Description of square stone keep castle?

Answer 1

. Stone keep castles were the ultimate sign of his power over the English. The most famous of these castles were in London (the White Tower at the Tower of London) and Rochester Castle in Kent The use of stone allowed stone keeps to be built in an entirely different way from motte and bailey castles. Stone was a strong building material that allowed the builder to build up. motte and bailey castles were built out of weaker wood and builders were limited to the size and height they could go to.

However, with a strong foundation, stone keep castles could be built high. This gave them the great advantage of visibility -- allowing the defenders to see if an enemy was coming when they were still a distance away -- thus allowing the castle to get its defences ready. Rochester Castle has views across the medway estuary, so any attack by river would have been easy to spot.

Stone keeps had other defensive mechanisms. Motte and bailey castle were open to being set on fire. This was possible with stone keeps but it was much more difficult to set a stone keep alight. Whereas motte and bailey castles were surrounded by a wooden fence, the stone keeps could rely on outer walls made of stone (curtain walls). Williams stone keeps also had their 'front' door on the first floor. Wooden steps led up to it. If it was attacked, these steps would be knocked down. Those inside the keep would be isolated but those seeking to attack it, would have to get inside it somehow.

The most famous stone keep castle must be the White Tower at the Tower of London.