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Concentric Castles: Discover More About this Formidable Form of Castle Design
Diagram of Beaumaris, Wales -
A Concentric Castle
Concentric Castles are defined as being "stone castles with at least two rings of outer walls, one inside the other". A good example of a concentric castle is Harlech Castle, in North Wales.
Some have described concentric castles as being "a castle in a castle". You can imagine such castles although you were unpeeling the layers of skin from an onion - or unpacking a series of little Russian dolls.
In this section, we'll look into the advantages and also the disadvantages of this form of castle design. We'll also consider when these castles were built, and where you can see some good examples of these designs nowadays.
One important note before we go on: concentric doesn't mean circular.
The rings of walls around the heart of the castle could be any shape. Most of these castles were either square or polygonal. However, these concentric designs were almost always symmetrical, unless rocky terrain or difficult surroundings prevented such a picture-perfect layout.
When Were Concentric Castles built?
Concentric castles represent the 'high point' of medieval castle design. First came basic motte and bailey earthworks; then we had timber castles; and then stone castles. Concentric designs were an evolution of the stone castles - still built of rock, but made to be extremely defensive and hard to capture.
Harlech Castle is a brilliant example of this type of castle. In this photo, you can see the shorter outer curtain wall wrapping around the taller, inner wall. Credit: NickSarebi.
Building concentric castles started in the mid 1200s, and the best examples were built in the 1290s and early 1300s. We believe that the first example of this design would have been Caerphilly Castle in Wales, in about 1270. Here, for the first time, the castle was designed to make the two rings of curtain walls into two separate obstacles for attackers to overcome.
In castles built before 1270, a double-ring of castle walls was only used to 'reinforce' the outer curtain wall.
However, Caerphilly Castle was a 'new way of thinking' about castle design. Here, each wrapping wall was considered individually -and designers began to consider each different wall to be a separate obstacle for invaders to overcome.
This was a huge change in thinking - and we believe that this was the 'birth' of the concentric castle.
The best examples of concentric castles were built by Edward I, in North Wales. His shockingly expensive 'iron ring' of castles began in the 1290s, and many of the castles (including Beaumaris Castle, diagram above and photo below) are near-perfect examples. All these castles were designed in whole, or in part, by Master James of St George - Edward I's right-hand architect, and a man bordering on genius.
Why Were Concentric Castles Built?
The strength of concentric castles can be summed up in one word: defence! This was a design that was absolutely formidable to attackers - in fact, these castles were virtually impregnable. They improved over older castle designs in many different ways...
At a glance: advantages of concentric castles
- Many different layers created many different obstacles: attackers needed to penetrate at least two walls, and often pass through a heavily-defended gatehouse and barbican
- A higher, inner wall was a vantage point for archers and lookouts
- Symmetrical designs needed less men to defend them, as the straightforward sight-lines made it easier to spot intruders
Beaumaris Castle in Wales. Again, it's easy to see the two curtain walls - the darker, shorter one in the foreground, and the taller, lighter, in the background. Credit: Lyn Gateley, CC-BY-2.0.
The Defensive Strength of Concentric Castles
You simply can't over-exaggerate the defensive capabilities of concentric castle designs. Any individuals wishing to attack the castle would have had to run a real gauntlet of hazards and obstacles in order to reach the centre of the castle, and capture this mighty fortress for themselves.
Imagine approaching a castle such as this Harlech Castle in North Wales, for instance. To start with, the higher internal curtain wall would have given the defenders an excellent vantage point to spot attackers from a distance. Resultantly, archers could fire across at the enemy, whilst they made their painstaking advance towards the lower, thicker, outer wall.
The inner courtyard of Harlech Castle. Archers would have fired from the taller, inner wall, where you can see individuals taking photos, today. Credit: NickSarebi.
Often, the arrangement of the outer curtain wall would restrict the approach of any enemy. For example, the case of Harlech Castle, one side of the castle backed towards the sea; and two other sides were backed by huge cliff-faces. As a result, enemies could only approach the castle from one direction. And the fortifications protecting this one entrance would have been especially formidable.
The first row of such defences would have been the huge gatehouses - which could be opened for friends and residents, but could be barred shut when enemies approached. Harlech Castle had more than four different portcullises guarding its entrance-way.
An example of a mighty gatehouse within a concentric castle - in this photo, Harlech Castle in Wales. Credit: NickSarebi.
If the gatehouse was breached, then enemies would have to stream through the barbican - the internal passage from the Gatehouse, which was riddled with arrow-slits and 'murder holes' for boiling oil or huge rocks. If they even made it through here, they'd then be in the area between the two curtain walls - or the 'death area', as it was nicknamed! They'd then need to breach the second wall whilst archers would have been firing incessantly upon them. Nigh on impossible.
So, attacking the castle seems hopeless. How could you have overcome such defences? If your answer is "camp outside and starve 'em out!", it's unfortunate that most concentric castles were even equipped to overcome siege.
These castles had wells built at their centre for water supplies, and some advanced designs - such as Harlech and Caernarfon - were built alongside the sea.
The 'sea gate' of Harlech Castle ingeniously allowed food and provisions to be brought to the castle by ship, rather than by foot - bypassing those besieging the castle, and meaning that the castle could survive almost indefinitely with all the supplies it would have required!
The Disadvantages of Concentric Castles
It's easy to see that these concentric designs were formidable constructions. However, despite these magnificent advantages, this type of castle design wasn't always practical - or affordable.
At a glance: the disadvantages of concentric castles
- They were phenomenally expensive to build - this can't be overstated!
- They took significant time to build - they needed years, rather than just weeks for basic motte-and-bailey castle
- So strong that attackers often chose to lay siege and starve out the castle. However, by building wells and supply routes over the seas, this problem could be overcome.
Effectively, concentric designs became a 'victim of their own success': so strong that, intruders would try to starve out the castle by laying it to siege, rather than mounting a full-scale attack. This strategy rather made a mockery of the huge amounts of money spent on such elaborate defences.
Of course, this also highlights the fundamental downfall of concentric designs - their phenomenal cost simply could not be over-exaggerated. Edward I spent £22,000 on just one castle, Caernarfon - more money that the treasury took in an entire year!
The double-walled concentric nature of Caernarfon Castle, one of Edward I's great castles of Wales. Credit: Erwan Deverre, Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.0
All in all, the 'iron ring' of Welsh castles that Edward I built bankrupted him. Although these brilliant castles were successful in overcoming the Welsh rebellions, Edward didn't have similar funds to build a comparable string of castles in Scotland - and never managed to conquer the country.
Where Can I See Some Examples of Concentric Castles today?
Edward I's castles in North Wales will remain the definitive examples of this design.
Another view of Beaumaris Castle, again demonstrating the shorter outer wall and the taller inner. Credit: DJ Rich, CC-BY-2.0.
Of all of Edward I's 'iron ring', Beaumaris is often seen as the 'perfect' concentric castle. However, others in North Wales - notably Harlech Castle, Caernarfon Castle and Aberystwyth - are also great examples.
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