Trim Worksheet for Primary schools

Trim Castle is the biggest Norman Castle in . It was built by the Norman Baron Hugh in the 1170s. He built it beside the at a place which had a crossing point, called a ford. The Irish name for Trim is Baile Átha Troim, which means ‘Town of the Elder Ford’. By the time the castle wall was finished it would have the shape which we know today. At the entrance was the main gate and it had powerful defences. The castle had several towers on the wall and these were defended by soldiers on duty. The wall on the outside of the castle is called the curtain wall but not because people hung curtains from it. The big building in the centre of the castle is called the Keep. When it was finally finished to the height we see today, it had three floors. The Keep is where the Lord and Lady and their family had their bedrooms, called chambers. It was also the place where a lot of the business of Norman rule in De Lacy’s territory, called the Liberty of Meath, was carried out.

Questions

1. Why do you think that Hugh de Lacy built his biggest castle beside the river Boyne at Trim?

2. Can you rearrange the letters and find the names of the gate defences which you can find at Trim Castle?

LTPLOCIUSR GABEDRORIW WAROR POLO DRMRUE ELOH TOAM

3. Which cross shape does the Keep look like from above?

4. Which of these stones was not used to build Trim Castle? LIMESTONE SANDSTONE GRANITE

5. In what colour was the outside of the Keep probably painted? PINK PURPLE WHITE RED

. 6. Which of these family names do you think come from the ?

1. O’SHAUGHNESSY 2. FITZGERALD 3. FLEMING

4. SAYEH 5. PRENDERGAST 6. SIKORSKI 7. DILLON

8. PETIT 9. LACY 10. O’BRIEN 11. ROCHE

12. SCHILLACI 13. MCCARTHY

7. The remains of this can be seen in the ditch beside the Keep? (A) What is it called? (B) Do you know what it was used for?

Lime Kiln Schematic Drawing. © Copyright Control

8. When the blocks of stone were cut out, people needed something to stick the stones together. Today we use cement. But what did they use in medieval times when Trim Castle was built? M _ r _ _ r What were the three things you needed to make this very sticky stuff? L _ _ _, S _ _ _ and W _ _ _ _ _

9. To take a castle, soldiers had to lay siege to it. Can you name these siege weapons? T _ _ b _ c _ _ t B_tt_ _ _ _g R _m S _ e g _ T _ w _ _

10. From which animal did the fat for making candles used in medieval mostly come from? What was it called? T _ l _ _ w

11. What type of horrible prison did they have at Trim Castle? (Hint: The word comes from the French word ‘Oublier’, which means, ‘to forget’.) O _ b _ _ _ tt _

12. What kind of staircase is found inside Trim Castle Keep?

A CURVED STAIRCASE A ROUNDY STAIRCASE . A SPIRAL STAIRCASE