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Enjoy this view of the Norwich skyline from the battlements
of Norwich Castle. On a clear day, there are spectacular views over
Norwich allowing you to see where the city ends and the countryside
begins. In the distance of this panorama you can see the spire of
Norwich Cathedral, The Forum and the clock tower of City Hall.
The battlements are constructed out of Bath stone.
There are nine battlements on each side of the Castle but pre-1835,
there were more. Even the ones we see today were changed in the
18th century, so the original battlements are long gone.
At the time of the Norman Conquest, Norfolk and
Suffolk, were the most densely populated counties in England. From
about 1067 the Normans demolished at least 98 Saxon homes in Norwich
to make way for the Castle earthworks within which they built a
wooden fort, surrounded by deep defensive dry ditches.
Norwich Castle |
They installed a garrison of soldiers to keep law
and order and prevent rebellion against William the Conqueror. Once
the motte or mound had settled and been extended, William (Rufus)
II, began the stone keep about 1094.
Norwich Castle keep was designed to be a lavish
royal palace rather than a fortification. The only palace in the
region, it was the centre of Norman administration. Limestone was
shipped from Caen in France at vast expense, brought up the river
Yare on barges and hoisted up onto the mound using treadmills and
a complex system of pulleys.
Originally the external walls of the ground floor
were faced in dark flint in contrast to the white limestone of the
royal palace on the upper level. The lower floor acted as a pedestal,
lifting the palace high above the city.
From the 14th century, the military importance
of Norwich Castle keep declined and it began to be used as a holding
place for prisoners.
See also:
View
inside the castle keep
Internet Links:
Norwich
Castle Museum | Tourism
In Norwich
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