PART III
| [MEDIAEVAL CASTLES AND WALLED TOWNS ON THE COAST] |
[MEDIAEVAL CASTLES AND WALLED TOWNS ON THE COAST]
In the following account of the more important of the castles which in mediaeval times guarded the coast, it has been found convenient to include a notice of those walled towns with which, in many cases, they were closely associated. The mediaeval castle, generally speaking, represents an effort to maintain the power of the feudal lord, and, in a lesser and secondary degree, provision for resisting raids and invasion by foreign enemies. Walled towns, on the other hand, when situated on or near the coasts, or on navigable rivers, were primarily designed for coast defence. The mediaeval castles which were built in situations remote from the coast were the fastnesses and strongholds of nobles fighting amongst themselves or against the king.
In the following accounts of the more important examples of castles and walled towns wholly or partially designed for the defence of the coast, occasion will be taken to point out the interesting series of developments through which these mediaeval fortifications passed as time went on. For example:
The massive keep of the Norman castles was able to resist fire and battering-ram when the besieging force came near enough to apply them. Its strength consisted in its thick walls, its height, and its massive masonry. The Edwardian castle, on the other hand, presents certain structural improvements which mark a great advance in military construction. The walls, gates, and towers are so built as to present curved surfaces to the engines of the enemy, with the result that missiles hurled against them would glance off at various angles according to the direction of the curve at the point of impact. The extent to which this development of the curve is carried in the walls of many of the Edwardian castles is quite remarkable and instructive. It shows that mere weight and bulk were no longer relied upon, but constructive skill and the judicious use of materials were guiding principles in the military architecture of the period.
The following list does not include the sixteenth century blockhouses and other fortifications erected by Henry VIII, and in subsequent years.