Hi there, I'm Mr. Roberts and thanks for joining me for today's history lesson where my job will be to guide you through our history resources.

I'll be making sure that, by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to securely meet our lesson objective.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the key design features of the White Tower.

There are five key terms which we need to make sure we're comfortable with before we start the lesson today.

Romanesque refers to the style of building that was fashionable in Western Europe, which recalled the power of the Roman Empire.

Architecture refers to the design and construction of buildings.

Motte-and-bailey refers to a type of fortification built by the Normans.

A keep is a fortified tower in a castle.

And a mason is somebody who constructs things from stone.

Our lesson on the architecture of the White Tower is separated into two learning phases, and the first part explores the key themes surrounding Norman architecture.

One of the biggest changes that followed the Norman Conquest of England was the change to the built environment.

The Norman's loved an architectural style, known now as Romanesque, which looked back to features of ancient Roman architecture and symbolised strength and power.

As a result, the Normans made use of it in many of their buildings, particularly in their religious building projects.

Before we move on, let's have a brief learning check to make sure we're securing the key information we need.

I'd like you now to answer the following multiple choice question.

What architectural style was the favourite of the Normans? A, motte-and-bailey, B, Normanesque, or, C, Romanesque? Pause the video while you have a think about the right answer and then press play when you've made a decision.

Welcome back and well done if you selected C, it was Romanesque architecture that was favoured by Norman Nobles, architects and masons.

Romanesque architecture included huge stone columns and rounded arches.

Arches were often arranged in arcades, a row of arches with another row on top of them called the triforium, and then a third arcade called the clerestory on top of that.

They created an attractive pattern and sometimes the arches in the top arcade were used for windows.

Next, I'd like you to attempt another multiple choice question.

In ascending order, how are Norman arches arranged architecturally? A, with the triforium on the ground, the arcade above, topped by the clerestory, B, the arcade on the ground with the triforium above, topped by the clerestory, or C, the clerestory on the ground with the arcade above, topped with the triforium.

Pause the video while you have a think about the right answer and then press play when you've made a decision.

Welcome back, and well done if you selected B, Norman arches are arranged architecturally with the arcade on the ground, the triforium above it, topped by the clerestory on the uppermost level.

Norman architects had to be careful about where they positioned windows though.

Too many windows or windows too low down would mean a high wall would not be able to support the weight above it.

To keep walls strong, but still looking Romanesque, many Norman buildings featured blind arcading, a pattern of columns and arches with no windows at all.

Next, I'd like you to answer the following true or false question.

True or false, Norman architects paid little attention to where they placed windows? Pause the video while you come to a decision on what you think is the correct answer and then press play when you are ready to continue.

Welcome back, and well done if you said the answer is false.

Now I'd like you to think about why the answer is false based upon what we've been learning about so far.

As ever, pause the video while you do this and then press play when you are ready to hear the justification.

Welcome back, and well done if you said that Norman architects have to be careful about where they positioned windows as too many windows or windows too low down the walls would mean a high wall would not be able to support the weight above it.

To keep walls strong, but still looking Romanesque, many Norman buildings featured blind arcading.

The Norman's Romanesque arches over doors and windows were often decorated, as were their columns and capitals or the top parts of the columns.

The Normans were very fond of using chevron patterns.

One area that often featured elaborate designs was the tympanum, an arch surrounding a smaller door.

Castles changed the landscape of Norman England too, although four castles have been built in the Welsh marches before 1066 on the orders of Edward the Confessor's Norman nephew, Ralph of Mantes, most Anglo-Saxons had never seen one before.

The Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis stated that, "The fortifications known as castles by the Normans were scarcely known in the English provinces.

So the English, in spite of their courage and love of fighting, could put up only a weak resistance to their enemies." In this passage, is Orderic Vitalist suggesting that William's motte-and-bailey castles were a success or a failure? Pause the video while you make a decision and then press play to resume.

Hello again, and well done if you said that Orderic Vitalis is suggesting here that motte-and-bailey castles were a success as they prevented any kind of strong resistance from the conquered Saxons.

The early Norman Castles, including the fortifications first built in London, were motte-and-bailey castles with fortifications built of wood and earth, rather than stone.

A wooden tower stood on top of the earthen motte and a fence of wooden stakes surrounded the bailey.

The bailey had stables to keep horses, a forge where a blacksmith could repair weapons and armour and make horseshoes, a chapel and accommodation for the castle's garrison, which is the name of a group of troops stationed in a fortress or town to defend it.

Now, I'd like you to answer the question on the screen, what material were early northern motte-and-bailey castles built from? Pause the video briefly while you work out the answer and then press play to continue.

Hello again, and well done if you said they were built from wood and earth, rather than stone, ensuring their relatively cheap and quick construction in comparison to any building made of stone.

Next, I'd like you to describe the typical features of Norman architecture, bearing in mind everything we've been talking about in relation to religious and defensive architecture in the lesson thus far.

That is to say, think about the design and construction of both religious buildings and castles, and include details of this in your answer now.

