The orignal castle was built by William Peveril on the orders of William the Conqueror in 1067.
The castle guarded the point where the King's Road to York crossed the River Trent.
The River Trent marked the boundary between the north and south of England.
The original castle was a Motte and Bailey built of earth and timber.
It is possible that some of the walls were built of stone in the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), by the reign of Henry II (1154-1189) the castle had undergone a major rebuild with many rooms being added- the castle was now a royal palace alongside Winchester and Windsor.
It was Henry II who also started work on the Royal hunting palace at Clipstone.
Picture: Nottingham Castle from John Speeds map of Nottingham 1610
The original builder of the castle William Peveril also founded Lenton Priory which would go on to be the richest in Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest.
The castle dominated the skyline of the medieval town- built on a high, vertical-sided outcrop of sandstone.
This near impregnable fortress would form the basis for control of the region and was considered the gateway to the north.
No comments:
Post a Comment