Americans React to the Most Incredible Castles in England
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
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Reacting To My Roots
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In this video we react to castles in England for the first time! The 10 English castles in this video are incredible. The architecture, the grounds and history of these beautiful castles are amazing. We're shocked to learn that you can actually tour quite a few of these England castles. When we visit the UK we'll definitely be exploring some of these.
Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this reaction please give this video a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments and click the subscribe button to follow my journey to learn about my British and Irish ancestry.
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👉 Original Video:
• Top 10 Castles to Visi...
Alnwick castle is pronounced Annick.
I was there a couple of months ago… I was surprised to learn that it was a filming location for Star Trek!
I was near there a week ago. Well visited Alnwick gardens, didn't go to the poison garden thou, as was chucking it down.
@@Millennial_Manc Neither did I am I'm a massive SciFi fan!
Now sure is you can trust anything in this video is they can't even get pronunciations correct.
Anyway, it's an amazing place to visit
Came here for this comment. It's a shame when people are trying to educate themselves but the videos are full of inaccuracies 😢
Believe me, castles never stop being magical to us.
I'm lucky enough to live in north Wales. Castles everywhere ☺
@@WookieWarriorz I think that says more about you mate.
@@Rachel_M_ And they are Beautiful too Rachel 👍😜
@@stephensmith4480 I could give you a whole thesaurus of adjectives about castles 😂
@@Rachel_M_ I'm sure you could Rachel. I have visited a couple in North Wales and they have always amazed me, as Castle's do everywhere. They are a testament to history 👌👌
I don't know why Bamburgh Castle isn't on this list.
Agree.
Or goodrich
Agreed. One of my top three favourite castles here in the entire UK. It has so much interesting history, being built on top of an Anglo-Saxon Northumbrian fortress.
I totally agree seeing as most Americans should recognise it from lots of Hollywood movies, without knowing it's history as the Capital of ancient Northumbria, the kingdom running from North of the Humber to the Firth of Forth in present day Scotland ❤🎉
@@kathchandler4919 the latest of those movies being the last Indiana Jones film...
Steve & Lindsey. The Dukes of Northumberland, the Percy family, have lived in Alnwick castle for 700 years !
Believe me, we don't take our castles for granted. We're just as impressed by their beauty and rich history as you are!
I have a personal interest in Dover castle, since that's where my mother was stationed for a large chunk of WWll, as an officer in the ATS supervising 'her girls' in the communications centre.
I love Conwy castle. I recently found out it used to be on a hill in Deganwy, before king Edward wanted it moved, brick by brick, to a better location in Conwy.
Connaught Castle in Dover.Was based in the Connaught Barracks right behind the Castle,so many great memories of running up Connaught hill or company runs along the cliffs etc.Good Times 👊🏾💯👌🏾🇬🇧
I'm in England and castles are never ordinary or everyday. I love visiting them.
You both love windows, so I hope you'll enjoy this true story. At the end of our visit to Harlech Castle, we were in the gift shop when the phone rang. The attendant answered and for a few seconds kept repeating, "No, we are not interested". Eventually, he got annoyed and yelled, "Sir, this is a ruined castle. We do NOT need double glazing."
🤣
Is that because of your Window Tax?
The Mafia did something similar in New York.
I can't imagine that double glazing couldn't enhance any castle.
The Window Tax was introduced in 1696 and repealed in 1851. It was simply a way of raising money from wealthy people who had large homes with lots of windows. As most castles were built in the 11th and 12th centuries, I agree, double glazing wouldn't look good. 🤣🤣🤣
Oh that's so funny 😅 I love Harlech Castle too !
My name is Donald, I’m Scottish and when we visited the Donald castle in Skye we had such a weird feeling of belonging. We traced our family back and found out our ancestor was a knight of the realm!
Wow
@@Ladybird765-m3u There are over 2000 castles in Scotland. We basically have one within a short walk of our house. It is on the coast, as we are. We also have ancient churches too, and Skara Brae , mot a castle, but a prehistoric village, occupied for 600 years, between 3100 and 2500 BC. Check Edinburgh and Stirling Castles.
I know I live in the england/Scotland too! thanks for the extra information though
The circular building, on the hill, inside Arundel castle is called the Keep. It would have been the final retreat for the defenders if the outside walls were breached.
