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JMW Turner & British Castles

Joseph Mallord William Turner was one of Britain's greatest artists. Throughout his life (1775 to 1851) he had a particular interest in painting and drawing the most dramatic of the castles of England and Wales ....... see examples of his castle drawings and paintings

Stay in a Castle or Fort

There are many castles, forts and towers that have been restored and converted into hotels or holiday accommodation. For a selection ...... use this link

Aerial Photography

Paul Davis has provided aerial photos of a number of sites - 200 in total. These give amazing views of the castles and any earthworks which include Dover Castle, Christchurch Castle and Clare Castle. For a full list of all the aerial photographs on the site use this link . Click on the images to enlarge them and again to close them.

Information

There is information on 875 English and Welsh castles, fortified manor houses, Bishop's Palaces and Pele towers constructed over the last twenty centuries. These range from the most impressive and powerful of structures like Dover Castle to worn earthworks that are all that are now left of sites such as Elmley Castle. There is also information on 300 of the mainly 18th and 19th century coastal forts and gun batteries that can still be seen, mainly around the south coasts of England and Wales.

History

The first stone fortifications were constructed by the Romans in the 1st Century, and they were so well built as at Portchester that many are still standing. The next wave of castle building started in all the major towns and cities after the Norman invasion and between 1066 and 1200 well over two and a half thousand castles were erected. Most were simple earth and timber structures and have now either vanished or exist only as a motte, a grassy mound, or earthworks ....... see more fortification & armament history

Photography

Over 1000 of the sites have been photographed so far with the help of others with a similar interest in castles - thank you all. If you have any photos of any castles, forts or even just earthworks that are not yet photographed then please do email me.

Website Design

Google search bar has been added (March 2020).

The castles and fortifications of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man have been added (September 2019).

The Welsh maps of Powys, Dyfed, Glamorgan and Gwent have been redrawn and enlarged (March 2019).

The maps of English counties have been updated and enlarged and now show English Heritage properties (February 2019).

The majority of the photographs have been enlarged to 960 x 720 pixels. Click on an image to see the full sized picture (December 2018).