Exploring One of the First Norman Stone Castles in England

Join medieval historian Matt Lewis at his favourite fortress in the whole of Britain, Ludlow Castle. Built as a frontier fortress, Ludlow stands proud on what was the harsh wild western frontier between England and Wales. One of the first to be rebuilt in stone in England, the castle showcases just what Norman power really looked like at the very fringes of its reach.
We’ll learn how the architectural and archaeological evidence reveals a medieval world in flux, balancing war with royal luxury. With expert help, Matt will investigate how castle walls were built, as well as the link between the castle and the thriving community in the town.
We’ll explore what a castle would have looked like in its medieval heyday and who would have lived there, from humble blacksmiths to royal residents. Matt will also discover how this castle rose to regional prominence and then played a pivotal role in defining one of history's most vicious wars, the War of the Roses.
And find out which famous dynasty cut their teeth inside the walls of Ludlow as it became a training ground for princes.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android.
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#historyhit #castle #normanconquest #waroftheroses

Пікірлер: 124

  • @Mysticflower._94
    @Mysticflower._9411 ай бұрын

    Please, please, please keep doing videos on castles and their history. ❤

  • @xXScissorHandsXx

    @xXScissorHandsXx

    11 ай бұрын

    Abso-friggin-lutely second this 👌

  • @Imagicka

    @Imagicka

    11 ай бұрын

    I third this. More ruined castle histories.

  • @TheOneSoulMate_

    @TheOneSoulMate_

    5 ай бұрын

    Agreed

  • @sabbyd1832
    @sabbyd183211 ай бұрын

    I love Ludlow castle. You can almost feel the hustle and bustle of the people who once lived there

  • @sthompson1000

    @sthompson1000

    11 ай бұрын

    At least they weren't bloody weekenders.

  • @sabbyd1832

    @sabbyd1832

    11 ай бұрын

    @@sthompson1000 😂

  • @OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy

    @OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy

    11 ай бұрын

    ​@@sthompson1000Blame "death to Europe" multiculturalism, cities used to be exciting places to be, now they are the sewage of humanity.

  • @Go-Dawgs
    @Go-Dawgs11 ай бұрын

    I love this series & I am jealous England has So Much History!!

  • @patriciajrs46

    @patriciajrs46

    11 ай бұрын

    I have to agree with that!

  • @alemar1122
    @alemar112211 ай бұрын

    Being a member of the Fraternity that uses Lewis stones as a badge, I got a big smile when they started talking about it on the program!

  • @Imagicka
    @Imagicka11 ай бұрын

    As a fan who has studied castles, this video has been more informative and visually educating than anything I've encountered before .

  • @rickypound2441
    @rickypound244111 ай бұрын

    Great video. I grew up in Ludlow so know the castle well. The castle has such an illustrious history- home to Prince Arthur, the two Yorkist princes and a border castle involved in actions in the war of Stephen and Matilda (The Anarchy), the War of the Roses and English Civil War.

  • @patriciajrs46

    @patriciajrs46

    11 ай бұрын

    Wow! Thanks. That's great history, too.

  • @marksimons8861

    @marksimons8861

    11 ай бұрын

    Excuse me! My home too!

  • @PinnedonPlaces
    @PinnedonPlaces11 ай бұрын

    Absolutely fascinating. Love how you bring the heritage to life! Ludlow is a gorgeous castle, we loved our visit there. Full of such important forgotten history, thank you for sharing with us!

  • @myallotment1714
    @myallotment171411 ай бұрын

    Love this channel its all about our proud history and culture

  • @catspaw3815
    @catspaw381511 ай бұрын

    Some of the biggest and best castles are along the Welsh March. Longshanks built some great ones there

  • @patriciajrs46

    @patriciajrs46

    11 ай бұрын

    The Welsh seemed to be really good for that.

  • @OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy

    @OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy

    11 ай бұрын

    The main architect was actually David of St George, he was a Frenchman that Edward I befriended while he was on crusade in the middle east, David gained a great reputation from his time being employed in Germany and Switzerland and no doubt the French wouldn't have been happy with him following Edward back to England.

  • @catspaw3815

    @catspaw3815

    11 ай бұрын

    @@OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy yes, i've heard of him. lol, i wonder what he would think of the Space Needle or some of that stuff going up in Dubai

  • @kanto2281

    @kanto2281

    10 ай бұрын

    Wow so Longshanks was involved with castles too. I'm familiar with Longshanks due to his connection to the Scottish wars of independence but I never knew he was involved with castles as well.

