References

Here are sites we used:
http://primaryfacts.com/1021/bodiam-castle-facts-and-information/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodiam_Castle
http://www.bodiam-ferry.co.uk/bodiam-castle.htm
http://home2.btconnect.com/Crusader-Product/Bodiam-Castle.html
http://www.england.org.za/bodiam-castle.php
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodiam-castle/

Cool Facts

• It is made from sandstone and doesn’t have a keep. Instead, the rooms and chambers are built against the curtain walls.
• Bodiam Castle has towers at its corners and entrances and a large moat. As well as providing an additional layer of defence, Bodiam’s moat also made the castle look larger and more formidable than it actually was.
•  Its in a square shape
• Much of Bodiam’s interior was destroyed during the English Civil War. They were attempting to reduce the risk of fortified buildings being used against them. The castles exterior was left alone.
• During the 17th and 18th centuries, Bodiam Castle became a ruin. Drawings from this era show the castle in a state of disrepair and covered in ivy.
• Bodiam Castle is now a tourist attraction run by the National Trust and it is visited by more than 150,000 people every year.
• The castle has appeared in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, an episode of the TV show Doctor Who, and a music video by Enya.

The Defensive Part of the Castle

Inside the castle are the remains of the domestic buildings built up against the curtain wall. These buildings were two stories high and would have contained a banquet hall, private suites, kitchens, servant's lodgings, a chapel and many other facilities that made the castle a complete home.It appears that the defences of the castle were never tested by attackers. After the English Civil War the order was given to destroy the castle to prevent it being used again, but thankfiully only the interior builds were destroyed leaving the curtain walls and towers intact. In 1916/7 the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston bought the castle and rescued it from decay. Upon his death the castle was left in the case of the National Trust.

More Information

The Bodiam Castle in Europe, United Kingdom. The sub region is North Europe. The city/town is Bodiam. The period is Late Medieval (1300AD-1500AD). Royal Tunbridge Wells, is the resort. The Bodiam Castle was built by Sir Edward Daylngrigge in 1385 is now a popular tourist attraction opperated by the National Trust. However, Bodiam’s tough defences did not always save the castle from damages. The interior of the castle was almost entirely destroyed by Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War, to avoid the castle being used by the Royalists. During this period the façade was also allowed to fall into ruin, although a succession of owners in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, notably Lord Curzon who purchased the site in 1926, contributed to the restoration of Bodiam Castle to its current state.

The Castle Interior

Bodiam is a very modern castle. The inside differs from older castles because there is no keep or inner defensive buildings. All the rooms were built into the walls, leaving an open central courtyard. The castle plan is really simple. A square with turret towers at each corner and a square tower in the middle of each wall. The courtyard itself is very large.

The Moat

Bodiam Castle's moat is very wide and because it is supplied by springs, forms an almost a strong  defensive barrier. The castle was built without extensive external earthworks as the moat was wide enough to make  machinery virtually useless. The moat's width also meant that attackers couldn't undermine the castle walls.

Maps of the Castle