Conquest & Castles

Conquest and Castles. . The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded that the King had a royal hall in Oakham. The high bank before you is believed to be the remains of the motte - the first phase of the Castle, probably built around 1075., As the Normans took control of England, they built strongholds around the country. They would press local people to construct an earthwork mound (a "motte"), with a timber keep on top, and enclose the area around with a palisade of wooden stakes (a "bailey"). These fortresses are known today as motte and bailey castles., Mystery Underfoot , In its heyday the Castle grounds would have contained many timber and stone buildings, not just the lone Hall of today. The Castle would have been bustling with people who lived and worked here, and all the sounds and smells of a busy, crowded medieval manor., By the time that George Villiers, the 1st Duke of Buckingham, acquired the Castle in the 1620s only the Great Hall was still standing. Buckingham undertook repairs to the hall, and built a great mansion at Burley on the Hill for his residence., It is difficult to interpret the irregular mounds and dips all around the site. Some may be indications of ruined buildings beneath the ground, but the Castle has also been extensively landscaped. In the early 20th Century an area may have been flattened to create a tennis court, which is shown in early photographs., Discover more... , Climb the steps to take in the vantage point that the Normans would have enjoyed over the town., Future excavations are planned which we hope will reveal more about the early history of the Castle.