The drawbridge problem and Bodiam's weak rear gate

Bodiam's recessed main gate looks ready to receive a raised drawbridge, but the stonework has no chain holes and the interior has no room for its mechanism. Morris concludes that a removable bridge or gantry must have crossed the final gap instead. Thin wooden doors, ineffective barring, and undersized murder holes further weaken the entrance, while the gun loops and machicolations protect only the gatehouse itself. The rear gate is more revealing still: its bridge ran directly to the doorway, it had only one portcullis, and it lacked gun loops, suggesting that the elaborate northern approach was designed at least partly to impress distinguished guests.