A shell keep is a style of medievalfortification, best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte.
An aerial view of Windsor Castle: with its shell keep (called "The Round Tower") prominent on its motte inside the middle ward (middle baily)
In English castle morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte-and-bailey castles, with the wooden fence around the top of the motte replaced by a stone wall. Castle engineers during the Norman period did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep. A common solution was to replace the palisade with a stone wall then build wooden buildings backing onto the inside of the wall. This construction was lighter than a keep and prevented the walls from being undermined, meaning they could be thinner and lighter.
A gazetteer compiled by archaeologist Robert Higham counted 21 shell keeps in England and Wales.[1] Examples include the Round Tower at Windsor Castle[2][3] and the majority were built in the 11th and 12th centuries.[4]
Surviving English examples of shell keeps include:
Arundel, West Sussex (re-modelled post-medieval)
Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire
Carisbrooke, Isle of Wight
Castle Acre, Norfolk (shell keep around an inner tower or manor House)
Clare, Suffolk (part of wall on motte only)
Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire (demolished - motte only survives)
Launceston, Cornwall
Lewes, East Sussex – two shell keeps on same site? One survives.
Lincoln, Lincolnshire – two shell keeps on same site? One survives.
Oxford, Oxfordshire
Pickering, North Yorkshire
Restormel, Cornwall (excellent example)
Tamworth, Staffordshire
Tonbridge, Kent (foundations on motte only)
Totnes, Devon
Trematon, Cornwall
Warwick, shell demolished and incorporated into bailey wall post-medieval
Wigmore, Herefordshire
Windsor, Berkshire (re-modelled post-medieval)
Wiston (Wales)
In addition Farnham and Berkeley castles have stone enclosed mottes which may be interpreted as shell keep variations. At other sites such as Durham, Warkworth, Clifford's Tower (York) and Sandal (Wakefield), shell keeps may have evolved into a tower proper. Clifford's Tower is often interpreted by modern visitors as a shell keep due to explosion damage, in 1684, which removed the roof and its central supporting masonry. True shell keeps were a stone wall around the upper perimeter of the motte with lean-to buildings against this outer wall and a small courtyard in the middle. See Restormel plan below.
Unusually Lewes and Lincoln castles both feature two separate mottes which may have had shell keeps upon both of them. The reason for this is unclear but given that Lincoln Castle is adjacent to the cathedral, one shell keep may have been for the castellan (castle holder) and the other for the bishop. In each case, only one shell keep survives.
The shell keep of Windsor Castle was built by Henry II and remodelled in the 19th century.
Darvill, Timothy; Stamper, Paul; Timby, Jane (2002). England: an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600 (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 196. ISBN0-19-284101-7.
Higham, Robert (2016), Shell-keeps revisited: the bailey on the motte?(PDF), Castle Studies Group
Hislop, Malcolm (2013). How to read castles. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN9781472521613.
Pettifer, Adrian (2002). English Castles: A Guide by Counties (illustrated ed.). Boydell & Brewer. p. 7. ISBN0-85115-782-3.
April 07, 2023
shell, keep, shell, keep, style, medieval, fortification, best, described, stone, structure, circling, motte, aerial, view, windsor, castle, with, shell, keep, called, round, tower, prominent, motte, inside, middle, ward, middle, baily, english, castle, morpho. A shell keep is a style of medieval fortification best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte An aerial view of Windsor Castle with its shell keep called The Round Tower prominent on its motte inside the middle ward middle baily In English castle morphology shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte and bailey castles with the wooden fence around the top of the motte replaced by a stone wall Castle engineers during the Norman period did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep A common solution was to replace the palisade with a stone wall then build wooden buildings backing onto the inside of the wall This construction was lighter than a keep and prevented the walls from being undermined meaning they could be thinner and lighter A gazetteer compiled by archaeologist Robert Higham counted 21 shell keeps in England and Wales 1 Examples include the Round Tower at Windsor Castle 2 3 and the majority were built in the 11th and 12th centuries 4 Surviving English examples of shell keeps include Arundel West Sussex re modelled post medieval Berkhampstead Hertfordshire Carisbrooke Isle of Wight Castle Acre Norfolk shell keep around an inner tower or manor House Clare Suffolk part of wall on motte only Fotheringhay Northamptonshire demolished motte only survives Launceston Cornwall Lewes East Sussex two shell keeps on same site One survives Lincoln Lincolnshire two shell keeps on same site One survives Oxford Oxfordshire Pickering North Yorkshire Restormel Cornwall excellent example Tamworth Staffordshire Tonbridge Kent foundations on motte only Totnes Devon Trematon Cornwall Warwick shell demolished and incorporated into bailey wall post medieval Wigmore Herefordshire Windsor Berkshire re modelled post medieval Wiston Wales In addition Farnham and Berkeley castles have stone enclosed mottes which may be interpreted as shell keep variations At other sites such as Durham Warkworth Clifford s Tower York and Sandal Wakefield shell keeps may have evolved into a tower proper Clifford s Tower is often interpreted by modern visitors as a shell keep due to explosion damage in 1684 which removed the roof and its central supporting masonry True shell keeps were a stone wall around the upper perimeter of the motte with lean to buildings against this outer wall and a small courtyard in the middle See Restormel plan below Unusually Lewes and Lincoln castles both feature two separate mottes which may have had shell keeps upon both of them The reason for this is unclear but given that Lincoln Castle is adjacent to the cathedral one shell keep may have been for the castellan castle holder and the other for the bishop In each case only one shell keep survives The shell keep of Windsor Castle was built by Henry II and remodelled in the 19th century Restormel Castle built around the motte Plan of Restormel Castle Tamworth Castle Staffordshire Totnes Castle Devon Wiston Castle PembrokeshireNotes Edit Higham 2016 p 63 Pettifer 2002 p 7 Darvill Stamper amp Timby 2002 p 196 Hislop 2013 p 96 References EditDarvill Timothy Stamper Paul Timby Jane 2002 England an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600 illustrated ed Oxford University Press p 196 ISBN 0 19 284101 7 Higham Robert 2016 Shell keeps revisited the bailey on the motte PDF Castle Studies Group Hislop Malcolm 2013 How to read castles London Bloomsbury Academic ISBN 9781472521613 Pettifer Adrian 2002 English Castles A Guide by Counties illustrated ed Boydell amp Brewer p 7 ISBN 0 85115 782 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shell keep amp oldid 1147264066, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
