Hello and welcome to today's history lesson.

My name is Mr. Merrett and I'll be guiding through today's lesson.

So let's get started.

Today's lesson looking at the Norman England historic environment.

We'll focus on the construction of Pevensey Castle.

And by the end of this lesson, we'll be able to explain how and why Pevensey Castle was constructed as it was.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms. And our key terms for today are castle, fort and motte-and-bailey.

A castle is a defensive structure, which is also designed to be a place of permanent residence.

A fort is simply a defensive structure.

And a motte-and-bailey is a type of castle built by the Normans, with a high earthen mound, or a motte and a courtyard, or a bailey protected by a strong timber palisade or a fence.

Today's lesson will consist of three separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is looking at Pevensey Castle before 1066.

So let's get going.

Now, William the Conquerors landing at Pevensey was aided by his use of an existing fort to defend his army from any possible Anglo-Saxon attacks.

The fort have been present for nearly 800 years and were still in relatively good condition.

It had been built by the Romans in we think roughly 290 CE, and it was one of nine forts that were built along the Saxon Shore as the Romans called it, to defend their territory from Saxon pirates.

And they raided the coastline of of Southern and eastern England, which is what the Saxon Shore was.

So the southeast along the south coast there that's known as the Saxon Shore.

The Romans named the fort and Anderitum, and it boasted walls that were about 10 feet thick and 20 feet high, as well as D-towers, which were at the forefront of fortifications at the time that they were built.

On the screen in front of you there, you can see a photo, the East Wall Pevensey Castle, and that's one of the D-towers right there.

And on top of the D-tower, you could station men and seed equipment as well.

And there are some woods have been an imposing fortress standing on the Pevensey peninsula as it was almost totally surrounded by the sea, except for a narrow spit with marshland and the vast Forest of Andred, or the Weald as we call it nowadays, defending it from the north.

After the Romans left Britain in 409 CE, Anderitum was occupied by local civilians who must have welcomed the protection that the vast Roman war offered them.

However, Saxon pirate raids that the for had been built to deter naturally increased once the Romans left and the people living in Anderitum came under frequent attack.

And this culminated in a raid in 461 CE that slew all of the inhabitants.

And from this point on historians are unsure as to whether anybody reoccupied Anderitum or whether it was left in ruins.

But what we do know is that the fort began to fall into disrepair from this point onwards.

Whereas have a quick check for understanding now.

So who were the first people to build a defensive structure at Pevensey? Was it the Anglo-Saxons, the Celts, or the Romans? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose c, the Romans then very well done.

That's the correct answer.

And a quick check for understanding.

Again, it's a true or false statement this time.

The Romans built the fort of Anderitum to defend them from the Britains who raided from the Forest of Andred to the north.

Is that true or false? Make your choice now.

All right, if you chose false, then congratulations.

That's the correct answer.

In terms of why it's false, it's because the fort of Anderitum was built as one of nine forts along the Saxon Shore to defend against Saxon pirates.

Okay, let's go for our first task for today.

I'd like you to read the interpretation below.

It's from Sam and it says, "The Romans left Britain, so it was pointless for them to have built a fort a Pevensey." And I'd like to think, to what extent do you agree with Sam's interpretation? I'd like you to explain your answer and use at least two different pieces of evidence to support the point that you are going to make.

So pause the video while should do this.

And I see you again in just a moment.

Okay.

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got okay with that task.

Let's think about what you could have said then.

So you could have said, I disagree with Sam's interpretation.

Although the Romans did not use the fort for very long, only for a century or so before pulling their troops outta Britain, it is clear that the fort at Pevensey was absolutely necessary.

The fort was built to protect the Saxon Shore from Saxon pirate raids.

We can see how important this was, once the Romans left, as Saxon pirate raids on Pevensey became an increasing problem.

Without the fighting ability of the Roman soldiers, the people who moved into Anderitum were unable to resist the Saxon raiders.

This culminated in the devastating raid of 461 CE, when Saxon pirates slaughtered everyone who lived there.

This proved that Saxon pirates were clearly a problem that a garrisoned fort at Pevensey was designed to resist.

So if you a different opinion to myself, that's absolutely fine, as long as you can support your evidence and you've explained how the evidence supports your point, that's the key thing there.

But hopefully, your answer follows a similar structure to mine.

Right, let's move on then to our second learning cycle of today, which is looking at William's use of Pevensey Castle.

So when William landed at Pevensey on the 28th of September 1066, the coastline was undefended following Harold's decision to disband the field, which William probably already knew from his spies in England.

His first action was to secure his position, and he did this by building a castle inside the Roman forts.