As ever, pause the video while you complete this task and press play when you're ready for some feedback in the form of a model answer.

Welcome back.

Everyone will likely have written something slightly different for this answer, but well done if you managed to include any or all of the following.

The Norman Conquest brought the Romanesque architectural style, which drew from ancient Roman features to symbolise strength and power.

This style included massive stone columns and rounded arches, often arranged in arcades, rows of arches stacked in tiers.

To maintain the structural integrity of high walls while incorporating Romanesque visual elements, Norman buildings frequently featured blind arcading.

Additionally, Romanesque arches over doors and windows were elaborately decorated with patterns like chevrons, and the tympanum them above smaller doors often showcased intricate designs.

Early Norman castles, such as those first built in London, were primarily motte-and-bailey structures made of wood and earth.

These fortifications consisted of a wooden tower atop an earthen mound, known as a motte, and a fenced area, known as a bailey, housing stables, a forge, a chapel, and accommodations for the garrison.

The rarity of such structures in pre-conquest England meant that the Anglo-Saxon population struggled to mount an effective resistance against the Norman's fortified strongholds.

Really well done there because with that task done, we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson today on the architecture of the White Tower where we'll be learning about how the features of Norman architecture manifested themselves in the architecture of the White Tower and other specific features of the tower's design.

Stone keeps and walls began to replace the wooden buildings and fortifications in the 12th century, though some castles were built with stone earlier than that.

For instance, in Wales, William FitzOsbern's castle at Chepstow featured a huge stone hall and stone fortifications by as early as 1071.

Similarly, Exeter Castle had a stone keep from 1068, even earlier.

The starting date for the construction of the stone-built White Tower is not known precisely, but it was certainly under construction from 1078, and construction was completed by 1100.

Now, I'd like you to take another brief pause and ask you to complete the sentence on the screen using the same word to fill both gaps.

Pause the video while you do this and then press play to continue with our lesson.

Hello again, and well done if you correctly identified that the missing word was construction, so that the sentence now reads as follows, "The starting date for the construction of the stone-built White Tower is not known precisely, but it was certainly under construction from 1078 and was completed by 1100." The architect of the White Tower was a monk from Normandy named Gundulf.

He had been a monk at Caen during the time that Caen Cathedral was built on William's orders.

Gundulf had been made bishop of Rochester in England and also built a castle and cathedral there.

Norman architects often took inspiration and designs from castles back home.

The stone keep at Norwich Castle, for example, was based on a castle at Falaise in Normandy.

They also consulted the writings of Roman architects for the general principles of building enormous stone structures.

Now with that information in mind, please complete the sentence on the screen using the correct person's name, pause the video, and then press play when you are ready to continue with our lesson.

Welcome back, and well done if you identified the person's name as Gundulf so that the sentence sounds like this, "The architect of the White Tower was a monk from Normandy called Gundulf, who had been a monk at Caen when the cathedral there was built on William's orders." The building of the White Tower used masons from Normandy too, though much of the lowest skilled labour would've been English.

Historians know from contemporary records that the construction of the White Tower's defences required so many English labourers that surrounding shires did not have enough men to farm their land.

Now pause the video and try to remember where the White Tower's masons would've come from and press play to reveal the answer.

Hello again, and well done if you said that the Norman masons would've been brought over from Normandy to help build the White Tower.

Clearly, Gundulf was given instructions to build a castle that would dominate London and provide a constant reminder of who controlled the city.

The tower reached 27 and a half metres into the sky with incredibly thick walls, up to four and a half metres thick in places.

The military function of the White Tower is also shown by its narrow windows, which provide light while preventing attackers from getting in.

Only four of these narrow windows remain though in the tower today.

The name of the White Tower comes from the early 13th century or the 1200s, when it was whitewashed on the inside and outside on the orders of King Henry III.

In William's time, it was called the Great Tower, and its huge construction, height and gloomy grey stone must have made it a truly intimidating site.

Next, I'd like you to attempt another true or false question.

True or false, the White Tower had always been known by this name since Norman times? Pause the video while you come to a decision on what you think is the correct answer and then press play when you are ready to continue.

Welcome back, and well done if you said that the answer is false.

Now I'd like you to think about why that answer is false based upon what we've been learning about.

Pause the video while you do this and press play when you are ready to hear the justification.

Hello again, and well done if you said that, in Williams' time, it was called the Great Tower.

The tower was whitewashed on the inside and outside on the orders of King Henry III, from which time it became known as the White Tower due to its new colour.

Gundulf and his masons used a mixture of ragstone from Kent, a strong and long-lasting stone, and Caen stone, specifically imported from Normandy, for finer details and decorations.

One story about the White Tower is that Londoner in the 1080s said stones of the castle walls were held together by blood, possibly because the Normans ground up red Roman bricks to mix into the mortar.

This legend gives some idea of how local people may have viewed these terrifying new buildings.

The White Tower was built as a massive rectangular structure measuring around 36 by 32 metres with four corner turrets.