Looks to be the original motte and bailey that the rest of the castle has grown around. I wonder if it has always been a stone keep or if it was originally a wooden palisade?
And probably the first bit they built
@@peterellis1307 yeah man, i bet that was the first bit built, same with windsor the circular building on the hill would be the oldest part i reckon
william the Conqueror era type structures for sure
That's cool! Good to know :)
@@reactingtomyroots, after the Norman invasion the first motte and Bailey castles were in essence flat pack buildings, the motte is a mound of earth, either natural or man-made where the main keep is built on, the bailey is the area around the motte that housed ancillary buildings such as the great hall, kitchens and stables protected by a wooden palisade fence and as time went on the wooden elements were replaced by stone and expanded as the needs changed, later on as the need for a defensive structure lessened then the castle started to be adapted with comfort in mind so features like the larger windows started to appear. This is just a potted version of what I remembered from school. I would recommend checking out English Heritage and the National Trust as these two look after most of the historic places in England.
I’ve lived in Warwick 53 years, pass by Warwick Castle daily and always love to see it, it’s magnificent!
Dont forget that mainland Europe is absolutely chock full of castles and castle style buildings. Approximately 10,000 still around today.
It’s not the main land,prick,it’s continental Europe, we are Great Britain and separate from Europe, simple as that,🇬🇧
If you're interested in castles and castle construction there's a wonderful TV series called 'Secrets of the Castle', available on UA-cam. It's a about an archaeology project/experiment in Guédelon, France, where they are building an actual castle using 13th century techniques.
You beat me to it! That is an excellent series that Steve would love and is educational while being entertaining.
Thanks Nick, might go and binge that. 👍
@@Aberbrothock1 just re watching myself. its good stuff
I just posted a similar comment I think it was made by the BBC it's a brilliant series
It's so funny how in Kent we drive past castles on our way to work etc and just take it for granted I went to a lovely wedding at Dover Castle and the view across the channel to France was stunning there are over 3 miles of tunnels under dover castle many were used during World War II
My in-laws live in Deal and they have three castles within a 10 minute drive; Deal, Walmer and Dover, all of which are completely different in nature, plus the former site of a fourth, Sandown Castle.
@@Garybaldbee we used to live in deal! We now live in Folkestone and tonbridge 🥰
@@Garybaldbee Used to holiday in Deal as a kid and went to Deal and Walmer castles a couple of times.
Hi, greetings from Carlisle, home of the most attacked castle in England, mostly because 8 miles from Scotland and changed hands numerous times in its 1000 year history
Castle Howard in Yorkshire is another beauty . Also, large houses are amazing too . Chatsworth house is breathtaking, where Pride and Prejudice was filmed
Not castles, stately homes.
1. They butchered the pronunciation of “Alnwick” it’s pronounced like ‘Annick’
2. They massively undersold Warwick castle, I think it’s one of the most underrated castles personally, the grounds are amazing as are the ones at Alnwick
As a descendent of Frances Greville, the countess of Warwick, who lived there, and I visited many times as a youngster, i agree. Absolutely fantastic place. ❤
i love warwick castle. my mom said when she was around 5 months pregnant with me she visited and felt me kick for the first time. i have loved castles ever since.
The narrator was more interested in telling us about the tea rooms and activities than the history of these buildings. His mispronunciation of Alnwick was inexcusable.
the building you referred to on the slight hill in middle of Arundel castle is called the castle keep. Most castles will have a keep in the middle this is basically a last refuge, you would retreat to this if the walls of the main castle were breached and got overrun, or at least the more senior members would retreat to there it would not be big enough to hold everyone. so its a last line of defense really. Hide in there and hope for help to arrive.
I grew-up right next door to Warwick Castle. It’s an amazing medieval castle, didn’t appreciate it as a kid.
Bamburgh is an outstanding example. A castle and its outer walls would have been a safe haven for townsfolk with local farmrts also bringing in their livestock. The next defence was the inner bailey manned by troops and the final redout was the keep - usually on a mound.
Bamburgh is a fine example of these three elements.
ArundelCastle is a must. The Duke of Norfolk still lives there. Lovely gardens and jousting tournaments.
