s reasons for that was Thomas Becket, which was built after Thomas died, and the route of Canterbury Cathedral which I don t think is important. Nevertheless all the reasons are linked to the geographical reasons because, placed in a different location, the castle wouldn t fulfil its purpose. Overall, the geographical reasons, amongst all the others, are the most important reason to build Dover Castle on a hill. This is very significant because if built somewhere else, Dover Castle would fall. Dover Castle 2. Consider the interpretation of the site you have been provided with. How far does your study of the evidence suggest that it is an accurate interpretation? The source I am going to use is Mark Churms The Great Siege of 1216, a famous painting. The painting shows the story of the siege of 1216, where France comes to invade Dover, but without success. The painting also shows that the Castle was under attack by Prince Louis of France. The French also used a catapult called a trebuchet, which throws flaming Greek fireballs. There was also a French navy to cut off the Dover Castle s food supply. I will compare this painting with the Dover Castle guide book and the article of John Goodall. The sources I am going to examine are the French Navy, Greek fireballs, trebuchet and the time of day. The siege started when the English barons got sick and tired of King John and sent a letter to Prince Louis of France, encouraging him that he can inherit England. The French came to England and conquered the South of England, but Prince Louis knew he had to conquer Dover Castle to conquer England, and that was a big mistake. Louis and his army camped outside the North of Dover Castle, when the English saw the French; they swiftly made a wooden palacade, commanded by Hubert de

3 Burgh. Then in mid July, the actual fight began. It started when the French undermined the palacade and attacked Dover Castle, which resulted in the English retreating. The French done the undermining trick again but the English kept intercepting the French; soon the French trick worked again and down came the outer wall. After a bloodbath, the English pushed the French out and the barricaded the hole. In October, the French Prince didn t want to lose any more men, so King John and Prince Louis made a truce. Days later, John died after Louis left, but the very next year, 1217, he came back for revenge. The painting of the Castle in The Great Siege of 1216 is inaccurate because the painting shows the French attacking from the West, but actually the French camp on higher ground just North of the Castle, as written in the English heritage. He must have painted it like that to show the French navy. There is some stuff of the painting of the Castle that is accurate, like the Castle is set on a hill and it has an inner and an outer wall. The painting of the Greek fireballs and trebuchet is inaccurate because according to John Goodall s article, Louis trebuchet may have been the first ever seen in England, which is talking about Louis 1217 attack on Dover Castle. That means the Greek fireballs may not have been accurate and true. However if the Greek fireballs were true, the French didn t chuck the fireballs anywhere at random, but on a specific target, like the place where the French undermined. The painting is also inaccurate because the French attacked during the day in July, the sky was supposed to be bright blue not pink sunset, but it was painted to blend with the sea. The painting shows the French navy. He also sent his fleet to sea to close in the Castle on all sides, suggesting that Louis sent his navy to surround and cut the food supply of Dover Castle for an advantage. The painting is not reliable. Mark Churms have altered this to make the painting look more exciting. Overall, the painting The Great Siege of 1216 is unreliable and was created for entertainment purposes only. Dover Castle 3. What extra knowledge and understanding of the important features of your site do you gain from a study of the other evidence you have been provided with? Here I am saying the extra knowledge and understanding of the important features of Dover Castle I gained from studying the other evidence that I have been provided with. The important features I am going to use is Henry s keep, the concentric walls and towers, the barbican, the trebuchet, the medieval tunnels and Constable s gate. The sources I am going to use is the Dover Castle heritage, the Castle by Jon Nichol, Castles and Cathedrals by John Robottom, Castles by Sean Sheehan, Past into present by Christopher Culpin and