  • @kristopher1799
    @kristopher179911 ай бұрын

    The spouse and I visited this castle almost 2 years ago. A fascinating exploration!!

  • @Mrrossj01
    @Mrrossj0110 ай бұрын

    The Norman castles in Britain should be recognized as a military means to dominate and subdue a conquered people, not as a defense against an outside enemy.

  • @eyeintheskydrone4k
    @eyeintheskydrone4k4 ай бұрын

    Absolutely Stunning production. Love the narration it just adds so much. If it has Castles I just have to subscribe. Its my passion flying over Castles and Historic abandoned buildings. Loved every minute of this. Gets a massive like from me well done

  • @joshschneider9766
    @joshschneider976610 ай бұрын

    The question is how did they build these crazy structures while defending from enemies. I'd like to see some study on the wooden defensive structures built to defend the building process myself.

  • @sputumtube
    @sputumtube11 ай бұрын

    Not too far away from me here in Cheshire - I'll have to visit. Thanks for posting.

  • @isthisdom
    @isthisdom11 ай бұрын

    Been here twice, coming from Oklahoma. Still so cool even in videos

  • @claudiamann7111
    @claudiamann711111 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much for another wonderful video. Very interesting. Please show us more Norman castles.

  • @griefjunkie
    @griefjunkie11 ай бұрын

    The Normans certainly knew a thing or two about building castles...

  • @cyan1616

    @cyan1616

    11 ай бұрын

    Viking ingenuity combined with Roman engineering. 😺

  • @jordan3405

    @jordan3405

    11 ай бұрын

    yes, they had to survive. no one liked then

  • @dondevice8182

    @dondevice8182

    11 ай бұрын

    And Cathedrals!

  • @OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy

    @OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxy

    11 ай бұрын

    ​@@derrickbridges2611The Normans never called themselves French and didn't see themselves as French. Even the French at the time didn't see the Normans as French. This whole reinventing Normans as "French" is born out of the humiliating defeates France has suffered agaisnt England for the past 300 years.

  • @m.a.i7324

    @m.a.i7324

    7 ай бұрын

    @@OneWayToPeaceOrthodoxyagreed

  • @mohammedsaysrashid3587
    @mohammedsaysrashid358711 ай бұрын

    A wonderful historical coverage video about that attention-getting matter stoned castle 🏰 constructed in medevil periods....thank you (history Hit) channel for sharing 10:59

  • @voraciousreader3341
    @voraciousreader334111 ай бұрын

    I really like Matt Lewis, and I hope he’s given the chance to make more documentaries!

  • @HistoryHit

    @HistoryHit

    11 ай бұрын

    He certainly will be!

  • @fierceperedur
    @fierceperedur11 ай бұрын

    That was so cool watching them lay that block.

  • @theparkourlady894
    @theparkourlady89410 ай бұрын

    Really enjoyed this one. As someone who has never seen a real castle in person, I've always been fascinated by them. Would love to see a recreation of this castle complete with working yard, floors, etc. Could easily spend a week just immersing myself in that and fleshing out the huge gaps in my knowledge ❤

  • @Sjs1-9
    @Sjs1-94 ай бұрын

    Ludlow is still my favorite town and castle 15 years after first time going there.

  • @Jay-ql4gp
    @Jay-ql4gp10 ай бұрын

    I loved this one. Thank you!

  • @rl3293
    @rl32938 ай бұрын

    We were just there in March. Loved Ludlow and the castle.

  • @bigoldgrizzly
    @bigoldgrizzly2 ай бұрын

    As a kid I had a the same fascination with a similar 'grilled hole in the floor' at Pevensey Castle. That one was in fact an oubliette - where prisoners were thrown and literally forgotten. Oubliette translates fro old french as ' place of forgetting ' Enemy or malefactors, were literally dumped in and forgotten - left to starve to death with the rats and foul water

  • @jayneymaccarrie5672
    @jayneymaccarrie56726 ай бұрын

    I went here for school day trip over 20s years ago, it was great hearing the history of the place! I love castles, like to learn more and visit load more

  • @deniseroe5891
    @deniseroe589111 ай бұрын

    My ears perked up when you DeLacy. Hugh DeLacy is my 24th great grand father. It is wonderful to put a actual place with a name, and wow, what a place. Thank you, I am a bit of a English history and ancestry nut, especially medieval history.

