Stokesay and the boundary between castle and house — The Ring of Iron(Nee Stone): Harlech Castle - Long Patrol… at 5:47

Notes

Laurence of Ludlow's licence to crenellate Stokesay permitted battlements, which the discussion treats as necessary for adequate defence. Yet its main fortification was a strong tower beside the south end of the hall, while the other buildings served domestic purposes. Aydon in Northumberland is an example of an initially undefended late-thirteenth-century house. Maxstoke in Warwickshire illustrates a square, moated residence that could be defended while prioritizing its lord's comfort. Surviving grassy moats in eastern England mark many houses whose buildings have disappeared. These examples make castle and defended house ends of a continuous range rather than sharply separate categories.

Source

Video

The Ring of Iron(Nee Stone): Harlech Castle - Long Patrol P12/14

Date

9 Jul 2021

Time

5:47-7:17

Kind

Notable Point

Transcript passages

5:47-6:46The reading explains the continuous range of defended residences, an initially undefended Northumberland house, vanished houses inside moats, and a square moated Warwickshire residence. The caption names are inferred as Aydon and Maxstoke from their locations and descriptions, consistent with Historic England entries https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1011645/ and https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1116166 .
6:50-7:17Stokesay, Laurence of Ludlow, battlements and the strong tower south of the hall are identified. The TXT gives the licence date as 19 October 1290, while the primary document at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/medieval-castles/medieval-castles-source-7/ gives 19 October 1291. The disputed year is omitted from public prose pending audiovisual confirmation.