0:00:02 > 0:00:06Castles have been part of our landscape for a thousand years.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Arriving as a tool of Norman invasion,
0:00:10 > 0:00:15they spread to the furthest corners of England.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20Then in the 13th century Edward I, an English warrior king,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23pitted the people of Britain against each other.
0:00:23 > 0:00:29Edward would use castles to become an emperor in the Roman mould,
0:00:29 > 0:00:35to seize the crowns of his rivals and recognise no superior.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Edward was playing a real game of thrones.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49In Wales, he would build gigantic fortresses to subjugate the Welsh.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52They would be colonial headquarters,
0:00:52 > 0:00:57symbols of engineering genius and brutal military occupation.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04But triumph in Wales would turn to failure in Scotland,
0:01:04 > 0:01:09as a new champion emerged to turn castles against the English.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13What followed was a struggle of epic sieges
0:01:13 > 0:01:19and terrifying weapons, to determine the future of the kingdom.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22It was an era of unparalleled aggression,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25that saw castles reach the peak of their design.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30And behind it all is the story of the greatest castle-building king
0:01:30 > 0:01:33these islands have ever seen.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58An intense conflict is under way.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06Vast armies are on the march and thrones are at stake,
0:02:06 > 0:02:11amidst some of the mightiest walled cities and castles ever seen.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14But these castles aren't here in England.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18These are the great Crusader fortresses of the Holy Land.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24The armies are engaged across the Holy Land and right in the middle
0:02:24 > 0:02:26of it all, taking it all in,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30is the future king of England, Edward Plantagenet.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37The House of Plantagenet had ruled England for more than a century.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41A powerful royal family with lands across France.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47The son of King Henry III, Prince Edward, was nicknamed Longshanks
0:02:47 > 0:02:49for his intimidating height,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52with a furious temper and ego to match.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58The warrior prince had gone on crusade in 1271 and been inspired.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04He returned with ambitions to expand his kingdom and his power.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07For Edward, castles were the key to fulfilling the destiny
0:03:07 > 0:03:09he had in mind.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Castles would be his Camelots, the HQ of brand Plantagenet.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Not only a tool for conquering the countries around him,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19but for permanently colonising them
0:03:19 > 0:03:22and reshaping their way of life as he saw fit.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29The fate of Wales and Scotland would turn on the building
0:03:29 > 0:03:31and besieging of castles.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41In 1272, on his way home from the Crusades,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44the prince learned that his father had died
0:03:44 > 0:03:50and that he was now Edward I, King of England.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55He'd soon embark on his first colonial project...
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Wales.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03The borderland with England was known as the Marches,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08a dangerous frontier controlled by the violent Marcher Lords,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10who worked on behalf of the English Crown.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17North Wales had its own independent nobles
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and there was constant friction.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28This is White Castle, in the heart of the Marches in Monmouthshire.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33In the 1250s, it became one of the young Prince Edward's
0:04:33 > 0:04:34very first castles.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40In the 1260s, the situation in the Welsh Marches had reached
0:04:40 > 0:04:43boiling point. One northern Welsh ruler, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47had expanded his power here, in a way that panicked not only
0:04:47 > 0:04:51the Marcher Lords, but the English monarchy itself, and
0:04:51 > 0:04:53it became a major thorn in Edward's side.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Llywelyn was an independent ruler from the House of Gwynedd,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03whose lands centred around North Wales.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09He adopted the title Prince of Wales, as overlord of the Welsh.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13His territory grew throughout the 1250s and into the '60s.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17You can see the effects of this growing standoff
0:05:17 > 0:05:18in White Castle itself.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25This entire castle was once rendered in white, hence the name,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29and although that is quite a significant statement
0:05:29 > 0:05:32this place has no airs or graces.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36It's an entirely military set-up with no creature comforts.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41It's a powerful reminder of just how tense things had become here.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The rise of Llywelyn had not gone unnoticed, and in the 1260s
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Edward gave this place a massive makeover.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Edward used the very latest ideas in castle design
0:05:57 > 0:06:00to strengthen the defences.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Round towers were added along the castle walls.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07They're four storeys high and pierced only with arrow slits.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Round towers were more difficult to undermine than
0:06:10 > 0:06:12the square towers, because the corners of square towers were
0:06:12 > 0:06:14their weakest point.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17In fact, if you look all around the curtain walls here,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19you won't find a corner anywhere.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24It was also more difficult to rest a siege ladder against a round tower.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Fighting from siege ladders was difficult enough, but it was almost
0:06:28 > 0:06:31impossible if you were trying to keep your balance as well.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37The new arrow slits were an unusual design that allowed bowmen
0:06:37 > 0:06:40to track their target horizontally along the steep moat.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45It was uncompromising stuff,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49a response in stone to Llywelyn's growing power.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54The independent Welsh rulers of Gwynedd had castles
0:06:54 > 0:06:56and ambitions of their own.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02In Llywelyn's hinterland territory stood Dolbadarn Castle,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05one of his most prized strongholds.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11The mountains of Snowdonia themselves were said to be
0:07:11 > 0:07:16like a castle for the Welsh kings, and Dolbadarn guards a key pass.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19In fact, the mountains formed part of the castle itself.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23You can see how these outer walls are built up of un-mortared slate
0:07:23 > 0:07:25mined from the surrounding area.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30The Welsh didn't just build castles to keep outsiders out,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33but to control their families as well.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Under the Welsh system, inherited lands were divided up
0:07:39 > 0:07:43between sons rather than going to a sole heir.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46This meant men like Llywelyn needed secure prisons
0:07:46 > 0:07:49for scheming brothers or cousins.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52He imprisoned his own brother Owain
0:07:52 > 0:07:57in this tower for 22 years, earning him the scorn of a Welsh poet,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00who questioned whether he'd got his priorities right.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09"There is a hero in a tower in long captivity
0:08:09 > 0:08:13"A brave, kingly, sovereign hawk
0:08:13 > 0:08:18"A hero whose loss I feel from among the living
0:08:18 > 0:08:22"A hero who would not allow England to burn HIS border."