  • @pageharris5693

    @pageharris5693

    11 ай бұрын

    He was friends with my 29th great, William the Conqueror.

  • @tktk5443
    @tktk544311 ай бұрын

    Excellent, just excellent!!! ❤

  • @Wotsitorlabart
    @Wotsitorlabart11 ай бұрын

    'Skilled craftspeople'. I think we can safely say that the people who built Ludlow castle were 'skilled craftsmen'.

  • @mattr543

    @mattr543

    11 ай бұрын

    They were actually skilled unicorns and at least 6 of them were confirmed moons.

  • @blitzroute66

    @blitzroute66

    11 ай бұрын

    ​@@mattr543that's no moon!

  • @sthompson1000

    @sthompson1000

    11 ай бұрын

    @@mattr543 I doubt any of them "identified" as cats though.

  • @jordan3405

    @jordan3405

    11 ай бұрын

    it was women that built the castle

  • @y_ffordd
    @y_ffordd11 ай бұрын

    Really interesting, I even learnt how to build a castle, superb thanks.

  • @MultiSirens
    @MultiSirens10 ай бұрын

    My Mum was from Shrewsbury so I I know ludlow castle thanks so much!

  • @harryhames1
    @harryhames110 ай бұрын

    I'm from Hereford and have always been fascinated by Ludlow Castle. Great video and this guy looks like Guy Richie lol.

  • @justawhisperintheuniverse8257
    @justawhisperintheuniverse825711 ай бұрын

    Very cool to see. I'd love to see more about British castles, but really anywhere in the world that they exist.

  • @54mgtf22
    @54mgtf2211 ай бұрын

    Love your work, HH 👍

  • @ramthian
    @ramthian11 ай бұрын

    Thank you ❤😊

  • @denisephillips2337
    @denisephillips233711 ай бұрын

    ❤Ludlow Castle

  • @stephenwright414
    @stephenwright41411 ай бұрын

    Can you guys make a Playlist just for castles?

  • @patriciajrs46
    @patriciajrs4611 ай бұрын

    Louis pin? Three legged louis pin? Interesting stuff. Wow! How did they drill the holes? Lime mortar mix, a lime putty. I loved the demonstration of the mortar.

  • @peteranderson4285
    @peteranderson428520 күн бұрын

    Thanks

  • @debbralehrman5957
    @debbralehrman595710 ай бұрын

    Thanks 👍🏼💐

  • @antoniosingson1791
    @antoniosingson179111 ай бұрын

    I was here last April of 2019, impressive Norman feat..

  • @Back2TheBike

    @Back2TheBike

    11 ай бұрын

    Their hands were impressive too.

  • @timothywebb5100
    @timothywebb510011 ай бұрын

    Brilliant 🙂

  • @Bloomcycle
    @Bloomcycle11 ай бұрын

    Could you imagine living near here. 🏰

  • @sthompson1000

    @sthompson1000

    11 ай бұрын

    I do, You don't notice it.

  • @tansyhawksley9988

    @tansyhawksley9988

    5 ай бұрын

    I grew up in Ludlow. Should revisit really, it is a pretty special place

  • @cheekychap8998
    @cheekychap89985 ай бұрын

    i love ludlow castle

  • @judycorbett4462
    @judycorbett446211 ай бұрын

    I am in awe of the size and craftsmanship of the castles But I wish they could tell me more about the families that lived there . Without the human aspect they are just bricks and mortar But still amazing

  • @voraciousreader3341

    @voraciousreader3341

    11 ай бұрын

    There are books written about these families, you know! Documentaries are nothing but “fast food” for your brain….they’re full of bite sized factoids which are easily digestible and necessarily very brief (this one is only 14+ minutes long). You get *A* picture of the subject, but not *THE* picture, whereas reading books activates and invigorates many areas of the brain, making it much healthier by causing many new neurological connections, in addition to giving you a much fuller perspective of whatever you’re learning. *AND* you can get books for free at your local library, and if they don’t have what you want, they’ll request it from another library. But most people would rather put their brains on a starvation diet of fast food.

  • @firstchoicetuber3757
    @firstchoicetuber375710 ай бұрын

    Braveheart a very nice movie describing how those times were williak wallace fought hard

  • @Bella-fz9fy

    @Bella-fz9fy

    10 ай бұрын

    Only the English get the blame,when the Normans had subjugated them and moved on to neighbouring countries!

