Bodiam Castle in East Sussex was built in 1385 for Sir Edward Dallingridge. He was a soldier, King's Knight and Member of Parliament. It was built at a time when there was a constant threat of invasion by the French and also defending his family and property from revolting peasants.
The portcullis is made of oak with iron covering. Possibly the oldest in the country.
Looking above the gate house you can still see the family coat of arms.
A garderobe(toilet). Toilets were emptied by the Gong Scourer or Gong Farmer. The job was often done by children who worked at night to clean out the pots, pits and chutes.
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Look how thick the castle walls were
Sharing with James at Weekend Reflections
even vicariously, I could sense the aged ghosts.
ReplyDeleteAn amazing place. And it's still standing after seven centuries. It looks like it could go for another seven. :-)
ReplyDeleteHerd of it bey never been there, another on the list to visit
ReplyDeleteActually, I cleaned bathrooms at night in office buildings while young! A gong farmer, I!
ReplyDeleteSo many fireplaces and no doubt many servants to look after the fires but they never had the pleasure of a home with central heating.
ReplyDeleteSuch a very neat place. How did you get the shots looking down into the center? Did you climb a tower?
ReplyDeleteWe welcomed a new granddaughter today, our youngest daughter's first child. So that makes three granddaughters total.
Thanks for visiting! It looks peaceful right now, but according to your story, defensive forts were necessary. The portcullis look interesting but also grim. Poor children had to work at night:( Well, it seems the revolting peasants are here again:)
ReplyDeleteCool old castle, and in pretty good shape too!
ReplyDeleteYou could take wonderful pictures ! I have seen it only from outside so it's interesting to me !
ReplyDeleteInteresting pictures of the castle with some great reflections!
ReplyDeleteA great castle, thanks for the interesting history.
ReplyDeleteBodiam is one of our favourite castles - very fairy-tale from the outside. You've got some great shots there!
ReplyDeleteFrom the first photo it almost looks as if it is intact. Not hard at all to imagine it in its heyday. I never though about fireplaces not being present in castles at one time. Wonder how they cooked. Outdoors I guess.
ReplyDeletebeautiful post. from the first few photos it really looks intact.
ReplyDeleteLove the portcullis. That is so definitely a great feature.
ReplyDeletegreat reflections. The old castle seem to have "wet feet". I wonder what it would have felt like living there in those times.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting place! So much history. Thanks for sharing your photos.
ReplyDeleteI love Bodiam. It is a part of my childhood as is so much of this area of the UK
ReplyDeleteMollyx
Lovely pics. I always smile when I hear the phrase revolting peasants. I'm sure both meanings work lol
ReplyDeleteInteresting pictures of the castle with some great reflections!
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Wow what a fantastic castle! I love visiting castles and I will put this one in my list. Poor children who had to clean the toilets...
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