This castle was the first of what was to become the classic Norman motte-and-bailey castles that are built all over England.

These castles were incredibly quick to build, taken between one and two weeks to complete, are usually by using a large amount of local Anglo-Saxon labour.

As England had almost no knowledge of castles.

They were remarkably effective at preventing Anglo-Saxon attacks.

However, William had no intention of waiting for a week to direct his castle.

He had thought ahead and he had prebuilt a wooden castle whilst he was still in Normandy.

He then deconstructed his castle and he transported the pre-cut timbers across the English channel, along with his army and rebuilt the castle inside of the Roman walls.

And the castle was fully complete by the end of the first day, making William and his troops much safer from any possible Anglo-Saxon attacks.

The image on the screen in front of you is from the Bayeux Tapestry and above the Bayeux Tapestry it says that they were constructing a motte-and-bailey castle.

And I dunno if you noticed that.

It says Hastinga, which is is modern day Hastings.

Historians are actually unsure.

This may well be a depiction of the creation of the motte-and-bailey castle in Pevensey, or it might be Hastings historian's a little bit unsure about that one.

In any case, William took further action to improve his defensive position alongside building a motte-and-bailey castle within a day, he also ordered his soldiers to make repairs to the Roman walls wherever they had deteriorated significantly.

Others were tasked with digging a ditch across the narrow peninsula in order to reduce the threats of a land attack.

And in order to make himself aware of his surroundings, the Roman D-tower in the northwest corner was raised in heights to provide an observation points, so that if the Anglo-Saxons the vance through the Forest of Andred and marshland to the north, William would immediately know about it.

Well, another check for understanding now.

So what style of castle did the Normans construct at Pevensey? Was it a concentric castle, a motte-and-bailey castle, or a stone keep castle? Make your choice now.

All right, if you chose b, then well done.

That's the correct answer.

And another check for understanding, it's a discussion based question this time.

I'd like to think, what were the benefits for the Normans of constructing a pre-built castle at Pevensey? So I'd like you to make a little list of all of the benefits from this.

Pause the video while should do this, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you got okay with that task.

Let's think about what we could have said then.

So you might have said that it was very quick to construct.

That it was guaranteed to have all the materials needed to build a castle.

It provides additional defence if it was needed.

And it also sends a message that the Normans are serious about this invasion.

So if you've got any other answers then different to myself that's on the screen there in front of you, then that's brilliant.

But I hope you've got at least a couple of those on the screen there as well.

All right, let's go for our next task for today.

So I'd like to write a paragraph, just one paragraph, explaining how the Normans used the existing Roman fort to their advantage at Pevensey.

So pause the video while you consider that question and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you got okay with that task.

Let's think about what you could have said then.

So you might have said that the Normans used the existing Roman forts to their advantage to create a strong defensive position at Pevensey.

The fort was located on a peninsula with a narrow spit attaching it to the mainland.

The Normans improved the defensive location that the Romans had originally chosen by digging a ditch across the peninsula, limiting the ability of attackers to reach the forts.

The Normans also repaired sections of the Roman walls, which had deteriorated to further their defensive perimeter and to save time in building new defences.

The Normans use these walls to surround their motte-and-bailey castle, strengthening their defensive position even more.

So hopefully, you've thought about some of the same things that I thought about there, but if you've got additional ideas and different ways that the Normans use the existing defensive position at Pevensey, then that's really, really great as well.

So well done.

Right, let's go for our third and final learning cycle of the day, which is looking at Pevensey Castle after the Battle of Hastings.

So following William's victory at the Battle of Hastings on the 14th of October 1066, and his subsequent coronation on Christmas Day, Pevensey Castle remained an important location for the Normans.

The reason being is that it offered one of the quickest routes to Normandy, as well as being just by itself an excellent defensive location.

It also allowed for quick attacks on both land and sea.

Mirroring his arrival in England.

William the Conqueror used Pevensey Castle as the location to leave England in 1067 for his victory tour of Normandy.

And it was here that he made a show of rewarding his followers with Grants of land.

And he did this in front of a large audience of defeated Anglo-Saxon Noble.

So it was very much a performative show.

It's likely that it was at this point that William granted the defence of Pevensey Castle and the surrounding area to one of his half-brothers, a man called Roberts, who was the Count of Mortain.

Historians believe that it was probably Robert that began the conversion of the wooden motte-and-bailey castle into a more permanent stone castle.

Robert also refortified the existing Roman walls and converted the large interior space into two separate baileys, an inner bailey and an outer bailey, which was separated by a ditch and a palisade wall.

And a palisade is a wall of wooden spikes.

