CASTLE INFORGRAPHIC
Timbers, towers and turrets
We reveal the hidden features and architectural quirks you should look out for when exploring Britain’s most magnificent medieval masterpieces…
TAP ON IMAGE TO ZOOM IN
DID YOU KNOW?
THE NOT-SO GREAT ESCAPE
In May 1648, Charles I was caught trying to escape his imprisonment at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Having applied nitric acid to a metal window bar, he was discovered sawing at it with a hacksaw.
IN NUMBERS
Six fascinating stats about British castles
172
The length, in days, of Henry III’s 1266 siege of Kenilworth Castle – the longest in English medieval history
>300
The number of fireplaces at Windsor Castle – the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world
47
The years it took to build Caernarfon Castle, Wales – although it was never completely finished
c500
The number of castles built in England and Wales during the reign of William the Conqueror (1066–87)
>22,000
The amount, in tonnes, of soil used to create the motte of a medieval castle built at Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire
2–2.5
The depth, in metres, of the defensive moat that surrounds Bodiam Castle in East Sussex