These originally had pointed roofs.

The domed roofs of the White Tower today were added by Henry VIII.

Three of the towers are square, while the northwest turret is round because inside is a spiral staircase, which was the main way of reaching the different levels of the tower.

As siege warfare developed, square turrets were replaced with round ones as these were harder to undermine.

So the White Tower's square towers are a reminder that this is a castle from the early mediaeval period.

Access to the tower was on the first floor, accessed by a wooden staircase.

The tower today has a modern reconstruction.

This staircase was designed to be knocked away if the castle was under attack.

Today, the White Tower has three floors.

In Norman times, there were only two, plus a basement.

The third floor was added in 1490.

That meant the main roof of the tower was recessed.

It was a lot lower than the top of the tower wall.

This was a defensive feature of early Norman castles.

Each floor was divided into two large rooms by a central wall.

On the second floor was the Chapel of St.

John the Evangelist, constructed in classical Romanesque style using Caen stone, designed as an inspiring and beautiful space inside this grim intimidating structure.

Now let's have a go at another multiple choice question.

What is the key feature of the second floor of the White Tower? A, the corner turrets, B, the large basement, or C, the Chapel of St.

John? Pause the video while you select the answer that you believe to be correct based on what we've been learning about, and then press play on this video when you are ready to continue with this lesson.

Welcome back, and well done if you selected C, the Chapel of St.

John is the key feature of the second floor of the White Tower.

And that brings us onto the first part of our final written task today.

I'd now like you to consider the following statement.

The most important consideration in the construction and design of the White Tower was defence.

Please now complete a table like the one on the screen with evidence that agrees and disagrees with this view.

Try to include its location, its exterior design, its interior design, and its construction.

Pause the video while you complete this task and then press play when you are ready for some suggestions as to what your table might include.

Welcome back, well done if you managed to populate your table with any of the following, in terms of evidence to agree with the idea that the construction and design of the White Tower primarily had defence in mind, well done if you mentioned its strategic location on a bend in the River Thames, the walls which were 27 and a half metres in height and up to 4.

6 metres thick, the narrow windows preventing access, the strong Kentish ragstone and imported Caen stone, and the first floor staircase, which could be removed.

In terms of evidence to disagree with the idea that the construction and design of the White Tower was primarily for defence, well done if you mentioned the inclusion of the Chapel of St.

John built in Romanesque style, showing religious importance, the use of skilled Norman masons showing a desire to be architecturally fashionable, the tower's huge size, showing how its purpose was for intimidation, and how the tower's prominent location reminds locals of Norman control and power.

Well done there.

Now let's move on to the second part of this written task and our last task of today's lesson.

Consider the following now familiar statement, "The most important consideration in the construction and design of the White Tower was defence." I would like you now to write one paragraph to agree with this view and one paragraph to disagree with this view, and you may use your completed table to help you.

Pause the video while you do this, and press play when you're ready for some feedback in the form of a model paragraph to agree and another to disagree based on what we've been learning about today.

Hello again, and well done if your answer sounds anything like this, "The most important consideration in the construction and design of the White Tower was defence.

Its strategic location on a bend in the River Thames enabled control over river traffic and surveillance for approaching threats.

The exterior design with its 27 and a half metre height and up to 4.

6 metre thick walls emphasised fortification, providing both an imposing presence and robust protection.

Narrow windows allowed light while preventing easy access for attackers.

The first floor entrance, accessible by a wooden staircase that could be removed during an attack, further enhanced defence.

The construction used strong Kentish ragstone for durability and strategically imported Caen stone for essential structural details, making the White Tower a formidable stronghold.

However, the White Tower's construction also reflected other significant considerations beyond defence.

The Chapel of St.

John, built in an elegant Romanesque style with Caen stone, highlights the importance of religion and the desire to project Norman's spiritual values.

The use of skilled Norman masons and the incorporation of architectural inspiration from Normandy and Roman designs demonstrates a focus on aesthetic and symbolic elements.

The tower's huge size and prominent location within London also served as a constant reminder of Norman authority, aiming to intimidate and dominate the local population psychologically.

So while defence was paramount, the design also integrated political, cultural and religious objectives to consolidate Norman rule in England.

Really well done there.

With that task complete, we've arrived at the end of our lesson today, and all that's left for us to do is to summarise our key learning points, and it would be great if you could remember these going forward.

Firstly, the Norman's favourite architectural style is now known as Romanesque because it recalled features of Roman architecture.

Secondly, the landscape of Norman England became dominated by castles with stone keeps and walls beginning to replace wooden castle buildings and fortifications in the 12th century or the 1100s.

And lastly, the White Tower's architect was a monk from Normandy called Gundulf.

He designed the White Tower as a huge rectangular structure with four corner turrets, two floors, incredibly thick walls, and a space inside to house a chapel.

Thank you so much for joining me for our lesson today, it's been a real pleasure to guide you through our history learning resources, and I very much look forward to seeing you again in the future where we'll be looking at the function of the White Tower.