Here are some interesting Medieval sites, 1160 years ago!
- Edwardian castles, north Wales
- Edward I of England built a chain of castles in north Wales to secure his conquest of the area. They were amongst the most highly developed military castles of their time, and include Beaumaris, Caernarvon, Conwy and Harlech. Each could be supplied by sea in case of attack, and Caernarvon and Conwy had a town attached to the castle. The castles did not use the traditional motte and bailey design. Instead they had concentric walls with large towers around an open space inside.
- Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire
- One of the largest ruined monasteries in Britain, Fountains was founded in 1132 as a Cistercian Abbey. Cistercians were a type of monk who believed in living a simple life, doing their own work, managing farms and trading. They owned large estates and eventually became wealthy from the trade in wool. The Abbot was so important he had a seat in Parliament. The Abbey was dissolved in 1539.
- Newport ship, Gwent
- In 2002, archaeologists discovered an old ship during building work in Newport in Gwent. The boat turned out to date from about 1450, and is a very rare survival of a medieval ship. A public campaign was mounted to save the ship from being destroyed by the building work. Fortunately, this was successful.
- Stow in Lindsey, Lincolnshire
- The church of St Mary at Stow was built about 975 replacing an earlier church burnt down by the Vikings. It was a large minster to administer Lincolnshire as a kind of mini-cathedral. The church later burnt in a fire and had to be rebuilt by the Earl of Mercia and his wife, the famous Lady Godiva. There is 10th century graffitti on one wall, a drawing of a Viking ship. Much of the Anglo-Saxon church still survives, altered and added to by the Normans and later.
- Tower of London, London
- The most impressive castle in Britain is also one of the earliest. The Tower was begun by William of Normandy after his conquest of England. The central White Tower was built between 1070 and 1100. Other walls and buildings were added up to about 1350. The Tower was the king’s home, as well as being a prison for important people and a fortress to defend London. It became a tourist attraction in the 19th century.
- Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire
- Begun in the 10th century and abandoned in 1517, Wharram Percy is the most heavily studied deserted medieval village in England. It was excavated for 40 years from 1952 by Maurice Beresford. The foundations of 28 houses can be seen and the ruins of the church survive, with half the church tower. The other half fell down in a storm in 1959. The houses are in two lines on either side of a main street, and the village was carefully planned from the beginning.
- York Minster, North Yorkshire
- York Minster is one of the largest churches in Europe outside of Italy, and has the largest surviving medieval stained glass window in all of Europe, the East Window of 1408. There are 2 million individual pieces of glass in 128 windows in the whole Minster. What we see today was built between 1230 and 1472, but there has been a cathedral in York since 627. It is the seat of the Archbishop of York. Serious fires broke out in 1829, 1840 and 1984, and the main tower had to be reinforced to stop it collapsing in 1972.