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Llywelyn had risen to the top at the cost of his own brothers,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31but his grip on power was fragile.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37For a while, Llywelyn was secure in his achievements.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43By 1267, he ruled around 75% of the Welsh population.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45But this was a man under pressure.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48That same year he signed the treaty of Montgomery,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51which, for the first time, formally acknowledged his title
0:08:51 > 0:08:55as the Prince of Wales, but which also committed him to paying
0:08:55 > 0:08:58vast sums of money to the English Crown.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07It was a determined attempt to stay independent of England.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14But then Llywelyn made a catastrophic mistake -
0:09:14 > 0:09:16insulting Edward I.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23He refused to acknowledge Edward as his King five times in a row
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and the feud exploded into open combat.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31King Edward fielded the largest army
0:09:31 > 0:09:34since 1066 against this Prince of Wales.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Not for nothing is he known as Llywelyn the Last.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46By the time the hard-fought wars had ended, Llywelyn
0:09:46 > 0:09:51and his brother Dafydd were both dead, and the timbers of Dolbadarn
0:09:51 > 0:09:54were carried off by Edward to build a castle of his own.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57The House of Gwynedd was finished.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Edward took direct control of Wales and developed a strategy
0:10:02 > 0:10:04to subdue the Welsh permanently.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10The King built castles that would change
0:10:10 > 0:10:11the very shape of their country.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15These would be the mightiest fortresses Europe had ever seen
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and were the tools with which Edward would not only conquer Wales,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20but colonise it.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Wales was ruthlessly oppressed.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Edward I constructed a series of castles,
0:10:30 > 0:10:35described as an iron ring around the north of the country.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37There were 17 in total,
0:10:37 > 0:10:43with enormous new fortresses at Conway, Harlech and Beaumaris.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51They were later described by one Welshman as magnificent badges
0:10:51 > 0:10:53of our subjection.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03To supervise the vast construction process,
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Edward summoned a Master Mason from Savoy, called James of St George.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12He'd worked on a number of major castles in Europe.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17He was part engineer and part project manager
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and the man who made Edward's castle building obsession a reality.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The most spectacular of his creations was built
0:11:29 > 0:11:31here at Caernarfon.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40If you look at Dolbadarn and look at Caernarfon,
0:11:40 > 0:11:45what strikes you is the huge size of Caernarfon,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48the shear wealth that went into it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52A modest ruler in Gwynedd couldn't even dream of building
0:11:52 > 0:11:56something on that scale, but Edward I could.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04King Edward had Caernarfon designed for military domination,
0:12:04 > 0:12:09but he took advantage of history to give it cultural firepower as well.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Edward knew that to gain traction in Wales and to make his rule last,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19he not only needed enormous military bastions,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22but to make it seem as though his reign was inevitable.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Like a fulfilled prophecy, as though ruling Wales was somehow fate.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32As James of Saint George was constructing Caernarfon,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34workers discovered a body.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39It was claimed to be none other than Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43then thought to be the father of Constantine the Great.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Edward ordered the body to be reburied in a local church.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54A cynic might say this was all suspiciously convenient.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56What better sign could there be of Edward's greatness
0:12:56 > 0:12:59than following in the imperial Roman footsteps?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02But there's even more to it than that.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Co-opting Roman power and prestige was good,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09but that Maximus was also linked to a Welsh legend was just perfect.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18And that legend was the Dream of Macsen Wledig,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20the Welsh name for Maximus.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23In this tale, Macsen dreamed of travelling from Rome to a land
0:13:23 > 0:13:28of high mountains and arriving at a river flowing into the sea.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33There was a great fortified city with towers of many colours
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and a great fort, the fairest man ever saw,
0:13:36 > 0:13:41with the image of eagles in gold sat by an ivory throne.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47At Caernarfon, Edward took this imagery of the past
0:13:47 > 0:13:49and built it into his castle.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52And here on top of the Eagle Tower,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55you can see how those symbols of legend were made real.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00Three stone eagles like this one were set atop the Eagle Tower,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03possibly gilded for all the world to see.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06It was particularly clever because the eagle is a symbol
0:14:06 > 0:14:12both of the Roman Empire and from centuries-old Welsh folk stories.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23The architecture cemented an imperial connection.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Bands of coloured masonry and polygonal towers were
0:14:27 > 0:14:31inspired by Roman designs like these in Constantinople,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33known today as Istanbul.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The incorporation of more elaborate practices,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42for example Krak des Chevaliers, which is now in Syria,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44which was built by the Crusaders.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48You can see elements of those castles in Caernarfon.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52You can even see elements, some people claim, of Istanbul,
0:14:52 > 0:14:57because the towers on the corners have got bands of different stone.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Edward the Crusader knew well the value of sturdy walls
0:15:01 > 0:15:03and international symbolism.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12The lords who once united the Welsh were dead
0:15:12 > 0:15:16and the King wanted Welsh unity to stay dead with them.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23But Edward could use their legacy for his own ends.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28In 1284, his wife Eleanor gave birth to a son within these walls
0:15:28 > 0:15:34and presented the King with a chance to bind Wales to the English Crown.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39For years tradition maintained that the young prince was born here
0:15:39 > 0:15:43in this room in Eagle Tower, but we now know that the castle
0:15:43 > 0:15:47was then a building site and that this floor had yet to be finished.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51The prince was born in Caernarfon Castle and Edward
0:15:51 > 0:15:55deliberately chose it as the location for the birth.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59According to legend, he had a very good reason to do so.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05The story goes that his new Welsh subjects implored
0:16:05 > 0:16:09the King only to anoint a new Prince of Wales
0:16:09 > 0:16:13who was born in Wales and who spoke no word of English.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The crafty Edward realised that his newborn son,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21who couldn't speak at all, fitted the bill perfectly
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and he handed his son the title.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27From now on, the title of Prince of Wales went to the first-born son
0:16:27 > 0:16:29of every English monarch.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33What had been the proud boast of Llywelyn's ancestors
0:16:33 > 0:16:36was claimed for England along with all of their lands.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Surrounded by a resentful population,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Caernarfon was designed with a myriad of defences.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49And, like all of James of St George's castles, it was supplied
0:16:49 > 0:16:53by the sea, making it that much harder to cut off during a siege.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Soon enough, Caernarfon faced its first proper test
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and it failed spectacularly.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03In doing so, it highlighted a real problem for castle builders.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Castles were mighty strongholds when the walls were up,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09but what happened when they were being built?
