English Castle

by François Matarasso

A history of and guide to the English castle, illustrated with plans, this book is the result of the author's research and sketching. It contains county-by-county gazetteers.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1993

About the author

François Matarasso is a writer, researcher and consultant with 25 years' experience in community-based arts development. He specialises in practice-led research, especially on the impact of culture, and in organisational support across the cultural sector. He has worked for international agencies, national and local governments, foundations and cultural organisations in some 30 countries. His work has been widely published and translated.

Reviews

[Jodi]

Okay, this book has been on my shelf for 30 years and although most of the information can be found on the internet, there is a reluctance to part/recycle it. It was awarded to me as a prize for being the first person to successfully complete a crossword puzzle in Realm Magazine. After recently spying it, this reviewer re-read it and decided to write a formal review.

François Matarasso’s The English Castle is accessible (it was used to embellish a lesson in a World History course for many years) and combines architectural history with a guidebook. Matarasso provides a clear progression of how castles evolved from defensive structures to symbols of power not only via narrative but by extensive use of illustrations, drawings, and plans. These set this book apart. The author stresses how castles provided the “dialogue between function and the expression of power” as political, military and social structures.

Matarasso’s illustrations show for example, the layout of a motte-and-bailey castle, gatehouses dynamic changes and the arrangement of living quarters allowing readers unfamiliar with architectural terminology a needed visual aide.
Obviously, at 224 pages, the reader should not look to this book for deeply analytical nor scholarly study but keep it handy for a concise, knowledge based, guide for your next explorations of English castles.