The reason you keep seeing ‘11th century’ is simply because castles were pretty much unheard off before this time. You obviously had some (more fortresses than anything as well as ‘Motte & Bailey’ (thanks comment section 🤪)), but it was William the Conqueror, who become king of England in 1066 from Normandy (modern day France) who went crazy on building castles all round England (and parts of wales) to basically show he’s here to stay!
A lot of the existing fortresses were given make overs too.
Motte and Bailey Castles came before Mr conquer.
@@samsprrr3548I believe the Normans introduced Motte and Bailey castles into England.
@@peterellis1307 You are correct mate. Before the Norman Invasion the closest we English had to castles were Burhs (boroughs) which were fortified towns and villages.
I was taught Motte & Bailey castles were a Norman invention too. These were simply a moat 'motte' dug with the removed earth piled into the centre to make a mound on which a small wooden guardhouse 'bailey' was built to overlook, guard and defend the local area. Over time, and advancement in stonework, stone was put around the wood creating the first turrets and over centuries various turrets were connected by stone walls to create the first recognizable castles.
@@TimeyWimeyLimey The Motte was the mound not the moat, either a natural hill or a man made. Lots of Motte and Bailey castles don't have moats.
I think Warwick Castle would be great for Sophia, it’s very interactive (but a little touristy) 😁
I got murdered in the dungeon lol
My brother owns a house in Warwick very close to the Castle. His home was built in the late 1600s so it's relatively new compared to the Castle.
My ancestor was Frances Evelyn Greville nee Maynard, married to Lord Brooke she was the countess of Warwick. She lived in the castle.
Ah modern living eh?
Bridge end by any chance? Some very old houses in that area.
High street
If i may share a little about our lovely castles. After a change of management in 1066, William granted his friends land to build these new castle thingys as a way to uphold rule across the land. Originally built on strategic plots of land, near river crossings for example. These are called "Motte and Bailey" castles. Construction would start with the "keep" usually a circular tower built on a mound of earth "see 4:00 for example. This formed the "Motte" and is the most secure part of the castle. The area around the Motte but within the outer walls is known as the "Bailey" these would hold the service needs for the castle, Food, Storage, Horse's and the majority of accommodation for the castles residents. Usually split into Upper and Lower Bailey sections. These would also act as the last line of defense in case of a siege, and would be gated and defended to prevent attackers from reaching the "Keep". Small settlements outside the castles would begin to form due to trade needs and services of the craftsmen and would sometimes grow into the towns you see today as markets developed and people would travel from surrounding settlements and eventually settle closer to the castle. Many changed function over the centuries as they became less about defense and more about a status of wealth. The last some were used in anger was during the English Civil War. Many were left in ruin at this time due to the onslaught of cannon and gunpowder. Luckily many have stood the test of time and more wars than i can count! I can safety say you both will not be disappointed when you get the chance to visit. You should also check out Iron Age Hill Forts, and Celtic Brocks if you wish to see how our fortified places looked like going back to Pre-Roman times. Best wishes from North Yorkshire x
I live very near payhembury Fort, the view is immense around that area!
My favourite part about Dover Castle is the "secret" war time tunnels, which were built within Dover's white cliffs. People lived & worked underground, planning strategic defence operations & focusing on winning the war. Its fascinating
Edit... Also the view of the castle is something special, it doesn't matter which way you drive in to Dover, there it is sitting proudly on the hill. When its something you see all the time you dont really "see" it, but "seeing" it from a visitors POV makes you see that lil but clearer
My Mum lived next to Warwick Castle, it's amazing. The dungeon is sobering! There's a haunted tower, and the great hall is awesome, fireplace is bigger than my living room! Definitely go. Warwick is so nice.
I live about 10 miles from arundel castle and when you pass by on the A27 ( main bypass rd) you get an amazing view of the castle and town below it from a high viewpoint. Allthough I have driven this route hundreds of times I still find that sight quite magical.
Last time I visited there was a medieval battle reinactment with ppl jousting on horses. The most fascinating artefact in their ( to me anyway) is the death warrant of Mary queen of Scot’s with Elizabeth 1st’s wax seal.The current Duke of Norfolk, the owner, organised the funeral of our late queen
Lincoln castle is really worth visiting. The view of the west front of Lincoln Minster from the castle's observation tower is fantastic. And the old prison chapel is very eerie.
