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As soon as William the Conqueror arrived in 1066 he started building castles. At first they
would have been temporary constructions designed to offer some protection for the army that he had
brought with him from Normandy. William may have also brought over prefabricated castles from
Normandy that could be assembled where needed. At Pevensey where he first landed an existing but run-down
fortification built by the Romans was quickly strengthened to provide a secure first base. At
Hastings a Motte and Bailey castle was possibly constructed and again at Dover the existing Roman
fort was refortified. William marched around the south coast of England via Dover to
Canterbury which surrendered to him. From there he attempted to enter London but was forced back.
He then encircled London, taking control of the towns around it. At Wallingford, a crossing
point of the Thames, he built another castle. He built another at Berkhampstead before
London finally surrendered. After becoming King William marched across the south of England
building castles and taking control. At Exeter he had to lay siege to the town until
an agreement was reached. He then built a castle there.
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As the Normans spread out to conquer their new lands, they chose to build their
motte and bailey castles in locations where they could be on hand to put down revolts.
They built inside or near existing towns, usually on high ground or where there was a good water
supply. In the early years the Normans heavy handedly cleared whatever was in their way
to build where they wanted, knocking down housing and striping local areas of building
materials. Later on when their position was more secure, land was bought or swapped for
other areas. When looking at a map of Norman castles, it can be seen that there is a
concentration of sites on the Welsh borders. This probably shows that the Normans had
problems controlling their Welsh neighbours and had to keep a watchful eye on them.
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