For those not familiar with the English/Welsh landscape and its archaeology, motte and bailey castles turn up regularly, sometimes only a few miles apart.
At Middleham Castle, in Yorkshire, the site of the original motte and bailey (circa 1066) is visible from the present medieval castle which was moved to flatter ground. Motte and baileys were built in earth and timber, in the style of a US stockade, but at many sites such as Windsor, Lewes, Carisbrooke and Warwick Castles the timber was later replaced in stone on the original site.
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I was at Middleton Mount near King's Lynn, Norfolk, at the weekend. These photos might be useful to a potential model maker:
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Not all sites received the motte. One such example is Stansted Mountfitchet which just has baileys. This type of site is sometimes called a ring work.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringwork
While most date to the post-Conquest 1066 period there was another phase of building during the Stephen and Matilda wars known as The Anarchy:
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Today a glance across any Ordnance Survey soon turns up surviving motte and baileys in most counties and in varying scales. One of the largest is at Ongar in Essex where part of the present town sits in the outer and inner baileys.
Another good example can be found at Tonbridge in Kent:
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At Tonbridge the role of keep may have been replaced by a keep/gatehouse which was heavily fortified from both directions – facing out and facing inwards. If the garrison mutinied the custodian held the keys of the door!
Barry Slemmings
shows how using inks makes it easier to paint a 15mm scale army.