0:17:11 > 0:17:14In 1292, work had been halted.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16The walls of the town were largely complete
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and the southern side of the castle was built high.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23But the north was a different matter,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and, in 1294, there was an uprising.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29At the time of the rebellion, none of this was here.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31The entire north face of the castle was unfinished.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36It was only protected by the town walls and by a timber palisade.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39So, rather un-sportingly, the rebels just hopped over the barriers,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43took control of the castle and burned everything in sight.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46The castle was retaken six months later.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50The results of this incident are visible
0:17:50 > 0:17:52in the fabric of the castle itself.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56The south facade has a stylish and elegant construction.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59But here on the north the stonework is a bit rougher,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01completed in a bit of a hurry.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Gone is the eye for detail and the multicoloured layers of stone.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09They just wanted it fortified and sharpish.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17At Caernarfon, James of St George led an international
0:18:17 > 0:18:21building project, with a small army drafted in to work on it.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24He had assistants with ideas and expertise from across
0:18:24 > 0:18:29the continent, but the bulk of his workforce were a different story.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Although Caernarfon's about as far as you can get from England,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38all of the labourers and workmen who built this place were English.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Edward had them shipped in from as far afield as Kent
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and Cumbria in their thousands.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48The Welsh simply weren't trusted to work on his pet castle.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Castles were, of course, entirely handmade
0:18:53 > 0:18:58and the skills required to make them were highly prized.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Andy Oldfield is a modern-day master mason.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Andy, what was the place of the mason in the medieval world?
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It was one of privilege. The actual mason,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15they were one of the few people that could actually travel.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18They would actually, not just travel to the next town,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21but travel to the other side of the country, travel to the other side of
0:19:21 > 0:19:24the continent if they were in demand, hence why we get the term, Freemason.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26They were allowed to freely travel.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The key building block was the ashlar,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33the tough and squared-off facing stone on the front of the walls.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36We're going to make one the old way.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39We're going to split this stone the old-fashioned way
0:19:39 > 0:19:40using plug and feathers.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Plug and feathers is just a series of metal wedges, really.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48These are classed as the feathers and this is a plug.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50We're going to insert them into the hole
0:19:50 > 0:19:52and put the wedge down between them.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56We'll put them in to push the stone apart.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58It doesn't take a lot of strength.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02What it does take... is a bit of gentle tapping.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06As we start to hit it with a hammer, they start to talk to you.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09They sing to you. The noise they make tells you how far the stone
0:20:09 > 0:20:11is through before it breaks.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14- Keep going until the feathers talk to me?- They do indeed.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Gentle taps, because you're not trying to smash your way through.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- Is that all right?- That's fine.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- That one is singing a bit. - There we go.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Talking feathers.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30There we go, it's getting close. And there we go.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34That's it, as simple as that. You can give it another tap if you wish.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36There we go, it's done. Hooray!
0:20:36 > 0:20:40What we have there, if we just pull it apart,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44is two stones ready for the next stage of carving.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48It's amazing how effective these tiny things are.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51This is a piece of stone I could never pick up
0:20:51 > 0:20:55but I've managed to break it in half with just a few taps,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58playing the stone xylophone with these feathers and it cracked.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00It's amazing.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Were there different skill levels of mason?
0:21:05 > 0:21:07There were, in fact there were about seven levels,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11from the rough hewers down in the quarry, right up to the master mason
0:21:11 > 0:21:15who was the architect who put together the designs, made sure
0:21:15 > 0:21:18everything worked together and it all stayed up and didn't fall down.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22- Was it a really treasured skill? - It was a protected skill.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25It was highly protected.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28The more knowledge you had, the greater you could earn,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32- the more power you wielded. - How was that knowledge passed down?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Through a very strict and very close guarded secret to training.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39They would set up a lodge,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41which is where a lot of the carving work went on.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44They also...they didn't necessarily sleep in the lodges,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46but they took their meals in there and that's where
0:21:46 > 0:21:49a lot of the training went on for the apprentices and where
0:21:49 > 0:21:53they were assessed to whether or not they could make it to be a mason.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58- What's next, Andy?- This is the next process. It's called boning in.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Basically involved cutting four small areas, it didn't have to
0:22:02 > 0:22:06be in corners, it could be anywhere using a mallet and chisel.
0:22:06 > 0:22:12What we do is we gently create a flat surface.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17- They had to be flat enough to put one of our boning blocks on.- I see.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19This is where it really becomes part of a skilled trade
0:22:19 > 0:22:23and deep dark secrets of the masons.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Then we're going to take our flat surface, a straight edge,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and this was the mason's Bible.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33We've got to create a flat surface out of this moonscape of a rock.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38A mason would look between the two levels,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41top of the levels of stone and to see if they lined up.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- If they didn't line up...- Between this one and this one?- Yes.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47You'd sight your way through and if they didn't line up,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50you'd know one of those corners was a bit higher, a bit lower.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52You'd trim a little bit more out
0:22:52 > 0:22:55until both of those straight edges were in line.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00- Right, there we go.- I think that is pretty good.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01I think we're about there at that.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04If we put these blocks on, because we always have to check.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06It's about checking your work all the time.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Using our straight edge again and one of our chisels.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14We look down again and check again. You check from your side.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18- That looks pretty good to me. - I think we're bob on at that.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20That's pretty good.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22After chipping away the waste from the middle,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24the surface is smoothed off.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You're virtually there at that. Then the final process.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32With any ashlar, you've got to make it square,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34so it fits in, and build a building block.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It was the mason's square which enables them to do this.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44By etching a straight line with the set square,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48a tool called a pitcher, can be used to create the flat edge.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Be gentle, now. Excellent.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56When I think about medieval buildings,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59it's so easy to compare castles with cathedrals, which seem
0:23:59 > 0:24:02so much more complex in their construction.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Is that a fair way of thinking about it?
