After the Norman conquest of 1066 the new invaders built several castles in Yorkshire. The Norman Castles. The enclosed area would provide a site for houses and stables. "; The development, architecture and building of these great fortresses changed as time progressed, influenced by important historical events such as the crusades and the technology of siege warfare. The gate can only be reached by crossing a bridge, which starts from the outer edge of the ditch. var current_date = new Date(); month_value = current_date.getMonth(); day_value = current_date.getDate(); year_value = current_date.getFullYear(); document.write( months[month_value] ); Norman Castles - Famous - History - Facts - Information - Info - Interesting Important Period Life Times Facts History of Castles in the Middle Ages - Medieval - Mediaeval - Middle Ages - Motte and Bailey - Medevil - Meadieval - Madieval - Meideval - Medievall - Midieval - Midevil - Mideval - Casttles - Carstles - Cassels - Norman Castles - Cassells - Medieval Carsels - Carsells - Carsels - Carstles - Carsalls - Fortress - Mediaeval - Medevil - Meadieval - Ancient Norman Castles - Madieval - Meideval - Medievall - Midieval - Ancient Norman Castles - Midevil - Mideval - Casttles - Carstles - Cassels - Cassells - Carsels - Carsells - Medieval Carsels - Carstles - Medieval Carsalls - Keep - Tower - Build - Defend - Information about Middle Ages Castles - Interesting Important Period Life Times Facts History of Castles in the Middle Ages - Ancient Norman Castles - Written By Linda Alchin. If an attacking force managed to get inside the bailey, the bridge could be pulled up to keep the invaders away from the people in the tower. To defend the territory they had conquered, the Normans began building castles all over England. William the Conqueror initially built a wooden Motte and Bailey castle and the famous, fortified, stone White Tower, which replaced the original Motte and Bailey castle, was completed in 1097. A Motte and Bailey castle could be erected quickly - some only took a couple of weeks. The First Castles. These early castles could be built very quickly and it is thought that as many as 1000 motte and bailey castles were built in England by the Normans. His army would have disintegrated and would inevitably been forced to return to Normandy. The first pre-built Norman Wooden Castle was erected at Pevensey Bay in 1066. The Normans introduced the first proper castles, starting with the wooden Motte and Bailey castles, to England following their … The stone hall and inner bailey wall were built in the 11 th century. Early Norman castles - like the one William the Conqueror built as soon as he landed in Pevensey to protect himself and his closest advisers - were simple defensive structures: an earthen mound (or motte) crowned with a wooden palisade, the bailey, with maybe a keep at the centre of the structure. The Anglo-Norman first used earthen motes as fortifications when invading in Ireland but soon discovered bigger strong-holds would be needed to protect their conquest, the castles would take time to build. F irst, by far the largest group of castles were those built by the Anglo-Norman lords of the March (from the French word marche meaning frontier). What is the biggest castle in England? 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