The most common way to attack a castle (besides starving the defenders out) was not siege towers and other engines like in Hollywood films, but undermining. The attackers would drive an underground mine right up to the castle walls, and then demolish the stone foundations and walls, replacing the wall with timber props to support the wall above. Then they would light a huge fire to burn away the props and the wall collapsed, creating a breach that the attackers could get through.
Moats were installed to stop undermining.
Generally, castles were pretty invulnerable to attack, even from undermining, because it took so long and the attackers, having ravaged the countryside, would run out of food (and money to pay the troops). That's why there are so many castles still around.
You should look into the Cathedrals. They are spectacular. I grew up in Lincoln and loved visiting the Cathedral, 4th largest in the UK. One of the three copies of the Magna Carta is housed in Lincoln Castle that faces the Castle. Lincoln castle still has an active crown court within the grounds and a unique prison chapel, it’s no longer a prison.
Lincoln Cathedral consecrated in 1091. It was the tallest building in the WORLD for 1400 years.
Lincoln Castle was begun by order of William the Conqueror in 1068, just two years after his arrival in England.
Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law. It sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power, and placed limits of royal authority by establishing law as a power in itself.
Lincoln Cathedral has been home to its 1215 Magna Carta, marked twice on the reverse with the word ‘Lincolnia’, for the whole of the last eight centuries, surviving the ravages of the English Civil War. This is appropriate since Hugh of Wells, Bishop of the large and powerful Diocese of Lincoln, was present at Runneymede. It is significant since Archbishop Stephen Langton, the architect of Magna Carta, was a Lincolnshire man who studied ideas of kingship from the manuscripts of Lincoln Cathedral. Whilst Lincoln Cathedral has been its home, Magna Carta has also travelled. It was protected during WWII by the United States who kept it safely in Fort Knox, Kentucky. It’s now just over the road within Lincoln Castle in a specially designed preservation and viewing area.
Our castles are amazing to us too. We have history all around us and love it
Steve and Lindsey you like castles you need to check out bamburg castle nortumberland on the northeast coast
It's actually spelt Bamburgh. Sorry for being pedantic over one letter.
One thing they didn't mention about Arundel is that it has a very rare Chapel one of only a few that is divided in two worship areas one end is Catholic the other is Anglican. Arundel is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk.
I love the fact that the 'thing on the hill' is actually the castle (the only defensible bit) and gets identified as a water storage 😁
I was born and raised in the area around arundel and worked 2 minutes away from the castle when I first left school but I have never been in the castle 😢 now that I’m older I have realised how much we take for granted in our home towns. Now that I’m a granny and don’t live in the area anymore I do make sure to take my grandchildren to the area and when they are older I will make sure to do the castle tour with them. I miss living here with all its natural beauty and architecture
It's also still lived in by his Grace, on occasions. Well it was when I visited, in the late'80's
@@alisontoulouse-lisle2621Same here. All my childhood spent 5 miles away.....frequent visits to Swanbourne Lake....but never inside the castle! 78 now, so never will!
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Castles look the way they do, with small areas of liveable space because they were fortresses. While there were often families living in the castles, they were built to hold hundreds of soldiers and withstand sieges and bombardment.
An interesting fact about Alnwick castle is that it has one of if not the worlds most deadly garden. The Alnwick poison gardens. It has over 100 dangerous plants.
Blows my mind how they built with no power tools or digging machines etc amazing craftsmanship .😊
They did have power tools & digging machines, called people.
Craftsmanship.
They really are beautiful, so full of history
We have alot of castles in the UK, but we also have alot of stately homes. In some ways they are the same. But how to tell the difference is castles were built to protect, which is why they have the grand walls around. I never forget our history here and love travelling around. Ive been to most of them.
Windsor is my favourite castle. Althorp is my favourite stately home as its in my town Northampton. i also love Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire its Winston Churchills family Estate.
I can see Belvoir Castle (pronounced Beever) from the edge of the village where I live, it's a really beautiful Castle and home to the Duke of Rutland. I've even attended a wedding there, it was remarkable.
Not too far away is Grimsthorpe Castle the current home of the Baroness Willoughby de Eresby.
We also have some Grand houses nearby such as Harlaxton Manor (which is now owned by the University of Evansville, Indiana. As the base of their study abroad programme) Stoke Rochford Hall which is now a Golf Couse and hotel & Belton House built for the Brownlow family which is now part of our fabulous National Trust.😉
One series you might enjoy is 'Jeeves and Wooster'. The locations used include Highclere Castle (no. 5) so in addition to being very funny and a window into 1920s England it will have Steve drooling over the architecture!
