XXVIII Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке
Castles of England
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Introduction
The Middle Ages are the era shrouded in mystery and largely unexplored by Medieval scholars. One of the main mysteries of the Middle Ages are the castles, great monuments of architecture and fortification art. I am very interested in this topic because I’m keen on English culture and history in general.
The purpose of the research is to learn the constructional features of a castle.
The objectives of the work are to find the information on the topic, analyze the information and make a craft model of a constructional item.
Methods are analyzing the information and modelling.
Item is Big Ben Castle Tower model.
Hypothesis is “the tower is an important part of a castle”.
The relevance of the study lies on the fact that today castles and their fortification architecture have become objects of close attention not only for historians and tourists, but also for authors of computer games, strategy games, books and films in the "fantasy" style, where events develop within the walls of ancient fortresses. This trend largely awakens the interest and curiosity of people, as well as the desire to learn more comparing to what is written about medieval castles in popular and publicly available educational literature.
2. Castles
2.1 Castle as a building
The castle is a fortified dwelling of a feudal lord of the European Medieval era. Castle construction is characterized by a wide variety of types of structures. They differ depending on the surrounding landscape (location on heights, islands, rocky ledges, etc.), the nature of fortifications (moat, rampart, ring walls, etc.), as well as the shape of the plan (square, round, oval, polygonal), the number, shape and location of towers and others.
2.2 What characterizes the castle?
One of the main features of a medieval castle is the strength and reliability of buildings. Castles were created to ensure the safety of their inhabitants, so they had thick walls, massive towers and impregnable fortifications.
3. History of castles
3.1 How did the first castle appear?
First of all, the castles are associated with the Medieval fortresses. These fortifications were necessary to protect people from the attacks and raids. During this period, the main purpose of the castle was protection, which had determined its characteristics: high walls, towers, moats and drawbridges. The earliest castles were wooden, but in the IX century people started to build them from stones. At the same time, it was the dwelling of a feudal lord, around which soldiers and workers loyal to him were concentrated.
With the development of defensive technologies and the emergence of new types of weapons, castles began to evolve. During the XIV–XVII centuries, the architecture of castles acquired new forms that reflected the changes in society and its needs. Castles have become more luxurious and representative, reflecting the greatness and power of their owners. They acquired towers, spacious lobbies, palaces and gardens. In later period the distinctive feature of castles was the amount of decorative elements, such as paintings, wood carvings and stone objects, coloured stained glass windows.
3.2 What techniques were used to build castles?
The construction of the building is a complex work that requires not only time, but also the efforts of many specialists who were carefully selected for the construction of royal residences. So, King Edward I is famous for his ring castles. For this purpose, masons were invited to cut the stones into blocks using a hammer, chisel and other tools. Such work was difficult and required a high level of skill from a specialist.
However, castles were built not only of stone. The choice of material depended on the area. At first, castles were built of wood, which was cheap but unreliable. Later people began to use stone, it was very expensive and such castles were built for kings.
In total the construction took from three to ten years and all the work was done manually. It all started with digging ditches around the future building. Then this land was laid inside – as a result, a castle mound was obtained. After that the walls were built in two rows. The outer wall was lower, and towers for watchers were built on them, as well as a drawbridge and a sluice. The inner wall was higher, and its towers were occupied by the owners of the castle.
4. Castles in England
4.1 The first castle in England
Windsor Castle was founded in 1070 by William I on a hill in the Thames Valley 30 kilometers away from London. Initially it was a wooden fortress surrounded by a stone wall. A little later, an additional wooden wall was built to the east of the hill (now the Upper Courtyard is located in its place), and by the end of the century, a similar wall was built next to the western slope of the hill (where the Lower Courtyard is now located). Later all these buildings were repeatedly rebuilt, but the layout itself has been preserved to our times – two quadrangular buildings (courtyards), and in the middle there is a round tower on the top of the hill.
Windsor Castle was completely built of stone in the first half of the 12th century, until the reign of Edward III, who ascended the throne in 1327, but the building was not a full-fledged residence of the royal family.
4.2 The most popular castles in England.
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The Tower of London is a historic fortress and palace located in the heart of London. The Tower was built in the XI century by William the Conqueror and served as a fortress and royal residence. Then it was used as a prison, treasury, arsenal and even a zoo. One of the most famous objects in the Tower of London is Big Ben.
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Alnwick
This majestic castle in the north of England in the county of Northumberland, known for its architecture, massive towers and numerous appearances in such films as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", for example. It is the second largest residential castle in the UK and home to the Harry Potter Museum.
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Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is located on a cliff above the city of Edinburgh (the capital of Scotland), it is famous for its impressiveм panoramic views and своей history. The castle has a very long history, and is first mentioned in XII century. It served as a royal residence, a place of coronations and an important defense facility due to its thick walls and high towers.
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Dover Castle
Dover Castle is one of the largest castles in England. Located in Dover, Kent, on the banks of the Pas-de-Calais Strait between Great Britain and France, it has long been considered the "key to England" because of its strategic position on the island. Today the castle has been turned into a museum. You can enjoy the view from its remarkable towers.
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Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a castle located in the English city of Durham on a rocky bluff above the River Wear. The castle was built in the XI century immediately after the Norman conquest of England to protect the northern lands from the Scotts. It also served as the seat of the Bishop of Durham, whose appointment was held by the monarch.
4.3 Interesting facts about some castles in England
Since the beginning of the 12th century, the Tower has served as a prison, and for more than 800 years many famous personalities have visited its walls: William Wallace, Thomas More, Lady Jane Grey, Edward V, Richard of Shrewsbury, Anne Boleyn and others. Some of them laid down their heads here.