4 David Linsell, Fast Forward: Castles by Mark Bergin and Discovery channel s Battle Castles with Dan Snow. The first important feature is Henry s keep. Henry s keep was built in 1180, with it 25.3m high and 6.4m thick. The ground floor is storage, the first and second floor is a great hall and the top is for defence. In the English Heritage guidebook, it states Dover s keep was the last and most elaborate in the tradition of the huge rectangular royal keeps, showing that Henry s keep is old fashioned. It used to be used as an occasional resident, like a traveller, or a place for the monarch and his court to rest, it was also for storage. The defence of this Castle is that the towers were unroofed, allowing defenders to fire down on to any enemy on the steps. To withstand the siege, a well is dug in some 122m of chalk for the water; this was accessible on the second floor in case the basement was captured. There is also a chapel for Thomas Becket, an Archbishop who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by four of Henry II s knights. In the keep, there was a place for guests sleeps under the king, showing that he is greater than everyone. In the Battle Castle documentary, Dan Snow, the presenter, explained some facts about the keep. He identified that there is a staircase looking like the entrance, but it wasn t. It only leads to another entrance, where a blood bath might happen there. Another important feature is the concentric walls and towers. It started to be built in 1204 by Henry II, which the keep and the inner wall were built. In the 13th century, John I completed the outer wall. In the English Heritage Guidebook, it states that in 1204 King John pressed ahead with finishing the outer curtain wall, showing the start of the end of the completion of Dover Castle s defence. He designed it all in D shaped towers. After the siege in 1216, the complete the outer curtain walls were to extend over the next 30 years of Henry III s reign, stating that the defences were growing. The tower was soon linked to the Castle by a drawbridge. The outer curtain walls were extended to the cliff edge, that finally completed the vision of Maurice 40 years ago. Lastly where the palisade was, a stone replaced it in In The Castle by Jon Nichol, it states that the inner defences should be higher than the outer so that the attackers could be fired upon both inner and outer walls and in this it also displays a picture showing how the walls could be used to protect the castle. This also states that if the outer wall was penetrated, the inner wall could still attack. In Castles by Sean Sheehan, it states the stone walls, more difficult to set afire then the wooden walls. A weakness in the walls is that it could sometimes be mined from underground, but if the walls were built on a foundation of natural rock, it was not possible. In Fast Forward: Castles by Mark Bergin, it shows three diagrams of the walls fortifications (arrow loops, merlons and machicolations) and it displays how they worked and their position on the walls. In this section I will be talking about the Northern Barbican, which was destroyed in the 1216 siege. This was built for defence and the French undermined t, which made it partly collapse. In Castles and Cathedrals by John Robottom, it shows a picture of a barbican and described how good defence system it is by pouring hot oil or throwing large stones at the enemy. In Discovery Channels Battle Castle with Dan Snow, it calls the barbican as a double gate house and a killing zone because arrows could be fired at a 360 degrees angle and a zig zag path to stop any battering rams or trebuchets to get through. Here I will be talking about the trebuchet that was brought to Dover by the French for the 1216 siege to throw Greek fireballs at the Castle. In The Castle by Jon Nichol, Vilars de Honecourt described a trebuchet; The frame or base rests on the ground. In front are seen two winches and the twisted rope by which the pole is hauled down The hauling down of the pole is a difficult affair, for the counterweight is very heavy. For it is a chest full of earth, which is twelve feet long, nine feet wide and twelve feet deep. Look also at the catch for it must be fixed to the wooden support in the

5 front. In Castles by Sean Sheehan, he also described a trebuchet as a siege engine that could launch stones weighing up to 250kg and, occasionally, dead horses and rats. In Castles and Cathedrals by John Robottom, it describes why the trebuchet is useful because it of it hitting the inner walls were deadly because they would shatter into fragments and act like grenades which is a worthy weapon in battle. Here I am talking about the medieval tunnels under the Northern barbican/wall that the French dug to undermine Dover Castle. In Dan Snow s documentary, he stated that Dover Castle was built on chalk; therefore it is easy for the French to undermine it. The French dug 1 metre a day, but still destroyed part of Dover Castle s Northern wall. I am going to talk about Constable s gate, the new main entrance built on the west wall after the siege destroyed the Northern entrance. The English Heritage Guidebook explains why and when the Gate was built. The first source is the English Heritage Dover Castle Guidebook, and it is trustworthy because it was written by historians who have studied Dover Castle and its history. The purpose of a guidebook is to give accurate information to the visitors and they have a reputation to keep. It is also the most specific source on the important features as it tells me a lot about each feature. The second source is The Castle by Jon Nichol, and this source is trustworthy with the description of the trebuchet by the famous artist Vilars de Honecourt. The third source is Castles and Cathedrals by John Robottom, and this is maybe accurate, although it doesn t have information about the important features, it only talked about Dover getting back other Castles in England. It is specifically about Dover Castle and therefore more accurate and with the diagrams it informed me a lot more than the other books. The fourth source is Castles by Sean Sheehan and it is maybe accurate because it is an educational book for children and schools. The fifth source is Past into Present by C. Cuplin and D. Linsell, and this source is maybe reliable because of the information about the walls, and also because it was for schools. The sixth source is Fast Forward: Castles by Mark Bergin and this source could be trustworthy on the castles defences, but it is too brief. The last source is Discovery Channel s Battle Castle with Dan Snow, and this is very trustworthy because Discovery is a historical T.V. show and Dan Snow is a well known presenter. But the most trustworthy is the English Heritage Dover Castle Guidebook. Henry s keep is the feature that is written about the most because Henry s keep has so much background information to talk about. Another reliable source is the Discovery Channel s Battle Castle with Dan Snow because it is on the historical T.V. channel.