Warwick Castle is great for families it has an amazing Bird of Prey display and live jousting. It's also so close to Stratford Upon Avon. Lots to see and do in the area. Cadbury World is alao not too far away, Sophia would love it there!
I think you two would enjoy a show called ‘escape the Chateau’.
It’s about people from UK. Who moved to France and brought an old French Chateau.
A French Chateau is old French castles.
They spend years renovating the old Chateau and turning them into weddings venues or small hotels.
Some of the buildings featured on the show are just stunningly beautiful. 😊
You should check out "Guedelon" - an experimental archeology project in France. They are literally building a new castle there entirely with historical material, techniques and machinery.
My favourite castle is Corfe castle it's a ruin but still wonderful many childhood memories of holidaying in Corfe southern England ❤😊
The fact that it was ruined is what makes it so cool
Arundel Castle is still lived in.
it is the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk. Arundel Castle is in the county of Sussex, although the Duke's title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current Duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk.
The Duke of Norfolk was the Person who organised the Late Queens Funeral .
He is responsible for Ceremonial Occasions .
Although the part the duke lives in is not mediaeval. The mediaeval part is buried beneath the present castle which was only finished in the early twentieth century.
It's in West Sussex, as opposed to Sussex (which no longer exists). I live very close to it and visit most weeks. The whole town is amazing, as is the Norfolk Estate (AKA Arundel Park Estate) and is open to the public for all but one day a year. There's a lot more to it than seen here, with hidden buildings and all sorts of history that most people would never see.
Brit lass here. My ancestors lived in a castle called Bunratty in County Clare, Southern Ireland. The castle was built in the 15th Century and still stands. It’s now a big tourist attraction. I’ve always wanted to visit but not done yet!
I’m English 🏴 and I suppose we never think about the stuff we live around . My village pub is 800 years old 😆 I’ve never really thought about it but I suppose that’s mental for an American to think about . Parts of the village church are from the 11th century , 1094 I believe.
I'm close to Conwy, Rhuddlan and Caernarfon. I drive right past Beaumaris every week. You get used to them being there.
I live in the Scottish highlands and we love visiting castles. One of my favourites is Dunnottar Castle.
I'm so proud that Dover Castle is at No2 on this list! Being born and raised in Dover, I'm so lucky that I get to see it every day. It's a shame they didn't show you the spooky war tunnels in this compilation. I loved Sophia's goodbye at the end!😂 😁❤
Our local castle is Portchester a Roman castle. It’s smaller than the great castles but it’s even older being Roman. Added to by future monarchs.
Arundel Castle, which is local to me as well as being the home for the Duke of Norfolk, as others have already commented, has been used as a location in several films (movies) including The Madness of King George and more recently Wonder Woman. Much of it is open to the public and it is a popular tourist destination. Just a short distance up the River Arun from Arundel is Amberley Castle which is a hotel. There are the ruins of two further castles within about 10 miles (16 Kms) Bramber Castle on the River Adur near Shoreham by Sea, and Knepp Castle.
A lot of the Castles in this video dating from the 11th century is due them being built in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest in 1066. It was a display of power to subdue the Saxon population.
As for the age of buildings in the UK. The parish church in the West Sussex village where I grew up was built in 1068. Near where I live now is a church that is believed to date back to Saxon times, pre Norman conquest, and is well over 1,000 years old.
Haha had no idea Sophia was in the background all this time until the end. What a patient and well behaved Angel. She didn't interrupt mum and dad all the way through the video 🙂 Thanks for this video. I've lived in London all my life and never ventured out to any castles in UK. Walked past Tower Hill castle many times though. I live in SE London and realised I am not far from Kent by train. Really need to make an effort to check one or two out this spring and summer
There was also a 16th Century Castle called "Nonesuch" or Cuddington Palace, built by Henry VIII.
It was very elegant and grand looking...but it was demolished, because a "Lady" back in the day sold it to pay off gambling debts.
I recommend checking out the paintings of it! you won't be disappointed.
it was a King Charles' mistress. the Moron had it pulled down for debts, as u said.
absolutely criminal! she literally destroyed an architectual wonder
That's a shame!