It's recorded that Robert founded a town adjacent to Pevensey Castle, although historians are unsure as to whether this was the village of Pevensey itself, which if it had done so, it would've been located on the very edge of the peninsula to the east of the walls, or whether it was the village of Westham, which was to the west of the castle and it was on the mainland.

The village Pevensey would make logical sense with it being right on the walls of the former Roman walls of Anderitum.

However, Westham also, it resembles many other Norman towns that were built at this time in terms of its layouts.

So it could well be one or the other of those two.

If you look at the screen in front of you there, you can see an image, an aerial plan of Pevensey Castle.

And you can see there that it was extended and it was built upon at various different points.

So the dark black points those are the Roman walls, that's the original Roman fort of Anderitum and the green bit there that is what the Norman's introduced and almost certainly would've been Robert, Count of Mortain.

He would started introducing this as well.

The dotted line that would've been the palisade wall separating the inner and outer baileys and all of the pink buildings were built a little bit later on as well outside of the area that we are currently looking at.

Okay, let's go for another check for understanding now.

So I'd like to identify two reasons why Pevensey continue to be seen as important to the Normans after their successful conquest of England.

Was it because it was a fast route to Normandy? Was it because it protected a large town? Was it because it was situated upon a silver mine? Or was it a strong defensive location? So choose two of those options now.

Okay, if you chose a and d, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

And let's go for another check for understanding, once again.

I'd like to identify two improvements that Robert, Count of Mortain made to Pevensey Castle when he took control of it.

So did he build a permanent harbour? Did he extended the Roman walls? Did he rebuild the castle in stone? Or did he refortify the Roman walls? So choose two of those options now.

Okay, if you chose c and d, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

Okay, let's go for our next task.

I'd like to complete the table to show how Pevensey Castle has been adapted since its foundation.

I'd like to try and include at least three points for each side.

So three changes that were made by William the Conqueror.

And try and think of at least three changes made by Robert, Count of Mortain.

So you can just do this in bullet points if you'd like.

So pause the video while you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you've got okay with that task.

Let's think about what you could have said then.

So in terms of the changes made by William the Conqueror, you might identify the fact that he built a motte-and-bailey castle inside the Roman forts.

That he repaired some of the existing Roman walls.

That he dug a ditch across the narrow peninsula across the spit of land there.

And he also raised the Roman D-tower in the northwest corner as well.

In terms of what Robert, Count of Mortain did, he began the conversion of the wooden motte-and-bailey castle into a stone castle.

He refortified again the existing Roman walls.

He converted the large interior space into two separate baileys, the inner bailey and the outer bailey.

And he also founded a town adjacent to Pevensey Castle.

Whether that's Pevensey or Westham, we're not too sure, but regardless, he most certainly did found the town.

So hopefully, you've got some of those answers in your table as well.

Right, let's move on then to our next and final task for today.

So I'd like to explain two ways in which Pevensey Castle was adapted by William the Conqueror.

So use the table you've just been filling in, but with the last table, hopefully, you've just been doing the bullet points.

Now, I want to explain it as well.

So think about exactly the reasons why William made his adaptations and how exactly they would've helped.

So pause the video while to complete this task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hope you got okay with that task.

Let's think what you could have said.

So you might have said, one way in which Pevensey Castle was adapted by William the Conqueror was the motte-and-bailey castle that the Normans built upon their arrival in 1066.

The original Roman fort did not have a castle inside as the Romans saw no need for one.

However, the Normans were expert castle-builders and use their expertise to improve the defensive capabilities of Pevensey Castle as they feared an attack from the Anglo-Saxons.

Another way in which Pevensey Castle was adapted by William the Conqueror was the raising of one of the D-towers by the Normans to provide a better observation points.

The Romans built the D-towers as part of their original design for the forts, but the Normans extended the height of the D-tower in the northwest corner in order to give them a greater chance of spotting any Anglo-Saxon soldiers who might be approaching.

So if you've got different adaptations than myself, that's great, as long as you explain the reasons why they were done exactly what was done.

That's what I'm looking for there.

So that would be great if you're doing that.

Okay, let's summarise today's lesson then.

So the structure that became Pevensey Castle was originally a Roman fort called Anderitum.

Upon arrival in England, the Normans added a motte-and-bailey castle to the existing Roman forts.

Pevensey was therefore the first motte-and-bailey castle built by the Normans in England.

The original castle was a wooden structure made from pre-cut timbers.

And following the Norman Conquest, Pevensey Castle was strengthened further by one of William's half-brothers, Robert, Count of Mortain.

It is likely that he rebuilt it in stone.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully, you've enjoyed yourself.

Hope you learn some thing, and hopefully, I'll see you again next time.

Bye-bye.