0:24:04 > 0:24:05A castle was designed for one thing only
0:24:05 > 0:24:09and that was to withstand being stormed and broken into.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13It was quite a complex sort of design to take a lot of abuse.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Now we've got our mason's mark. You've got to sign it.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19Be proud of my stone.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32The masons at Caernarfon were working on something that
0:24:32 > 0:24:35hadn't been seen on these shores before.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41Edward I's new fortresses had a colonial town built into them.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46These were known as bastides, an idea taken from Gascony.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51For Wales, he built the most heavily fortified version possible.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Bastides were a truly colonial idea.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58They were surrounded by higher walls and laid out
0:24:58 > 0:25:01on a military-style grid system.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04They were designed to provide both goods and taxes
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and were even subject to their own colonial laws.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Bastides were a way of generating income for the project.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21But in Wales, the King's new bastide towns had a far more sinister side.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26The Welsh were cut out and the English filled the townships.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36It was clear that the building of these new towns represents
0:25:36 > 0:25:41a process of deliberate Anglicisation of North Wales,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45by bringing in new towns which the Welsh were totally unaccustomed to
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and bringing in new settlers from England.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56These civilian settlements formed part of a classic frontier-land.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Hostile territory peopled by a defeated enemy.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11The last castle Edward built in Wales would be Beaumaris,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13meaning beautiful marsh.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Standing on the island of Anglesey,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22it was intended to be the crowning glory of the iron ring
0:26:22 > 0:26:27and the finest work of his master mason, James of St George.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Beaumaris was a military masterpiece,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41planned with an almost impenetrable series of defences.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44It was based around the idea of concentric walls,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48essentially, building a castle within a castle.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Like so much else, it was a lesson learnt from the great
0:26:52 > 0:26:55fortresses of the Holy Land.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58If you were an attacker and you managed to make it through or
0:26:58 > 0:27:01over this wall, you'd then be trapped here in a killing zone.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04You'd face a constant barrage of missiles and
0:27:04 > 0:27:07you still had to make it past this even bigger wall.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21If you were a defender, you could mount a solid defence
0:27:21 > 0:27:23of the outer walls, firing over the moat
0:27:23 > 0:27:27while constantly being protected by covering fire from your
0:27:27 > 0:27:30comrades here up on the inner wall.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33If that outer wall was then breached, you could retreat here.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Every time the attackers were slowed down by a new line of defences,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41whether it was the moat, the outer wall, or the inner wall,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43they were exposed.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48James of St George was now known
0:27:48 > 0:27:50as the Master of the King's Works in Wales
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and Beaumaris offered him something unique.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Unlike all the other castles in the ring of iron,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Beaumaris was built on an entirely new site.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03It was a blank canvas,
0:28:03 > 0:28:08and it allowed Master James to build exactly the castle that he wanted.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12The flat marshland terrain allowed him to build an almost
0:28:12 > 0:28:16perfectly symmetrical fortress, with no compromises in form.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32More than 2,500 people were brought in to work on this project
0:28:32 > 0:28:34in the first year alone,
0:28:34 > 0:28:39and the castle bears scars of that construction process.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42These holes are for scaffolding poles
0:28:42 > 0:28:45and they arch their way around the tower
0:28:45 > 0:28:49and they were used to support a distinctively spiral
0:28:49 > 0:28:52type of scaffolding technique that was imported from
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Master James' homeland of Savoy.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05But there was a problem. Castles were enormously expensive
0:29:05 > 0:29:10and Edward's brutal wars had almost bankrupted the kingdom.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14For all its design genius, Beaumaris was never actually finished.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20In 1296, James of St George wrote a letter complaining of tightly
0:29:20 > 0:29:24squeezed budgets in a way some of us might still recognise today.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29"We write to inform you that the work we're doing is very costly
0:29:29 > 0:29:32"and we need a great deal of money.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36"In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40"we would have you know we have needed and shall continue to need
0:29:40 > 0:29:43"400 masons, both cutters and layers,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48"together with 2,000 minor workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons
0:29:48 > 0:29:52"and 30 boats bringing stone and sea coal, 200 quarrymen,
0:29:52 > 0:29:57"30 smiths and carpenters. PS, and Sirs, for God's sake,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01"be quick with the money for the works, otherwise everything
0:30:01 > 0:30:03"done up till now will have been of no avail."
0:30:05 > 0:30:08At the national archives, there's a document that takes us
0:30:08 > 0:30:11behind the scenes of the building of Beaumaris.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16This manuscript is known as a pipe roll.
