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Short History Of...

British Castles

Short History Of...

Noiser

History

4.74.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2023

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For over 600 years, castles played a leading role in the story of Britain. From the Norman Conquest to the English Civil War, they are woven into the tapestry of British history. But when did they start to be built, and why? How did their architecture evolve? And why did they fall out of fashion, leaving a landscape littered with crumbling ruins?  This is A Short History Of… British Castles.  Written by Joe Viner. With thanks to Marc Morris, historian and author of Castles: A History of the Buildings that Shaped Medieval Britain. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:31.0

It's the 3rd of June 1648, a bright summer's day in the north of England.

0:38.0

A procession of horse-drawn carts rattles through the market town of Pontifre, West Yorkshire.

0:42.9

At the front of the convoy is a local man in his thirties named John Morris.

0:48.9

John glances up as he and his men step into the shadow of the hulking stone walls that

0:53.6

loom over them, solid and gray against the blue summer sky.

0:59.5

For most of the past century, the castle has served a domestic function, providing a luxurious

1:04.4

residence for a succession of local lords.

1:07.7

Recently though, like castles all across the kingdom, Pontifrex has been called upon

1:12.0

to serve a very different purpose.

1:15.1

At the drawbridge, a guard calls out from the sentry post, musket poised, demanding the

1:20.0

group state their business.

1:22.6

In arrows his eyes, suspicious as to whether these strangers are fellow parliamentarians

1:28.5

or enemy royalists.

1:31.0

Because for the past six years, these opposing factions have been locked in a bloody civil

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