• Oakham Castle

    Built in the late 12th Century by Walchelin de Ferriers (de Ferrers) Oakham Castle is one of the best preserved Norman buildings in England. De Ferrers was from a farrier family of Normandy, whose ancestor Henry de Ferrers arrived in England in 1066. Prior to the Norman conquest, much of Oakham, including the land on which the castle stands, had been dowered to Edith of Wessex on her marriage to Edward the Confessor. Following his death without an heir and the deaths of her three brothers at Hastings, the land was lost to the Wessex family, and quite possibly fell into the domain of the new crown of William I.…

  • Baynard’s Castle

    Many years ago on the North Bank of the Thames opposite the place that is now occupied by Tate Modern there once stood a Norman structure named Baynard’s Castle. It was named after Ralph Baynard who came to England in the company of William the Conqueror. In 1213 the castle was demolished by King John, it was rebuilt but around about 1276 was demolished again in order to make room for the extension of The Blackfriars Monastery. A fortified mansion was built on reclaimed land so [...]

  • The Tower of London

    The Norman conquest of England in 1066 changed the face of England forever. The victorious invader William of Normandy would go on to become known as “The Conqueror”, to cement his power over the people of England, and to bring the people of London, the country’s most important city, to heel, he began to build fortresses up and down the country. The most famous of all of these is The Tower of London. The great fortress had rather humble beginnings. Archaeological evidence suggests there was a timber Motte and Bailey castle built in the south-east corner of the Roman city walls, one of a number built by William after his…