0:30:16 > 0:30:21It's 700 years old and it's a financial record written on vellum
0:30:21 > 0:30:23and sent to the Treasury.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26It records all sorts of details relating to royal expenditure
0:30:26 > 0:30:28and debts owed to the Crown.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31For storage, it was rolled up tightly,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34which is why it's known as a pipe role.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37This one details the royal accounts for the construction
0:30:37 > 0:30:40of Beaumaris between 1295 and 1298,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44from a clerk called Walter of Winchester.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46It may be the musings of a medieval accountant,
0:30:46 > 0:30:51but there's so much detail here, you get a real glimpse into the past.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54The roll gives you a sense of the sheer scale of the work being
0:30:54 > 0:30:56carried out, because it records the volumes of material
0:30:56 > 0:30:58needed by the builders.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03In the first year alone, it talks of 220,000 nails
0:31:03 > 0:31:06and 48,000 tonnes of stone.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Building a castle was a labour-intensive process
0:31:11 > 0:31:13and the site would have been swarming with people
0:31:13 > 0:31:16and, rather wonderfully, we can work out from the pipe roll
0:31:16 > 0:31:18what these people were paid.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23Here, it says "forsata et motam", referring to the labourers
0:31:23 > 0:31:25building the ditches and the moat
0:31:25 > 0:31:27and also to the stipend cementariorum,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31which is talking about the wages of the masons.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35We know that labourers might have been paid as much as eight pence
0:31:35 > 0:31:40per week but that a skilled mason would earn three times as much,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43a more reasonable-sounding 22 pence per week.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49The period covered by these accounts was the last time any serious cash
0:31:49 > 0:31:51was available for his castles.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56By 1298, construction at Beaumaris had effectively halted.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00James of St George's masterwork would remain unfinished.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Edward had run out of money but he'd always had
0:32:06 > 0:32:08an eye for an opportunity.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12As King, he didn't actually own all the land in his kingdom,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15so one of the quickest ways of raising cash was to expand
0:32:15 > 0:32:21his royal property portfolio by whatever means necessary.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Among the property in his sights was that owned by one
0:32:24 > 0:32:28Isabella de Fortibus, the richest lady in England
0:32:28 > 0:32:32and a woman sometimes described as the Queen of the Isle of Wight.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Isabella had become a widow at the age of just 23.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42She inherited her husband's land and title
0:32:42 > 0:32:45along with some of her late brother's estate.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48It gave her much of the Isle of Wight, as well as extensive
0:32:48 > 0:32:50lands on the mainland.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Isabella was not just wealthy, she was also determined.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57She's a character who demonstrates
0:32:57 > 0:33:00the often overlooked power of women at this time.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05Isabella made her home here at Carisbrooke Castle.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08She transformed the fortress into something befitting her wealth
0:33:08 > 0:33:10and status.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Throughout her life, she continually sought out new additions.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Her greatest innovation happened here.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23We know that Isabella was one of the first people to use glass
0:33:23 > 0:33:27in castle windows and this is a particularly beautiful one,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29complete with window seat.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39It was some of the very first glass used in a secular building
0:33:39 > 0:33:42and eye-wateringly expensive.
0:33:43 > 0:33:48But for Edward a rich widow was a tempting target.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52As a widow she had a degree of legal authority and security,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56but it also made her an attractive target for greedy suitors.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00We know she evaded at least two nobles whom the King had said
0:34:00 > 0:34:01could marry her.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07Edward made repeated attempts to buy control of Isabella's land.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10He went so far as to challenge her in court,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14and, in a mark of her strength, she took him on and defeated him.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16It should come as no surprise
0:34:16 > 0:34:20that among the items listed in her household
0:34:20 > 0:34:22was a full set of the code of laws.
0:34:22 > 0:34:23Eventually, however,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27even a lady as strong as Isabella could not resist for ever.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30Her husband and brother had died when she was still young
0:34:30 > 0:34:33and she outlived her children.
0:34:33 > 0:34:34As she lay dying,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37the King's counsellors made her sign away her lands to Edward.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41Or so it's been claimed.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46For years Isabella had resisted Edward's attempts to gain her lands.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Finally, it's only on her deathbed that agreement is reached
0:34:51 > 0:34:55and one wonders, this poor old woman, lying ill and sick,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58could she really have agreed to a sale
0:34:58 > 0:35:00that she'd resisted for so long?
0:35:00 > 0:35:02It seems very, very questionable.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Edward's ego was still not satisfied.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13He would seek out new lands, new power and new money
0:35:13 > 0:35:14by conquest.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20This time, turning north for Scotland.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25In 1296 Edward invaded,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28determined to take the Scottish throne for himself.
0:35:30 > 0:35:35But even this mighty king's plans were limited by his finances.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38It had proved difficult enough for King Edward to raise
0:35:38 > 0:35:39enough cash for an army.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43There was simply not enough money left in the coffers
0:35:43 > 0:35:46to start building huge castles like he had in Wales.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51The war in Scotland, it was hoped,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54would capture a new source of income.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57That he would have access to the revenues of the Scottish Crown
0:35:57 > 0:36:00and that those would be used as a way of effectively making
0:36:00 > 0:36:03the English occupation of Scotland pay for itself.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04It didn't happen.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10When it came to Scotland, Edward's wars would be fought
0:36:10 > 0:36:15with the existing castles and the outcome would be very different.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Edward's Scotland campaign tore through the country
0:36:18 > 0:36:21but, no matter how hard he clamped down,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25defiant pockets of resistance kept springing up.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31July 1300.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34The English King marched north from Carlisle
0:36:34 > 0:36:36to the border castle of Caerlaverock.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39With the army were huge wooden weapons,
0:36:39 > 0:36:45catapults known as trebuchets and other siege engines,
0:36:45 > 0:36:47all designed to overwhelm the castle.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54Caerlaverock's Scottish defenders were about to feel the full wrath
0:36:54 > 0:36:56of Edward Longshanks.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Edward and his army arrived exactly here, looked out across the moat
0:37:05 > 0:37:08towards those curtain walls and that massive gatehouse.
0:37:08 > 0:37:123,000 soldiers and 87 knights, all armed to the teeth
0:37:12 > 0:37:17and equipped with the very latest engines of war, prepared to attack.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Manning the triangular-shaped battlements was the garrison
0:37:20 > 0:37:24of Scottish troops, poised to do everything they could to stop them.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27This castle would be no pushover.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30A herald accompanying Edward's army described the events of that day
0:37:30 > 0:37:33in a poem called The Roll Of Caerlaverock.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37It's one of the most detailed accounts of a medieval siege
0:37:37 > 0:37:39to have survived the centuries.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41"Caerlaverock was a castle so strong
0:37:41 > 0:37:45"That it did not fear siege before the king came there
0:37:45 > 0:37:47"For it became it not to surrender."
0:37:47 > 0:37:49But Edward was no ordinary monarch.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Longshanks was a master of castle warfare, and the brave defenders
0:37:53 > 0:37:57of Caerlaverock stood in the way of his imperial ambition.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02The foot soldiers went in first
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and attacked the gatehouse with everything that they had.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09The garrison responded with a hail of arrows,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11stones and crossbow bolts.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16What happened next was described in stark terms in the poem.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18"The footmen began to march against the castle
0:38:18 > 0:38:23"And it might be seen fly among them stones, arrows and quarrels
0:38:23 > 0:38:27"But so effectually exchanged those within with those without
0:38:27 > 0:38:30"That in a short time many bodies there were wounded and maimed
0:38:30 > 0:38:32"And I know not how many killed."
