Anatomy of a Castle: The Gatehouse

Gatehouse at Kidwelly Castle, Wales

Cross the drawbridge and you'll likely find yourself staring up at the gatehouse, the front door of the castle and arguably the strongest part of the castle.  Flanked, usually, by two enormous towers, peppered with arrow loops, and a slew of armed guards. The gatehouse might sometimes be referred to as a barbican, which is defined as a defensive tower, usually a double tower, of a castle or walled city, often above a gate or drawbridge.

Bridge over moat and Grand Gatehouse of Caerphilly Castle, Wales

Gatehouse of Carrickfergus Castle, Northern Ireland

Gatehouse at Pembroke Castle, Wales

Barbican & Gatehouse at Harlech Castle, Wales

Gatehouse at Caernarfon Castle, Wales

The tunnel through the gate is often extremely thick, supporting several doors or gates, usually including a portcullis. A portcullis is a heavy gate or grill, usually made of metal, which could be raised and lowered with pulleys inside the gatehouse. If lowered at the right time, the portcullis could be a weapon in its own right, impaling or crushing enemies. Two doors lowered in concert could also trap enemies. From within the gatehouse, soldiers could shoot arrows through arrow loops as well as make use of the murder hole. A murder hole is a gap, situated inside the doorway, above where people enter, through which boiling water, hot oil, and rocks might have been heaved upon unsuspecting enemies.

Gate and Portcullis at Cahir Castle, Ireland

Ruined Gate at Rock of Dunamase, Ireland

Anatomy of a Castle: Castle Walls

Harlech Castle Walls, Wales

The first line of defense for a castle was location. The lucky ones are perched atop volcanic crags where they can see miles in all directions. Many are on ocean cliffs or along rivers, all serving strategic purposes. After location, the well defended castle has a wall, sometimes called a curtain wall. Later some castles, called Concentric Castles, would have a set of two concentric walls, one inside the next. These walls could be from around 2 meters and 8 meters thick!

Pembroke Castle, Wales

Some castle walls adjoined walls that encircled the entire town such as Conwy Castle, Wales. Conwy Castle was a built for English King Edward I in Wales in 1283 to quell Welsh Rebellions against the crown. Walls were extended to envelop town, where only English settlers & soldiers were allowed. Many castles such as this were built in Wales at this time (Pembroke, Harlech, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, etc).  The walls contain many defensive elements that make up the castle's battlements. Learn more about these in my next post. Until then, enjoy your walk upon the ramparts.

Map of Conwy Castle and complete Town Walls, Wales  (source)

Stretch of Conwy's Town Walls which you can still walk.

Atop Conwy Castle, Wales

Kidwelly Castle, Wales