In winter, with no refrigeration, there was little fresh food. On Fridays and many other days throughout the year, people ate fish instead and Goodrich Castle cooks got through 24,000 herrings in three months as well as oysters and salmon. He cooked many meats we don't eat today including swans, peacocks, larks and herons, as well as beef, pork, mutton, rabbits and deer caught by Countess Joan's hounds. At Goodrich Castle, Countess Joan's cook 'Isaac of the Kitchen' had to feed up to 200 people two meals a day. So being a castle servant was a sought-after job.Ĭooks were among the busiest castle servants.

Even the lord's leftovers were much tastier than peasant food. They had few days off and little pay, but were given uniforms (called liveries) in their lord's colours and regular meals all year round. Lowlier servants slept anywhere within the castle they could find, and in summer started work at 5.30am, continuing until about 7pm. Ordinary servants ranged from the important steward, butler (in charge of drink) and head groom down to the hot and greasy boy who turned the spit for roasting meat over the fire, and of course the ' gong-farmer.' They slept in feather beds, even though they did have to share them. Medieval books told them how to behave don't blow your nose on the tablecloth, don't spit on the floor when anyone's looking, and 'always beware thy hinder parts of gun's blasting'. It was like being sent away to boarding school. The poshest servants were pages and damsels, or children of wealthy families learning good manners by working in a lordly household. Countess Joan de Valence had nearly 100 servants at Goodrich Castle, and it's hard to imagine how they all crowded into this quite small castle. Slaughtering surrendered soldiers was considered unsporting-but it did happen.īecause all housework was done by hand, castles were full of servants -especially when the owner was at home. The defenders ate horses, dogs, cats, rats and even their leather belts before finally surrendering. Many castles had tall cross-shaped loops in their walls for longbow men to shoot from, with smaller loops for deadly crossbows.ĭuring long sieges (as at Kenilworth Castle in 1266) starvation was the enemy's best weapon. At the great siege of Dover Castle in 1216, 140 knights and perhaps a thousand sergeants (the medieval name for any fully-equipped soldier) defended the fortress against the French.įor hand-to-hand fighting (there was plenty of that at Dover) they'd use swords, spears and axes, with longbows and arrows to keep the enemy at a distance.

The soldiers slept in a dormitory.īut when attack threatened, you'd pack as many soldiers as you could into the castle. They'd be commanded by the constable or castellan, who stood in for the owner and lived in his own rooms (there's a Constable's Gate at Dover Castle). This was just enough to open the gate, operate the portcullis and drawbridge and patrol the walls against stray robbers who tried to break in. In peacetime, a small castle might have a garrison of only a dozen soldiers or even fewer. Read more about the people of Goodrich CastleĬastles were no use without soldiers to defend them. The Earls of Northumberland's Great Tower within Warkworth Castle had its own wine-cellars, kitchens, hall, chapel and bedrooms.įor the best experience of lordly life in a castle, go to Henry II's royal palace in the keep of Dover Castle, colourfully recreated as it looked in about 1185. Some castles had their lordly living rooms in a completely separate building a castle within a castle, which could be defended even if the rest of the fortress fell. These were usually in the safest part of the castle, and only trusted servants or honoured guests were allowed in. There was great excitement (and a rapid clean-up) in 1296 when she arrived there with a long procession of carts and waggons, over 50 horses and 194 followers.Ĭastle owners always had private 'apartments', or at least a bedroom with an en-suite loo and a chamber where they welcomed visitors. Kings of England owned dozens of castles, and could never have visited them all.Ĭountess Joan de Valence, a widow, often travelled between her four castles and many manor houses, but Goodrich Castle seems to have been a favourite. The most important person in a castle was the owner -the king, lord, knight or lady. The new Members' area allows you view details of your membership and your payments as well as requesting amendments. Please login or register for the Members' area. LOGIN TO MEMBERS' AREA LOGIN TO THE MEMBERS' AREA REGISTER FOR THE MEMBERS' AREA

Medieval last names for jobs