0:38:32 > 0:38:35From inside the gatehouse, the defenders would have seen
0:38:35 > 0:38:39the landscape literally heaving with soldiers,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43all hellbent in getting through or over these walls.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45It would have been a terrifying ordeal.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52The purpose of a castle like Caerlaverock
0:38:52 > 0:38:54was to avoid open battle.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56If the walls were breached, the garrison would have
0:38:56 > 0:39:00to defend themselves in armoured hand-to-hand combat.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08Andy Deane is an expert in medieval martial arts at the Royal Armouries.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12- Sword?- I have my sword.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16And you'll need a buckler. OK.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19One of the many weapons that are shown on medieval manuscripts...
0:39:19 > 0:39:23I like a shield I can hide behind. What is this?
0:39:23 > 0:39:26This is the most magnificent weapon because it's not for hiding.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29- It's like a saucer.- It is brilliant.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32It's your own Jedi force field, that buckler.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36It is, because as people come swinging down... Let me show you.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Stand by for some swashbuckling!
0:39:39 > 0:39:40Now, you always want to try
0:39:40 > 0:39:45and keep the buckler out in front of you and/or covering your hand.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48This is the sort of position, it can either come over the top
0:39:48 > 0:39:50or it can come back this way there.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52But you want the pointy bit threatening the bad man,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55that would be me. OK.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59So from here, now you've got the pointy bit in front of you,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02I've got to either come round it, over it, under it somehow, yeah?
0:40:02 > 0:40:04- Yeah.- So the most important thing...
0:40:04 > 0:40:07One of the things they talk about in the manuscript
0:40:07 > 0:40:09is engaging your opponent's sword.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11If you can engage your opponent's sword, you know where it is,
0:40:11 > 0:40:15so maybe you can just simply come under and then straight up.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Or if you were engaging from the sword,
0:40:17 > 0:40:20have both of them out in front of you, maybe you just slide through,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24take both weapons and pull yourself through and down.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28The lowest men on this ladder of seniority,
0:40:28 > 0:40:31what sort of weapons were they using?
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Well, I suppose the things from the farm
0:40:33 > 0:40:37that were laying about are easily manipulated into deadly weapons.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41You can have a bastardised farming utensil - sharpen it up,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44shove it on a long stick and away you go.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48So we're starting right at the bottom, the very agricultural...
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- You've got the English billhook. - Wow, look at that.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Now if you imagine just this bit here and the small handle,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58that's where you're laying your hedges. You've got this curve here...
0:40:58 > 0:41:00- Like a scythe.- Yeah, exactly.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02And now, sharpen it up,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06send it down to the old smithy, stick a couple of extra spikes on it
0:41:06 > 0:41:08and now you've got a weapon that is sublime
0:41:08 > 0:41:10at taking out other infantrymen.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12Back of tendons, neck areas...
0:41:12 > 0:41:15It's all there for them with a very basic weapon.
0:41:15 > 0:41:16So for a farmer, laying a hedge is the same
0:41:16 > 0:41:18as cutting someone's Achilles tendon?
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Well...or the backs of the knees, yeah. Exactly.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Lots of skeletons that have been found on various battlefields
0:41:24 > 0:41:26from the Middle Ages...
0:41:26 > 0:41:28So many of the wounds are on the shoulder,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30neck area or the backs of the legs, so they've obviously been
0:41:30 > 0:41:34brought down and then a slightly longer weapon is easier to do
0:41:34 > 0:41:38than a sword. As long as he's not a threat any more, you've done your job
0:41:38 > 0:41:41and, as you're working in a tight press, the next person
0:41:41 > 0:41:44or the young lad just comes behind, does that job and you move on.
0:41:44 > 0:41:45Next person, next person.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53At the siege of Caerlaverock, it wasn't just enemy soldiers
0:41:53 > 0:41:56but technology that the defenders were fighting.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00They also faced catapult-like giant trebuchets.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Siege engines continually hurled rocks
0:42:06 > 0:42:10that shattered into sharp and deadly fragments against the stonework.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Archaeologists have found stone trebuchet balls littered
0:42:13 > 0:42:17all around the grounds of Caerlaverock Castle.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19With a certain black humour, some of the machines
0:42:19 > 0:42:22were even given nicknames, like Brother Robert,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25after the priest that operated one of them.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31The garrison's morale began to sink as the situation became hopeless.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33One of them was killed by a flying boulder,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36the walls and roofs began to crumble around them
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and the Scottish troops had no choice but to surrender.
0:42:42 > 0:42:48When the gates finally opened, only 60 men emerged from the rubble.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53The poem says that Edward's army marvelled at how so few men
0:42:53 > 0:42:56had given such fierce resistance.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Caerlaverock showed just how effective castles were
0:43:00 > 0:43:02as force multipliers,
0:43:02 > 0:43:06increasing the effectiveness of each soldier exponentially.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10Just a small number of soldiers could slow down and even stop
0:43:10 > 0:43:15a much larger force, and when you're moving through enemy territory,
0:43:15 > 0:43:20every extra day taken was another day that you had to feed, maintain
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and, most damagingly for Edward, pay your troops.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37The Scottish were not going to give up easily.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39Caerlaverock was a modest-sized castle...
0:43:42 > 0:43:45..but Edward I would soon face a stronghold
0:43:45 > 0:43:48on an altogether different scale -
0:43:48 > 0:43:49Stirling Castle.
0:43:51 > 0:43:57By 1304, Stirling was the last major castle in his opponents' hands
0:43:57 > 0:44:00and it appeared to be the key to the whole kingdom.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03It was the most strategically important castle in Scotland,
0:44:03 > 0:44:07the natural gateway between the Highlands and the Lowlands.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Stirling is very much like something
0:44:11 > 0:44:13that Edward himself would have built.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17The castle on the rock today was built centuries later
0:44:17 > 0:44:18than the original Scottish fortress,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21but you can still see how ideal the site was - perfect to defend,
0:44:21 > 0:44:26radiating authority from a commanding position,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29visible for miles around.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Edward must have hated it.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Castle warfare had become like chess.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48If you controlled Stirling, then you controlled all of Scotland,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52but if it lay in the hands of your enemy, even if you controlled
0:44:52 > 0:44:57all the castles around it, they could still hold you to a stalemate.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02The royal army gathered artillery from all over Scotland.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05The lead was stripped from church roofs to make weights
0:45:05 > 0:45:10and missiles for trebuchets to fire an "unbearable rain of metal".