  • @patriciajrs46
    @patriciajrs4611 ай бұрын

    Why were they called Baileys? This is a great video. Thank you.

  • @Mish_Da_Mash
    @Mish_Da_Mash11 ай бұрын

    Please do Oxford

  • @alexpartridge7113
    @alexpartridge711311 ай бұрын

    I've been to Ludlow castle

  • @robnewman6101
    @robnewman610111 ай бұрын

    Kings & Queens of England since 1066. Our Longest Regining Monarch.

  • @sthompson1000

    @sthompson1000

    11 ай бұрын

    Eh?

  • @mikeedwards83
    @mikeedwards8311 ай бұрын

    There was a lot of generic castle info. Would be good to have more on Ludlow specifically.

  • @CLaFong
    @CLaFong11 ай бұрын

    How long did it take to build from the first stones being laid in 1085ish until what we see the remains of now?

  • @glenpovey1297
    @glenpovey129710 ай бұрын

    Hmm! No mention of egg whites, one of the prime ingredients of medieval mortar for bonding. The pipe rolls that detailed the accounts of castle building always mentioned large sums paid for poultry which was used to lay the required eggs. There would always have been a large poultry farm attached to the construction site.

  • @will-i-am-not
    @will-i-am-not11 ай бұрын

    Indeed, they built the Tower of London, with stone brought over from Williams lands in Normandy

  • @Theshropshireratter
    @Theshropshireratter11 ай бұрын

    Amazing castle from my home town if any one from history hit reads this I have footage of the civil war reenactment from the 70s that took place at ludlow castle

  • @jess-oc9me
    @jess-oc9me11 ай бұрын

    Happy to b a local lol

  • @peterjorgensen1086
    @peterjorgensen108611 ай бұрын

    Not sure it's the right niche but if anyone's interested in Norman and Medieval siege warfare in general I advice Schwerpunkt's work

  • @paulmcdonough1093
    @paulmcdonough109311 ай бұрын

    i worked in muncaster castle that was creepy as hell i seen a few spirits there we all did.

  • @golgumbazguide...4113
    @golgumbazguide...411311 ай бұрын

    Explore Golgumbaz

  • @Back2TheBike
    @Back2TheBike11 ай бұрын

    I too played in Ludlow Castle in the mid 1960s. Undoubtedly the finest in England. St Lawrence Church too is worth a visit, the largest church that's not a cathedral and home of Prince Arthur's heart, interred after succumbed to fever. This made his younger brother Henry (VIII) next in line. PS 'tradesman', NOT 'tradespeople'. No wokism please, it's history.

  • @noneofyourbusiness2997
    @noneofyourbusiness299711 ай бұрын

    Sorry to be pedantic but a gatehouse is not a keep. The keep is an area for the family to live in and last defense; a gatehouse does not have the room for that and is the first line of defense.

  • @marksimons8861
    @marksimons886111 ай бұрын

    I like to take my Norman conqueror chain mail outfit when visiting such castles. Still to convince my lady friend to bring her Maid Marion outfit.

  • @robnewman6101
    @robnewman610111 ай бұрын

    🏰👑⚔️🇬🇧⚔️👑🏰

  • @thenoworriesnomad
    @thenoworriesnomad11 ай бұрын

    ..👍👍

  • @MeRe52
    @MeRe5211 ай бұрын

    If you want this castle to be new just ask Dan from Escape to rural France.

  • @leod-sigefast
    @leod-sigefast11 ай бұрын

    Normans out!

  • @christiansmith-of7dt
    @christiansmith-of7dtАй бұрын

    You know how it is for me its just too much too late and I can't handle it

  • @rhondascraftobsessions5817
    @rhondascraftobsessions58176 ай бұрын

    Could that kind of pin have been used to build the Pyramids but on a grander scale? Oooh! Stonehenge?

  • @Ugly_German_Truths
    @Ugly_German_Truths11 ай бұрын

    It's enormous for an 11th century building project...

  • @hungrybirds2433
    @hungrybirds243310 ай бұрын

    Im serious about medieval history

  • @robnewman6101
    @robnewman610111 ай бұрын

    Fancy having a watch of a Robin Hood Movie?

  • @DeathsHeadNihilism
    @DeathsHeadNihilism11 ай бұрын

    HIIIISTORY!

  • @aaronsaunders6974
    @aaronsaunders69743 ай бұрын

    Lewis pin: thanks. They cost $600 😮

  • @dizzy6277
    @dizzy627711 ай бұрын

    They don't build castles like they used to.

