William Flew over more castles

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

Castles were not just fortifications but grand residences mist, Peveril in Derbyshire against hills dusted in snow, Goodrich in Herefordshire built on the living rock with dramatic spur bastions strengthening the corners, Leeds in Kent afloat on a lake, Dunstanburgh in Northumberland with a great gatehouse looking to the sea, Warwick with its contrasting circular and polygonal towers, Castle Bolton standing proudly in the Dales and the bristling silhouettes of Raby and Brancepeth in Co Durham. This is a serious and scholarly text made accessible by generous captions explaining how castles worked and were laid out. Castles can be perceived of as primitive and insanitary. In fact they were provided with a plentiful water supply, needed for cleaning, cooking and brewing. If there was no spring nearby wells were sunk to great depth. Castles were initially heated by open fires and glazed tiles have been found, made for roof ridges with smoke vents. The term louvre came from l’ouvert, meaning an opening — usually in the form of a lantern with slats — one over the kitchen, another the great hall. Remarkably the earliest English fireplaces were under construction in the Tower of London by 1081 with smoke exiting through vents in the wall. Chimneys came in during the early 12th century. Moats steadily became an aesthetic ornament as well as a defence. The mere at Kenilworth was in place by the mid-13th century, making a spectacular approach. The book heralds a castle revival following on from the explosion of interest in ancestral homes 30 years ago prompted by Mark Girouard’s Life in the English Country House and the National Trust’s opening up of the realm behind the green baize door. This time it is English Heritage taking the lead, fuelled by its membership of one million and increasing number of visitors resulting from “staycations”. As well as the great fortresses the book points the way to many intriguing geometric castles such as Restormel in Cornwall, built in the 1270s on a circular plan with a ring of chambers around a central court, and the 1380s great tower at Warkworth, laid out on a Greek Cross plan with four even arms