Following the Norman invasion of England in 1066, there was—for centuries afterwards—an obsession almost for building castles as magnates secured their rule throughout the land, led of course from the top, by the monarch.

Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire

Many of these castles still stand today, mostly as ruins. Some in a more advanced state of dereliction than others. During the Civil Wars of the mid-seventeenth century, many castles were deliberately demolished or ‘slighted‘. But even in their diminished states, these castles still remind us of the power struggles that dominated our landscape for centuries.

As keen English Heritage and National Trust members, Steph and I have visited quite a number of the castles in their care. And since we moved north to Newcastle 21 months ago, we have enjoyed exploring the Northumbrian landscape and the numerous castles (and Roman remains) that can be found there.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to map all the fortifications—ancient hill forts, Roman forts, castles, and fortified manor houses—that we have visited over the past decade. Just click on each of the icons to view an image and links to different websites or posts in this blog.

I have color-coded the icons thus:

• Black: pre-historic and pre-Roman (pre-AD 43)
• Green: Roman (43 – 410)
• Yellow: Norman (1066 – 1154)
• Red: early and late Plantagenet (1154 – 1399; including one castle in Scotland and another in Northern Ireland)
• Blue: Lancastrian (1399 – 1461)
• Purple: Tudor (1485 – 1603)
• Brown: Stuart (1603 – 1714 – with Interregnum)
• Grey: Hanoverian (1714 – 1901)