Where was the kitchen in medieval castles?

Answer 1

King John had new kitchens built at Ludgershall in Wiltshire early in the thirteenth century specifying, that they had to have ovens capable of accommodating two to three whole oxen for roasting at one time (Plantaganet Somerset Fry - Castles of Britain and Ireland, Pub.David and Charles,1996,2001). So we can assume that they were pretty large places, because they had to cater for large numbers of family, guests and staff.

Open fires would also have been the norm with pots suspended over the flames, large wooden tables for preparation of food prior to cooking, ceilings hung with pots, pans, tools, utensils etc. Many staff, lots of heat, and very noisy, I imagine.

AnswerDuring the Middle Ages, very few buildings had chimneys, because chimneys were invented in the 12th century. Cooking was usually done outdoors, if possible, or in rooms with a lot of ventilation. Castles usually had their kitchens in separate buildings in order to keep smoke and fumes out of the living quarters. The kitchens often had big, unglazed windows in the walls. An alternative was to have a smoke canopy, which was a lightweight, wide duct work hanging from the roof, to guide the smoke out. In some cases, where the hearth was against a stone wall and had a smoke canopy above it, the whole thing looked almost like a more modern fireplace.

Often there was more than one kitchen, and different kitchens were used for different kinds of cooking. Ovens were large and made of masonry, and had short smoke ducts attached. They were the main features in a bakery, aside from the tables that were there for making dough. Other kitchens had pots and pans, a hearth, and tables for food preparation. There would be one or more spits for turning meat over a fire, and the size depended on the size of the pieces of meat; in a castle, a spit might have held an animal as big as a sheep or pig.

There were a number of other areas or rooms associated with the kitchen. These included a pantry, a buttery, where beer and cider were kept, a wine cellar, a brewery, cellars and storage rooms for cheese, grain, pickles, spices, and so on. In the Late Middle Ages there might also have been a distillery.

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Answer 2

Medieval castles often had one or more kitchens. When they had more than one, the different kitchens were used for preparing different kinds of food.

Most of the cooking was usually done outdoors, except in inclement weather. The kitchens were usually in buildings that had relatively low roof lines, and often in separate building that were only used as kitchens. This is because the chimney was not invented until the 11th or 12th century, and was not as fast to catch on as one might imagine, the result being that most castles did not have chimneys or fireplaces. The indoor kitchens had to have ventilation for the smoke they created, and though this often went out through a hole in a wall rather than in the roof, if there were rooms higher in the building, they were likely to have smoke blown into them. Sometimes kitchens were put into basements anyway, so they could stay cool and have access to cooler storage.

Most outdoor cooking and separate kitchens were in the castle ward, which was the large courtyard in the middle of the castle.

Answer 3

The medieval bakehouse wasn't even located in the castle. It was near the market and the village.