Exploded view
of Hedingham Castle
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Hedingham Castle was built in around 1140 by Aubrey de Vere an Essex land owner. The castle is rectangular in plan and stands to a height of 110 feet. The walls are in places 12 feet thick. The castle originally had a fore-building that acted as the main entrance, but like many of the other existing Keep Towers, this section has been removed. On the second floor of the castle is a huge Norman semi-circular arch with a span of 28 feet, one of the largest of its kind. The keep is similar to Rochester and could have been designed and built by the same architect. The de Veres earned the title of Earls of Oxford by assisting the Empress Matilda with her cause against King Stephen during the Civil War.
This exploded view of the tower keep of the castle at Hedingham shows the separate floors.
Detailed diagrams of each floor can be found on the next page but here you can see the
common features of medieval keeps: -
- Solid construction with chambers built into the thickness of the walls
- Small Norman style windows
- Circular staircases providing the access to each floor
- Main entrance on upper floor via a forebuilding (not shown here)
- One or two large central rooms on each floor.
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