That is a short walk away from me @cybrAshley the Lady was Barbara Palmer (Lady Castlemaine) who was King Charles II’s favourite mistress. The King gave it to her as a gift, as he wanted to move on to a new mistress. She lost it all gambling. Elizabeth I liked to stay there, after the death of her father.
@@AnnieWatson-lv8ek Thats Correct, i believe in the borough of epsom and ewell, where i worked once in Planning...im not far from there either 😏
I do really like Berkeley Castle. An enjoyable day trip, you can go around much of the castle and it has really nice grounds as well.
My favourite little detail about it is that the stone steps are different heights and sizes to make them awkward to walk on and so slow up any invaders who got into the castle.
Peace love from England ❤
The whole point of these Castles was that they were Fortresses.
They were built at various locations to control and defend strategic areas. Usually on high ground. Starting from the time of the Norman invasion of 1066 under William I, the Conqueror!
The Castle usually included an entire community within its walls. If it came under siege, for months, it needed to survive. Including the inhabitants and animals. Think what that would need!
That's why you see quite large areas of open space within the walls. There were animals living there. There were training facilities, blacksmiths, armourers, cloth makers, weavers, stone masons, carpenters, cooks, bread makers, candle makers, and all sorts of trades. All housed within the walls.
Many of them started as relatively small Mott and Bailey types of Castles and evolved and expanded over centuries.
As time passed, more peaceful eras required less Fortress and more Mansion and Palace type housing for the Nobility Classes who were responsible for holding and protecting the areas of land under their auspices.
I live in Kent, and have taken my son to Rochester Castle many times over the years. And yes, it's way more fun during a festival! There's the Dickens Festival in the summer, with people dressed as characters from Dicken's novels, and they have a Christmas Festival in the grounds of Rochester Castle in December, with a fairground and stalls selling crafts and unusual food and drink like buffalo and ostrich burgers, craft beers and wines, roasted chestnuts and fruit kebabs. (Oh, and the view from the top of the castle is pretty spectacular too!)
Oh, and Dover castle is a full day out in itself. They also have the wartime tunnels underneath, which have been done up to look exactly as they would have when they were used as a secret war base/underground hospital in WW2 (complete with sounds and even SMELLS) - that's a brilliant forty-five minute guided tour, before you even tackle the castle itself.
One of my favourite castles is Dunster Castle set in picturesque Somerset. A couple of castle ruins worth a mention are Manor castle in sheffield ( Mary Queen of Scots) was held captive here for 14 years then there is Flamborough Castle set on the east Yorkshire coastline.
So, the 11thC thing.
There was this guy called William The Bastard who invaded England in 1066. Having killed the king (Harold) he had to establish his authority so sent his Lords and Barons out in to the country, building castles to protect themselves and their armies against the pissed off Anglo Saxons. Most of these castles were initially wooden fortresses in the 11thC but grew and became the structures you see now over the subsequent centuries.
My brother lives on the grounds of Arundel Castle . I love walking around every time I visit .
I love Stirling Castle , ahistory of Mary Queen of Scots .
Edinburgh Castle .
Glamis Castle were the Late Queens Mother was born . Very old and atmospheric .
I have very fond memories of playing with my sisters in the grounds of bodiam castle. We used to just go over the road as my grandparents lived on the green . It's a stunning castle and the surrounding countryside is beautiful.
We've visited all of these over the years. Some are near where we live in Kent. We are very lucky here in the UK to have these beautiful interesting buildings in our country ❤
Dude, you and your family are honorary Brits, far as I'm concerned. Love your content.
Winchester was the capital of England from the 10th to the 12th century
You guys should also look at Chatsworth house,highly recommended with connections to the Kennedys.
Hi Steve Lindsey these structures are amazing and incredible in there design .You must remember that every thing you see around you in this world. Thats every thing apart from trees grass and bird nests was made by human hands incredible.
I grew up near Warwick Castle , I don't even notice the ancient buildings , you just get used to them. So it is lovely to see your reaction .
I have fond memories of visiting Heddingham castle and Colchester castle (Essex)
I’m with you on that 😂
Im very lucky, my office looks out over Portchester Castle - never get tired of the view.
