Castle of the Week: Bodiam Castle

This week's castle is Bodiam Castle in England, and one that I find so incredibly enchanting. So much so in fact, it is the backdrop for my website and facebook page.

Bodiam was built in East Sussex in the late 14th century, to help defend against the French invasion during the Hundred Years War. The castle is surrounded by a moat, houses seven impressive towers, a main twin-towered gatehouse and an outer barbican. The very center of the castle was a large courtyard, which the castle surrounded with its various towers (3 stories high each) and then its connecting buildings within the curtain walls which were 2-stories high: apartments, chambers, a chapel, the pantry, great hall, service rooms, kitchen, stables, etc... There would have been a few bridges to the castle, one at the postern tower at the rear, a drawbridge would have connected the barbican to the main gatehouse. The barbican and outer causeway were on their own sort of island and beyond them was a bridge leading over the massive moat.

Note: all of the garderobes drained to the moat... Any enemy attempting to swim would essentailly be swimming in a large sewer.

Bodiam Castle is now operated by the National Trust, so you can visit it!

Now for some pics...

Looking into the interior of the castle

A view from the moat

The main twin-towered gatehouse

An aerial view of the castle and moat

This painting was done in 1906 showing the overgrowth and  lack of maintenance on the castle, which was then shortly after taken over by the National Trust, cleaned up and restored.

My favorite picture, a sunset surrounds the castle.