0:45:10 > 0:45:11They fired huge rocks
0:45:11 > 0:45:16and a type of incendiary known as Greek fire at the castle.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Edward even had a window installed in the Queen's lodgings
0:45:19 > 0:45:22so she could marvel at his kingly prowess.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Edward threw everything he had at it,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28but Stirling was nigh-on impregnable.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32He had 17 siege engines, teams of miners, thousands of soldiers,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36but he was held off by a garrison of just 30 men,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39many of them hidden in caves and tunnels deep under the castle.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48After four months of bombardment, the castle still hadn't
0:45:48 > 0:45:52been captured and Edward was getting impatient.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Time was money and there was already pressure on the royal purse.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58So Edward brought in his greatest weapon yet -
0:45:58 > 0:46:02an enormous siege engine he'd had specially made.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05He called it the loup de guerre, or the Warwolf.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13This new weapon to terrorise the enemy was a type of trebuchet,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15the heavy artillery of its day.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19It may have been the largest ever built
0:46:19 > 0:46:24and took five master carpenters and 50 men months to construct.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33To see one of these fearsome weapons in action,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36I've headed south to Warwick Castle.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39This is the Ursa, or She-Bear.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42It's a replica of a 13th century trebuchet and it gives you
0:46:42 > 0:46:47a fascinating insight into how these terrifying weapons actually worked.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51It's 18 metres tall, it weighs 22 tonnes,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55but Edward's Warwolf may well have been bigger.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57It's quite a piece of engineering.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Siege engines like this could devastate castle walls.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08- Hi, Charlotte.- Hello there.- How are you doing?- I'm all right, thank you.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09How does this wonderful thing work?
0:47:09 > 0:47:12OK, basically, two people in each of the wheels here.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15As you walk in the wheels, it pulls on the big rope here
0:47:15 > 0:47:17that's attached to the top of the arm
0:47:17 > 0:47:20and, as the arm is pulled down, the box goes up.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23- And then you let fly? - Yes, and then we let fly.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26The counterweight is around five tonnes
0:47:26 > 0:47:29and is winched to the top as we turn the wheels.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32A projectile is hooked on and when the weight drops to earth,
0:47:32 > 0:47:36sending the arm up, it's hurled like a bowler's action in cricket.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42- Hello.- Hello.- Thank you. Safety hat.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46- Right.- Winders, are you ready?
0:47:46 > 0:47:50- Ball ready!- Walk on!- Whoa... - You all right?- Yeah.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Bring yourself forward and straighten your back.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Look out to the side so that you're not...
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Winders, slow and halt.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05SAM LAUGHS
0:48:05 > 0:48:07I'm hilariously out of breath.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10I feel sick, my calves hurt, my legs...everything hurts.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12It feels so dangerous.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16There must have been some terrible trebuchet accidents
0:48:16 > 0:48:18in the 13th century.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22Right, Charlotte, I'm out of breath.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25I'm not sure anyone else was doing any work, I think it was all me.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28So it's primed, it's good to go. How big are the balls?
0:48:28 > 0:48:31These are the balls here. So this is one of our fireballs.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35- It's about 18kg, so about 2st. - Quite heavy, yeah.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38It's about the smallest thing we can shoot,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41so the largest thing we can shoot is about 150kg.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44- Sorry, how big did you say this was? - This is 18kg.
0:48:44 > 0:48:4618, and you can throw something that's 150?
0:48:46 > 0:48:50- Yes, so we can throw something a lot larger.- That's a heavy bit of kit.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54Trebuchets were also used to hurl everything from prisoners of war
0:48:54 > 0:48:58to beehives to try and demoralise the enemy.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Clear the machine!
0:49:00 > 0:49:03We're shooting the projectile they called Greek Fire.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Have a care!
0:49:21 > 0:49:22That was amazing.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25The noise was so sinister of that fireball
0:49:25 > 0:49:27going through the air, it kind of roared.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32And it stayed up in the air for so long in a huge, high trajectory.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37This thing is still creaking and groaning like it's exhausted.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Even after all this time, it's an amazing piece of engineering.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45And it can achieve the most extraordinary things.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48That ball's gone miles down there, it still on fire.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52It's a fearsome weapon.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59At the siege of Stirling, the sight of Edward's giant Warwolf
0:49:59 > 0:50:02must have been the last straw for the defenders.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09Annoyingly for Edward, the garrison tried to surrender
0:50:09 > 0:50:12before he could try out his new toy.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15As they came out barefoot with ashes on their heads
0:50:15 > 0:50:18as a token of surrender, he ordered them back inside,
0:50:18 > 0:50:22saying, "You don't deserve my grace, but must surrender to my will."
0:50:22 > 0:50:26Edward wanted to see his weapon in action.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33He ordered, "The king wills it that none of his people enter
0:50:33 > 0:50:37"the castle till it is struck with his Warwolf and that those within
0:50:37 > 0:50:41"the castle defend themselves from the said Warwolf as best they can."
0:50:41 > 0:50:44A few shots from Warwolf devastated the gatehouse
0:50:44 > 0:50:47and, finally satisfied, Edward allowed the garrison
0:50:47 > 0:50:49to throw in the towel.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52The siege had dragged on and it had been an expensive business
0:50:52 > 0:50:55and had cost him nearly £9,000.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59In taking Stirling, Edward could've been forgiven for thinking
0:50:59 > 0:51:03that he'd finally crushed resistance to his rule.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05But he'd not banked on what would happen next.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12The ageing Edward was about to face a new adversary
0:51:12 > 0:51:15and rival for the Scottish throne,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17Robert the Bruce.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22Scotland had turned out to be much more difficult to subdue than Wales
0:51:22 > 0:51:27and in 1306 Robert the Bruce had crowned himself as King.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29As conflict with England escalated,
0:51:29 > 0:51:34Bruce ordered his family to the safety of Highland castle Kildrummy.