Hi Guys , All amazing , my nearest castle is in Rochester it was built in the 1080s its an imposing structure you can see as you approach the Town it's situated . Been many times to admire it. 😊
I was lucky enough to live near Rochester castle for many years. Rochester cathedral is beautiful and the town is well known for its connection to Charles Dickens. My daughter got married in Rochester and had all her wedding photos taken in front of the castle. Amazing
Dover castle is a few miles away and great for a full day out. We stayed at a cottage in the grounds when family visited and basically once the castle was closed we had the whole site virtually to ourselves.
Scotland has vast numbers of castles too. We used to have 3000 but today there are about 1500. The castles in Aberdeenshire were the inspiration for Walt Disney…..so well worth checking out, and very different from English Castles.
Many of the ruined/partially ruined castles where only stonework is left would have probably had some rooms with roofs, However these would have mostly been wooden so have rotten away. I live not far from Framlingham castle, the castle from the Ed Sheeran song, Castle on the hill. There is also a large country manor house near me called, Helmingham hall, Its a moated house built in around 1480 and owned by the same family since then. Its drawbridges have been raised every night since 1580.
Orford castle isn't too far away either.
@@geoffpoole483 You can see Orford castle from the Walls of Framlingham castle. Apparently Fram castle was built by a wealthy family and not the royal family. So Orford was then built by the then king as a friendly remind who was truly in charge.
I used to volunteer for a heritage society here in the UK. I used to have free reign of one of these historic houses you were talking about at 12:57. They are way bigger than you think . So many different hidden rooms especially below stairs and in the attic spaces that are closed to the public . And thats just the main house. Then you have all the service buildings.
Edinburgh and Stirling have incredible castles as well. Culzean castle is beautiful as well, its located in South Ayrshire.
My dog once pee'd on the gate leading into Edinburgh Castle.
At the time, he took this disobedient act as being a gesture of ownership.
The then owners of Edinburgh Castle obviously disputed this claim.
In 2011, the British labrador canine court awarded my dog the title deeds and officially recognised him as the rightful owner of Edinburgh Castle.
He's gone now, but he left me the Castle in his will
Funny how they didn’t feature in a video about castles in ENGLAND 🤷🏻♂️
@martynadams2011 Did they not mention that they intended to check out other UK castles? .
@@martynadams2011 We should have a video about the ding dongs between the Castles near the border between England and that other Country that i will not mention its name marty.
The beautiful castles and the history behind them .MAGICAL
Theres a great story about the queen driving around Windsor castle with her armed police guard and she was stopped by a tourist asking the directions to Windsor castle and whether she'd ever seen the queen. The queen replied "no but he has" pointing to the armed police guard and drove off chuckling.
No, that story refers to balmoral castle.
Yes it was in the very large grounds surrounding Balmoral, she used to us Balmoral as a summer retreat, but she used Windsor during the lock downs. The official residence is Buckingham Palace, but that’s not a castle, castles in the main were built as defensive buildings ( not Highclere I think ) .
Lovely reaction and thank you for your interest and thoughts. This top 10 is quite south-east-centric. There are more battle-scared, windswept castles throughout the England, as well as Scotland and Wales.
i used to live on the road next to the west gate of lincoln castle, the castle wall was my back garden wall, it seemed normal as a kid but looking back it was very surreal to live under the shadow of a thousand year old fortress, would recomend checking it out
Bodium is one of our favourite places to take visitors. You can easily understand the layout of rooms from the ruined interior. There is a great pub across the road from the parking lot (aka car park), which serves locally produced foods. It's also near Rye and Hastings and Battle.
11th Century : See 1066, after which many Motte and Bailey castles were built by the Normans. Just look for streets called Castle Street.
Highclere Castle is lovely but doesn’t feel as big as it looks from the outside. My husband took me there for a tour and afternoon with classical music in the grounds.
Lord and Lady Carnarvon were in the garden and helped us move our table to a different place. They stopped for a chat. They were absolutely lovely and extremely down to earth.
That round thing is not a water tower it's the Keep which is the strongest portion of the fortification of a castle, the place of last resort in case of siege or attack. The keep was either a single tower or a larger fortified enclosure.
and a place where they sent the women ad children for their safety
@@Greenwood4727 I wish I had a keep in our house!
The Victorians did love to disguise their water towers as castles. You can see where the mistake might arise.