  • @robbieg416
    @robbieg41611 ай бұрын

    This is the kind of documentary that I dislike. A 14-minute video, with a 2-minute introduction. Just get to the information.

  • @keeperMLT

    @keeperMLT

    11 ай бұрын

    Ask for your money back!

  • @dantredogborsa7048

    @dantredogborsa7048

    4 ай бұрын

    You must be nice at parties

  • @travisbickle2715
    @travisbickle27157 ай бұрын

    Nice reminder the Royal family haven’t been British for a very long time.

  • @bobbyunavailable
    @bobbyunavailable10 ай бұрын

    Ughhh “craftspeople”. 🤨

  • @piplee1439
    @piplee14394 ай бұрын

    Which Africans built it ?

  • @petrapetrakoliou8979
    @petrapetrakoliou897911 ай бұрын

    This would have been a nice video on Lodlow castle if you hadn't shown the unnecessary mistaken building scene. Indeed, Ludlow castle's walls like most castle walls are not made of ashlar but by smaller stones that you can handle by hand and the uncut rubble stones were built as frames incasing concrete with rubble inside - a most common technique of wall building since the Roman period... Unnecesseray mistaken explanation is unnecessary. Ashlar stone building was used in the medieval era, primarily on high status churches, and in later castles, not like this one. I recommend you read a basic book on medieval castle construction before presenting falsehoods on the Middle Ages.

  • @dorianleakey
    @dorianleakey9 ай бұрын

    How does a town shelter the castle? Thats a stupid claim, the opposite is true, the castle protects the town, it also protects the river, not the other way round, it was placed there to protect the river, not to be protected by the river. this level of incompetence is insane.

  • @dorianleakey

    @dorianleakey

    9 ай бұрын

    The other rivers arent even near enough to be defensive, aaaahhhh.

  • @larryfroot

    @larryfroot

    9 ай бұрын

    The river is small, but quite fast flowing and has cut a natural culvert into the land around it, a feature the Welsh call a nant. It, together with the steep slope up towards the castle, does form a natural barrier. And the river also helped to create that slope. Like a lit of rivers along The Marches, it's fed by waters coming down from the hills and so can be fast flowing and, in inclement weather, very difficult to cross without a bridge, which forms a defensible bottleneck. I do agree with you about the town, though. Unless it's fully fortified a la Conwy or Tenby then it's not exactly going to stop an advancing army.

  • @dorianleakey

    @dorianleakey

    9 ай бұрын

    @@larryfroot Rivers tended to be tranport routes, are you saying it would be too fast flowing? they would likely have slowed its flow.

  • @larryfroot

    @larryfroot

    9 ай бұрын

    @@dorianleakey I saw it last year, although there was some management of the water, there's no way it is a navigable waterway. It's simply too narrow, too rocky and too fast. One similar river in Gwent (also fed from nearby hills although on the other side of the Black Mountains) was once called the Torfaen - Rock Breaker in English.

  • @mjribes
    @mjribes10 ай бұрын

    The use of the term "craftspeople" is a bit ridiculous. The craftsmen who built Ludlow Castle would have been men.

  • @Cymry-Am-Byth
    @Cymry-Am-Byth10 ай бұрын

    The irony is. This so-called historical video conveniently overlooks that Ludlow use to be part of Wales before it was annexed by England. You know, think of Ukraine. In fact. The real Welsh name of Ludlow is Dinam, and it used part of the Kingdom of Powis where Welsh King Caradog (Caractus) made his last stand against the Romans. But hey, let's whitewash this fact and allow historical & cultural appropriation. )

  • @Bella-fz9fy

    @Bella-fz9fy

    10 ай бұрын

    Blame the all conquering Normans!

  • @speakupriseup4549
    @speakupriseup454911 ай бұрын

    Gloves to operate a block and tackle.? Soyboy

  • @kleinweichkleinweich

    @kleinweichkleinweich

    11 ай бұрын

    as soon as the stone block sees the hi viz vests it will hit the brakes like there is no tomorrow. Master glovewearer does not wear protective boots though. master mason does not wear gloves although he probably gets into contact with the mortar workplace safety looks impressive but is actually useless in this scene

  • @Mr100741
    @Mr10074110 ай бұрын

    It just boggles the mind when one thinks that this castle was built 937 yrs. ago. No modern technology, nothing available to the builders and engineers that we take for granted today.