0:51:34 > 0:51:35Edward ordered his son,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39the now-grown-up Prince of Wales, to besiege it.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42He didn't have to attack for long.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45Full-on direct assaults on castles were actually very rare
0:51:45 > 0:51:50because there was usually a simpler way that a castle could be captured.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53It was a matter of finding the castle's weak point -
0:51:53 > 0:51:57it could be the gatehouse, it could be the source of supplies...
0:51:57 > 0:51:59or it could be someone inside.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05To hold out for as long as possible,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08the defenders had filled the hall with grain.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11At first, the prince's forces couldn't make any impression
0:52:11 > 0:52:13on the walls or the garrison.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Then they found a way in.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22Osbourne, the castle's blacksmith, was promised
0:52:22 > 0:52:25"as much gold as he could carry" to betray them.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29He set fire to the grain stores and the castle was done for.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31Legend has it that the English paid him his gold
0:52:31 > 0:52:35but, when the castle was later retaken by the Scots,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38they melted it and poured it down his throat
0:52:38 > 0:52:40as punishment for his betrayal.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Most of Robert the Bruce's family had made a lucky escape
0:52:45 > 0:52:47before the fighting started
0:52:47 > 0:52:51but not so the castle's commander, his brother, Neil Bruce.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54He was taken to Berwick and hung, drawn and quartered.
0:52:56 > 0:53:01King Robert lost many of his family and best men in castles.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Kildrummy was a painful personal and military lesson,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06and one that he wouldn't forget.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13A year after Kildrummy, Edward died
0:53:13 > 0:53:16and his dream of an English monarch
0:53:16 > 0:53:19sitting on the throne of all three kingdoms died with him,
0:53:19 > 0:53:22as did his concept of castle warfare.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Edward had failed to conquer Scotland and the next generation
0:53:26 > 0:53:29of Scottish rulers learned from what had happened.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36The Bruce in particular recognised that taking on the English
0:53:36 > 0:53:38at their own game simply wouldn't work.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42He needed to develop a new strategy.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Castles were one of his biggest problems,
0:53:48 > 0:53:50but the Bruce had a solution.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56The first couple of years, he still tries to do the same thing -
0:53:56 > 0:53:59capture a castle, garrison that for himself and hold it out.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02He realises that cannot work and so when he captures the castles,
0:54:02 > 0:54:04he destroys them.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08And what he's fighting is a new style of guerrilla warfare
0:54:08 > 0:54:11where fixed military installations like castles
0:54:11 > 0:54:13no longer have a purpose.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18And rather than match the English castle-for-castle,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20he did the opposite.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23He simply pulled down as many of them as he could,
0:54:23 > 0:54:28rendering them useless to everyone, in his words, "Lest the English
0:54:28 > 0:54:33"ever afterwards might lord it over the land by holding castles".
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Stirling, the castle that Edward had invested so much time
0:54:36 > 0:54:40and money in capturing, eventually drew the English to defeat
0:54:40 > 0:54:44at the Battle of Bannockburn as they raced to relieve its garrison.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48After the battle, Robert the Bruce, taking no chances,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51demolished the castle, tearing it to the ground.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59Under Edward, castles had become awesome in scale and military clout.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02His successors would never again attempt to build anything
0:55:02 > 0:55:07like the iron ring or use castles as an instrument of colonialism.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Times were changing.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16Castles permanently stamped Edward's mark on Britain.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20They represented his utter ruthlessness and his naked ambition,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22but in the end their sheer expense contributed
0:55:22 > 0:55:26to his failure to become King of all Britons.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30According to legend, Edward decreed that he wasn't to be buried properly
0:55:30 > 0:55:32until Scotland had been conquered,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35and he was buried in a plain stone tomb.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43So what would the future of castles be?
0:55:43 > 0:55:47In the century that followed, they began to occupy a new place
0:55:47 > 0:55:51in English life as icons of nostalgia for the nobility.
0:55:53 > 0:55:58Writers of courtly literature fantasised about ideals of chivalry
0:55:58 > 0:56:02that had never really existed, set amongst the great fortresses of old.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08Castles became more about romance than war.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Take Bodiam.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14In every sense it's the textbook image of a medieval castle.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19It's imposing, it's grand and it really looks the part.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21But if you look a little closer,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24there's something really interesting going on.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32Bodiam has been designed to make you think that it's mighty,
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and along with it the owner who had it built.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42The moat is not for protection,
0:56:42 > 0:56:45it's there to enhance the appearance of the castle.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49On a still day like this, the reflection's not only beautiful,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52but it makes everything look twice as big.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00The approach to this castle was brilliantly over the top.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04Pass over this, which is a drawbridge,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06past here, a portcullis,
0:57:06 > 0:57:08through the barbican,
0:57:08 > 0:57:11and then you were faced with another drawbridge
0:57:11 > 0:57:13before you got to the gate,
0:57:13 > 0:57:16there was a portcullis, and then once through that gate
0:57:16 > 0:57:18there were two more portcullises.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22It's so elaborate, it can only have been for show.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26A nice bit of bling in rural Sussex.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32Bodiam shows us that military architecture could be about style
0:57:32 > 0:57:36or fashion as much as it could be about function.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38An important part of that style was nostalgia
0:57:38 > 0:57:43for the good old days of chivalry and perfect knights.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48They were less and less important in war
0:57:48 > 0:57:52and increasingly becoming symbols of a mythical past,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56as much about the trappings of wealth and comfort
0:57:56 > 0:57:58as martial strength.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03Edward I would've found it hard to believe
0:58:03 > 0:58:06but the days of castles seemed numbered.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14Next time, how castles faced a new threat...
0:58:14 > 0:58:15Firing the cannon!
0:58:15 > 0:58:19..the arrival of the cannon. And it was not all military shock,
0:58:19 > 0:58:24but artistic awe, as castles now colonised the imagination.