Middle Bailey Medieval Curtain Wall

Middle Bailey Medieval Curtain Wall. . In front of you is a ruined section of Middle Bailey wall. A bailey is an enclosed area within a castle. Nottingham Castle has 3 baileys: an Outer, Middle and Upper Bailey, all of which, in medieval times, would have been strongly defended., This wall would originally have been a wooden palisade (a wall made of sharpened stakes) as part of the first Norman castle built in 1068., Between 1171 and 1189 over £1800 was spent on the Castle including enclosing the Middle and Upper Baileys in stone walls that were completed in 1173 and then further heightened in 1187 during the reign of Henry II., To the right would have been the North-East Tower Built around 1251 in the reign of Henry III, this would have been a formidable fortification should attackers get past the Outer Bailey gatehouse. The 13th century chronicler Thomas Wykes described Nottingham Castle's defences as "peerless in the realm"., To the left at the top of the road is what has become known as Richard's Tower-named after Richard II, though it was actually built by his brother, Edward IV, between 1476 and 1480. It cost over £3000 along with new state apartments, the foundations of which you can see laid out on the Middle Bailey green. It is believed that Richard ll stayed in these apartments before leaving Nottingham for the Battle of Bosworth where he would lose his crown and his life!, The curtain wall and both towers were destroyed in 1651 after the British Civil War with the Council of State commanded the then Governor, Major Thomas Poulton, that "the Castle and all the outworks and fortifications be altogether demolished".