Product Description

Britain and Ireland are home to hundreds of castles, some still lived in, some reduced to little more than lumps and bumps in the landscape. Many of them have been the scene of great historical events - negotiations, battles, sieges, executions, kidnappings and betrayals, and all have often bloody and grim stories to tell. Today, most castles are fascinating and romantic places to visit. They include Windsor, a vast and rambling warren that would still be recognized by medieval visitors; Carreg Cennen, a fabulous ruin complete with a cliff-side 'secret' tunnel set in breathtaking landscapes in the mountains of Wales; Hermitage in the Scottish Lowlands, where Mary Queen of Scots rode alone to visit her secret lover; and Blarney, most famous for the stone you should kiss in order to gain eloquence, but also one of Ireland's most impressive castles. "Castles" is based on the classic work by Plantagenet Somerset Fry and has been completely revised and redesigned for this brand new edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6244 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
Excellent 4 page feature extract with book and jacket picture recommended at the end --Beautiful Britain - Oct 06

About the Author
Plantagenet Somerset Fry worked in journalism and public relations, and he was the

Customer Reviews

Grim and compelling history written in stone.
Lovely to own, interesting to read, this book is also useful as the definitive guide to the most impressive historic buildings and sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This is the latest revision of a classic bestselling book.

British and Irish castles are fascinating and romantic places to visit. Whether they're ruins, restored heritage sites or still occupied, they evoke times past, the scenes of historical events that shaped our countries and our people - battles, sieges, executions, negotiations, kidnappings and betrayals. Grim and compelling history written in stone.

The vast majority of the castles were constructed as a result of the Norman invasion and are generally characterised by the motte and bailey. While these castles acted as places of defence and offence, they were also occupied by the local lord and his family. As time passed and society became more settled and secure, the need for castles diminished, save for defence against foreign invasion on our shores. The last to see active service was Dover Castle, which was used as the control centre for Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk. A garrison was maintained there until the 1950s.

Portchester is a fine example of a Norman castle built within the confines of a late third century Roman Saxon shore fort. Reputedly, it has the most complete Roman walls to exist in northern Europe. Portchester was well used by England's royalty and still has the old twelfth century church. Basing House near Basingstoke is worth a look too, where Civil War re-enactments are staged each year.

Lewes is one of the very few castles with two mottes associated with one bailey. When the castle was built, boats could navigate from the Channel up the Ouse so that Lewes was actually a useful port in East Sussex. Way back in 1846 the London and Brighton South Coast Railway constructed a tunnel, which is still in use, under the bailey of the castle.

There are at least five Newcastles - Bridgend, Emlyn in Carmarthanshire, Lyons in Dublin, Under-Lyme in Staffordshire and Upon-Tyne. The latter was built by the Conqueror's son in 1080. Nearby is Tynemouth which was one of the largest fortified sites in England; it was integrated into the Priory and now all that's left are the ruins of the priory and the castle gatehouse, which overlook the mouth of the Tyne and the bleak North Sea.

Cornwall's St Michael's Mount's original church was consecrated in 1144 but was destroyed in an earthquake in 1275. This is a magical place to visit. Leeds Castle is nowhere near Yorkshire; this Kent castle's name stems from the original Esledes and was bought by a wealthy Anglo-American lady in the 1920s and she spent the rest of her life transforming it.

Dumbarton in Scotland is recorded as a stronghold for longer than any other site in Britain; it was built on a volcanic neck of basalt rock jutting out into the Clyde. Glamis in Angus was the childhood home of the Queen Mother and was featured in Macbeth. Linlithgow in West Lothian was the birth-place of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Cardiff castle was raised on the site of a Roman fort in 1080 and over the centuries has been remodelled and improved and is considered one of the best to visit in Wales.

Ireland has more than 3,000 castles, most overgrown ruins and until recently they were resented and seen as symbols of hated foreign rule and domination. Castle Blarney is famous for its stone; anyone who kisses it is supposed to be blessed with eloquence. Besides being a twelfth century castle, Carrickfergus has served as a prison, armoury and air-raid shelter.

Corfe in Dorset was owned by Sir John Bankes; his widow led the garrison to fight off two Parliamentarian sieges, though she was defeated by an act of treachery and the castle was slighted - one of several useful terms to be found in the glossary - damage or destroy to make it unfit for further use. Ashby de la Zouch (Leicestershire) features in Sir Walter Scott's classic Ivanhoe. Scott was clearly besotted by castles, writing the two-novel tome Kenilworth after the castle of that name in Warwickshire.

I can't resist mentioning Shropshire's Moreton Corbet which was built by the head of an old Saxon family rather than a Norman, in about 1200. Another Morton can be found in Dumfries - a fourteenth century castle tower on a high promontory overlooking Morton Loch.

As this book attests, there are literally hundreds of castles in Britain and Ireland. Virtually every one is covered, many descriptions accompanied by attractive and often haunting colour photographs. Every castle is identified by its national grid map reference and basic opening times and access details are provided.

Brief but illuminating feature spreads with illustrations provide more facts and anecdotes on life in early castles, medieval weapons and the people's food and drink. There are also articles on sieges, entertainment, sport and the English Civil War, among others.

You'll spend many an hour with this book and be inspired to go out and seek out the castles themselves. Celebrate your heritage and glory in the rich human tapestry of our islands' history by visiting a castle.

Excellent book
Purchased for son who is learning about castles, construction and living in them; at school.Trouble is,most castle books are too young for him. This is a beautiful book. Lovely photo's and very informative.

I Just Loved it
Firstly what a wonderful name for an author of such a book, secondly what a wonderful book he has written. The British Isles is littered with castles of varying sizes and in various states of repair, or disrepair as the case may be. This book attempts to give you a guided tour of some of the best and there are far more than you think that are complete or almost complete.

Many of the most famous castles in our history have crumbled to little more than a pile of stones and we can only romanticise about how they looked, who built them and lived there and the events that occurred during their long history

But on the reverse of the coin we have castles that are still inhabited even today and one of the oldest, the tower of London is still in an excellent state of repair. Windsor is inhabited by the Queen and Warwick Castle and Leeds Castle look almost as good as the day they were built.

In Scotland, Edinburgh and Stirling have stood the rigours of time and Caernarfon Castle in Wales is a legacy of Edward I, being built on the site of what was a Roman fortress and then a Norman motte and bailey. Another Welsh castle in the beautiful town of Conway has not stood the test of time so well, but the superstructure is more or less still there. There is something magical about a castle when you are inside it. Perhaps it is the presence of long dead residents, or the mighty deeds and events that happened within those enormous walls. Whatever it is this book helps to bring to life our history with a profusion of photographs and information galore. Almost everyone likes a Castle and this book takes you on a enchanting tour from ruins through to the splendour of a fully preserved structure.