The Castles of the East Midlands and East Anglia Start date 26 September 2014 End date 28 September 2014 Venue Madingley Hall Madingley Cambridge Tutor Dr James Petre Course code 1415NRX016 Director of Programmes For further information on this course, please contact Emma Jennings Linda Fisher, Academic Programme Manager on 01223 746218 Liz Deacon, Programme Administrator on 01223 746227 To book See: or telephone 01223 746262 Tutor biography In the 1980s, James Petre studied castles under R. Allen Brown of King s London, where he first pursued a Ph.D. (on the English castles of the Anglo-Scottish Border). He completed a Ph.D. on the Crusader Castles of Cyprus at Cardiff University in 2010. In 2012, two books were published; the one on Cyprus castles was produced by the government of Cyprus while the second one, a collaborative work on the castles of Bedfordshire, was brought out by Shaun Tyas of Lincolnshire. James worked for professional bodies for most of his regular working life, the last being the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. He lives part of the time in Bedfordshire and part of the time on the Island of Mull.
Course programme Friday 26 September 2014 Please plan to arrive between 16:30 and 18:30. You can meet other course members in the bar which opens at 18:15. Tea and coffee making facilities are available in the study bedrooms. 19:00 Dinner 20:30 22:00 22:00 Saturday 27 September 2014 07:30 Breakfast 09:00 10:30 Introductions; Bibliography; Definitions; Overview (themes - types of structures and their purposes); Origins. Terrace bar open for informal discussion The 11 th and 12 th centuries; earth and timber and early stone castles. 10:30 Coffee 11:00 12:30 The 13 th and 14 th centuries; the proliferation of types. 13:00 Lunch 14:00 18:00 Field trip to Bedford Castle; to be led by Jeremy Oetgen, senior researcher for Albion Archaeology and ex English Heritage. 18:00 18:30 Free 18:30 20:00 Dinner 20:00 21:30 Free session due to afternoon field trip 21:30 Terrace bar open for informal discussion Sunday 28 September 2014 07:30 Breakfast 09:00 10:30 10:30 Coffee 11:00 12:30 12:45 Lunch There will be a presentation on the later medieval magnate s house, or later castle, of Ampthill, by Kevan Fadden, the Chairman of the Ampthill & District Archaeological and Local History Society. The 15 th and 16 th centuries; conclusions - endings the transition to forts (Tilbury) and great houses. The course will disperse after lunch
Course syllabus Aims: To appreciate the complexities of the term castle and establish a consensus as to what we are dealing with. To appreciate the different architectural forms of castles and understand how these reflect the uses to which they were put. To note the evolution of castle forms as the centuries progressed, reflecting changes of circumstance and the role of castles in society. Content: As the programme implies, we aim to survey structures identifiable as castles to distinguish them from other fortifications, to observe how they first came about in our hinterland of E. Anglia and the E. Midlands, and how these castles evolved during the medieval period and beyond, in accordance with political, military, social and economic circumstances. So the course will discuss generalities but these will be explained through examples of the structures left to us, today. Through this, we will note how castles were always more than just fortifications; how in origin they were mainly simple affairs and very numerous; how they became more sophisticated and fewer in number; how especially later in their history, they sometimes became indistinct from other classes of buildings, principally moated manorial sites and late medieval magnates residences. In pursuing all this, we will look at a few castles in some depth; in so doing, we will be able to adapt to consider castles that may already be well known to individual members of the class. Presentation of the course: The programme consists of presentations accompanied by PowerPoint slide shows, within which questions are posed to prompt students interests and prior knowledge, one field trip and one guest, specialist speaker. Outcomes: As a result of the course, within the constraints of the time available, students should be able to: Appreciate fully what castles were, what purposes they served and how they developed as society itself developed. See how their physical attributes changed accordingly. Develop a critical awareness of the subject and consequently the ability to understand more than before, the attributes of these structures, both on the ground and in history. Acquire an elemental knowledge of relevant historical sources.
Reading and resources list Listed below are a number of texts that might be of interest for future reference, but do not need to be bought (or consulted) for the course. Author Liddiard, R. Title Castles in Context. Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500. Publisher and date Windgather Press, Macclesfield, 2005 Creighton, O.H. Castles and Landscapes. Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England. London, 2002 Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R. Medieval Town Walls. An Archaeology and Social History of Urban Defence Tempus, Stroud, 2002 Brown, R.A., Colvin, H.M. and Taylor, A.J. The History of the King s Works, 1, The Middle Ages HMSO, London, 1963. Brown, R.A. Dover Castle HMSO, London, 1974. Brown, R,A. English Castles Batsford, London, 1976 Brown, R.A. (special consultant) Castles, A History and Guide. Poole, 1980 Coulson, C. Castles in Medieval Society. Fortresses in England, France and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages Oxford University Press, 2003 Petre, J. (ed.) The Castles of Bedfordshire Shaun Tyas, Donington, 2012.
Salter, M. The Castles of East Anglia; The Castles of the East Midlands; The Castles of the Thames Valley and the Chilterns Folly publications, 2001, 2002 and 2002. Note Students of the Institute of Continuing Education are entitled to 20% discount on books published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) which are purchased at the Press bookshop, 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge (Mon-Sat 9am 5:30pm, Sun 11am 5pm). A letter or email confirming acceptance on to a current Institute course should be taken as evidence of enrolment. Information correct as of: 04 August 2014