I was lucky enough to grow up very close to Dover Castle and we spent a lot of time there playing in the grounds or running around the rooms inside. In those days it was free to go into the grounds and 1shilling and sixpence to go into the keep, easily affordable with pocket money.
Should definitely do the same for the other countries.
Wales supposedly has the most in the UK, so that should be fun!
I can confirm lol
@@TanyaRando
Haha. I said “supposedly” as I wasn’t 100% sure lmao.
Arundel Castle is 3 miles from my house. It's still a family home for the Duke of Norfolk, but you can visit it during the summer. It hosts flower festivals every spring.
Apart from castles like Alnwick and Bamburgh, Northumberland also has a plethora of other castles such as Chillingham - which is famous here for the amount of time that it was sieged and for the infamous residents back in the day. As well as well documented ghost encounters!
Northumberland also has a shed load of ruined castles which are mostly located right next to villages which bear the same name.
Think we have around 70 castles in Northumberland. Plus, of course, Bastle houses, Pele towers, and Roman forts. The number of battlefields in the county is probably a good indication as to why.
Bodiam Castle is always a great memory from my childhood, catching the steam railway from Tenterden then getting off the train and catching a horse drawn carriage up to the castle, spending the afternoon on the grassy banks and having a picnic with my family. 100% a must do with little Sophia, she would love both the railway and horse drawn carriage, such a princess way to travel.
Hi Steve, Lyndsey & Sophia :-) Sandringham house is Norfolk is beautiful - the queen used to live there during Christmas time. Also look at the ‘national trust’ they have some fantastic looking houses 😍
My invitation to stay with me still stands, I’m an easy drive from both Arundel and Bodiam!! You can easily get to Windsor and London as well!
Most of what you see in many castles are much later than the original building, especially where they continued to be occupied. The empty spaces as at Bodiam have lost buildings that were lived in.
When it says 12th century etc that is just the start date. Many castles began as wooden defences, gradually being rebuilt in stone over many years. Some like Arundel & Windsor & Warwick are largely Victorian restorations.
Im from Alnwick, its pronounced an-ick...and I promise you, it never stops being spectacular! I work on the estate and its lovely to call this place "work" what an office! I often go for a certain drive, to see it appear over the horizon! Love the channel guys, it's interesting to see the UK, through your eyes.
Sadly the computerised voiceover can't pronounce Alnwick castle: "Annick" rhymes with Panic.
In the summer a lot of these castles have fun days. It could consist of People in period costume, hog roasts, jousting, archery competitions. Even the Romans can make an appearance. There are reconstructed battle scenes. They are really great to go to. There are many, many castles throughout Europe.
"An Englishman's home is his castle"
is a 'saying' here in the UK...
I guess it just means we can be proud and happy within our homes whatever or wherever it is
...though I don't actually know the origin of that phrase!! 🤔🏴❤️🙂🖖
my mate Chris lives in Elizabeth Castle in Jersey.
'An Englishman's home is his castle' actually had legal meaning back in the day, stemming at least from the days of Queen Elizabeth I. It meant that the power of the state stopped at your front door and that no one could tell you what to say, do, or think under your own roof. It's why Catholics were able to hide priests in their houses during the Reformation era and where the whole "Get a warrant" thing in English and American law stems from. You want to search my house? You'd better have good reason, in writing, from a judge.
"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail - its roof may shake - the wind may blow through it - the storm may enter - the rain may enter - but the King of England cannot enter." -- William Pitt the Elder, Prime Minister
"An Englishmans home is his castle" alludes to the right of property, privacy and safety. It is a place where the rest of the world can be held at bay, and 'within your own four walls' or 'castle' you are free and your own master within your property.
So many of these date from the 11th century because they were built by the Normans to subdue their English conquest; the circular feature on the mound at Arundel would have been the original _motte_ while the outer curtain wall would've been the _bailey_ . Later Norman castles introduced the square keep, such as at Rochester and The Tower.
5:20 The windows are slits to stop the arrows getting in
That makes sense! 😂
And to shoot arrows back! Lol
@@lucykent4517that's the main reason!!
Shoot out not in
As a Welsh person. Check out Caernarfon castle or Beaumaris
When you're talking about the size of villages a thousand years ago, some were pretty much the same size. When the Plague struck, many villages were wiped out to the last man, woman and child. They were reluctantly resettled afterwards and some were just left to decompose into the countryside.