Lots of black crows live in the Tower of London. They are considered as the guardians of monarchy. It’s interesting that these crows have their own guardian, who is in the public service. Each crow has a name and is very valuable to the nation.
Arundel Castle was built in 1067 by Count Roger de Montgomery. According to the legend, his ghost still haunts nearby, watching his architectural masterpiece.
Tintagel Castle is shrouded in mystery. It is believed that it is the place where King Arthur, one of the main characters of the British epic was born. Thousands of travelers annually come to the ruins of Tintagel Castle to immerse in the atmosphere of magic and breathe the fresh sea air here.
5. Hever Castle and Gardens
The oldest part of this English castle with its massive gates, outer walls and the moat, was built in 1270. 200 years later the Boleyn family added a Tudor-style house to the castle's interior architecture. This place preserves the history of English monarchy, including love adventures and court intrigues. There is a special spirit of antiquity and grandeur here. The history of the castle is closely intertwined with the Boleyn family. The castle was bought by the great-great-grandfather of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. Anna spent her childhood, was courted by Henry VIII, and later was taken to the gloomy Tower, on the orders of her husband, from this exact place.
Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII. She gave birth to a girl, king’s daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I. Soon the relationships between Anna and the king began to fall apart, and Henry accused Anna of "adultery and high treason", then the court sentenced the unfortunate woman to death. Anne Boleyn was beheaded in the Tower of London on 19 May 1536. After Anne Boleyn's execution, Hever Castle was placed under the King's control.
The fourth wife of Henry VIII, also called Anne, after their divorce received a gift of Hever Castle, where she lived the rest of her days.
From 1557 to 1903 the castle had many owners. By the beginning of the last century, it was abandoned and uninhabited, but in 1903 it has been restored to the full splendor of its former beauty.
William Waldorf Astor bought the castle in 1903, carefully recreated all the grandeur of this remarkable place. To the east of the house, trimmed yews were replanted and a 75-square-foot maze was created, yew chessmen were cut out of the old-fashioned pattern – the topiary forms were favorite decoration of gardens in the time of Henry VIII. Many different statues meet visitors at the entrance to the park. Astor has amassed an outstanding collection of antiques, many of which are displayed in the gardens of Hever Castle. For example, an early 18th-century astrolabe and a Roman water spring.
At the beginning of the last century Italian gardens were enormously fashionable and Astor decorated Italian-style gardens with statues and beautiful reservoirs. This fenced area begins with a semicircular pond, on the bank of which stands a statue of Venus. Inside the site there is the Pompeian wall, divided into spans. Each of the spans has a separate composition of stone, plants and sculptures. Along the other border stretches a gallery with stone columns, covered with flowering vines.
Hever Castle is one of the most popular holiday destinations in England. Picnic lawns, boat rides, excursions and various theatrical performances, such as jousting tournaments, are organized here. Every year half a million of visitors and tourists from all over the world enjoy its beauty.
6. Big Ben Castle Tower
The history of Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) begins in 1844. Architect Charles Barry, who was involved in the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster, proposed to build not just a watch tower used as a guarantee of security, but a clock, which would be the largest and most accurate of all available at that time in the world so it would have two functions: defensive and a curiosity thing. Moreover, this clock tower was conceived as a part of Westminster palace (castle) and built instead of the old watch tower which was completely burnt in 1834. The process of construction began in 1843. Materials were supplied from all over the country. Surprisingly, this tower was built from the inside.
On May 31, 1859 the clock on the tower of the Palace of Westminster began to move. The telegraph transmission of time signals from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich confirmed the highest accuracy of the tower clock.
For more than a century and a half Big Ben was officially called the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster. However, in 2012 — the year of the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II governance — it was renamed in honor of the queen.
7. Practical part
Practical work plan:
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Prepare a workplace
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Prepare all the necessary items for the craft
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Learn how to build an item (Big Ben Castle Tower)
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Start building an item (Big Ben castle Tower)
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After assembling, look at the craft and make sure that everything is assembled correctly (if necessary reassemble some parts)
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Leave the craft to dry
7. Get the model of a tower
8. Conclusion
Castles in England are not only majestic monuments of architecture, but also very important witnesses of history. They reflect the spirit of the eras in which they were created, and serve as unique illustrations of the development of the society, military engineering and art. Built for defense and display of strength, castles gradually turned into residences embodying luxury and comfort. These structures played a key role in the formation of England. Castles became centers of political and military power, economic life and cultural exchange. Today many of them continue to attract tourists and researchers, reliably protecting the secrets of their owners.
Having analyzed the construction of various castles of England we came to the conclusion that a tower is one of the main constructional features of a castle. As the key function of each castle whether medieval or not was the protection of its inhabitants, we can sum up that having a tower was a necessity for each one, because the tower is the strategic point which provides the view on the landscape that guarantees the early warning when the enemy approaches.
9. Sources
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https://kartaslov.ru/значение-слова/замок
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www.architime.ru/specarch/hugh_me
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fly-joy.com/ru/top-10-samyh-krasi
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https://www.tripadvisor.ru/Attractions-g1
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https://www.pac.ru/guide/great-britain/england/landmarks/alnwick-castle
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https://ukbusiness.ru/7-samyh-zagadochnyh
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https://yandex.ru/search/?clid=11528081&text=bcnjhbz+%2Cbu+%2Ctyf&l10n=ru&lr=50