The rise of the polygonal tower From Chilham via Caernarfon to Thornbury: The rise of the polygonal tower Charles Hollwey Guy’s Tower, Warwick. Canaletto Warwick. Guy’s Tower, THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNALTHE NO CASTLE 29: 2015-16263 STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 29: 2015-16 The rise of the polygonal tower The rise of the polygonal tower: From Whatever the explanation, there is a general Chilham via Caernarfon to Thornbury consensus that by the 13th century the standard castle had round-based towers. John Kenyon, Charles Hollwey Medieval Fortifications, 2008, concludes this Introduction but goes on further to say, “it is the circular or D-shaped tower which is the dominant form of In visiting and studying castles I have often the 13th century although square, rectangular or noted the prevalence of polygonal towers in polygonal forms were used in later medieval late English and Welsh medieval constructions. castles” (p. 72). Lise Hull highlights the late- The exception to this is in northern England medieval emergence of polygonal towers in her where rectangular towers seem to be the norm. subsequent Understanding Castle Ruins of Eng- I have occasionally contemplated on this po- land & Wales by stating “polygonal towers ap- lygonal prevalence. pear with increasing frequency late in the This paper is an attempt to give some structure history of medieval castles” and also comments to this thinking and to prompt some feedback that they were “built more to impress than to from more informed colleagues. I outline what serve a strictly defensive purpose” (pp. 56, 72). I can find has been written on the subject, put Overall, on tower shape in the 13th and 14th down some thoughts on reasons for particular century Cathcart King comments, The English shapes, provide an “impressionist” analysis on Castle in England & Wales: An Interpretative numbers, set out some speculative timelines History, that “towers were generally speaking and draw some conclusions. I have used the round - but at the end of the period polygonal convention, in castle studies, of polygonal to plans become fairly common particularly octa- mean structures with more than four sides rath- gons and semi-octagons” and “during the 14th er than the strict mathematical definition. Also and 15th centuries rectangular towers were to where I refer to the “late medieval” I define this recover much of their former popularity” (pp. as the period from the end of the 13th century 121-122). This emergence of the polygonal to the early 16th century. tower is also mentioned by authors who have Commentators written specifically on the late medieval period. There is much written in castle literature on Anthony Emery (Greater Medieval Houses tower shape, particularly on the defensive supe- Vol 2), whilst commenting on the 15th century riority of circular towers to rectangular towers. tower at Nottingham Castle, states that “the multi-angular form (i.e. polygonal) was much We can go back to Viollet-le-Duc who com- favoured in the 15th century” (p. 288). mented that the round shape “resisted the ac- tion of the sap and the blows of battering rams M. W. Thompson also highlights this preference better than square ones” in Medieval Military but with an explanation in The Decline of the Architecture, 1860 (p. 119). A more recent Castle, where he states that “the preference for author we can quote is Lise Hull who, in British polygonal shapes we have seen (in 15th century Medieval Castles, states that “round towers castles) with the exception of Caister may have were sturdier than their rectangular counter- arisen from the belief that inclined faces would parts because they more effectively deflected cause the enemy shot to ricochet off” (p. 86). stone missiles and thwarted battering rams and On rectangular towers we can note a perceptive siege weapons”. comment by Sidney Toy, The Castles of Great John Goodall, The English Castle, takes a more Britain, that square towers were more conven- aesthetic view. He believes that “some expla- ient than other forms (p. 103). Others give a nation” for the fashion for circular towers from view that in the North they were used because the start of the reign of King John is the “appeal that area was more conservative, for instance A of the high Gothic” architectural form in con- Hamilton Thompson in his seminal work Mil- trast to the Romanesque form favoured by the itary Architecture in England during the Mid- Normans (p. 292). dle Ages suggests the origin of 14th and 15th THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNALTHE NO CASTLE 29: 2015-16264 STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 29: 2015-16 The rise of the polygonal tower century northern courtyard castles, such as emergence of the rectangular tower as the dom- Bolton in Yorkshire, is the Norman rectangular inant form in the north of England? Was this a keep (p. 316). reflection of the sudden need to build towers because of Scottish raiding? The form being This brief review of the literature does indicate used was that which could be built quickest. there are others, eminent in the field, who have noted this rise in the use of polygonal towers. ● Site Issues: The site may dictate what could be built; for example, it is commonly assumed Factors affecting tower shape and probably correctly that motte tops are To try and understand this further I have then more suited to round or polygonal shapes than considered what factors might influence a rectangular. builder or patron in deciding on the shape of a ● Building Materials: The number of round tower. The following I see as relevant:- church towers in East Anglia is often explained ● Defensive Qualities: You construct a tow- by the absence of good stone for corner quoins in er in a certain way because you believe the the region. Does this also explain the usage of shape gives it defensive advantages. The stat- round towers in the area going back to New ed superiority of round towers over square are Buckenham in Norfolk in the 12th century to seen by many as explaining the dominance of 15th century examples such as Caister in Norfolk? the circular tower form in the 13th and early ● Aesthetic Qualities: You build in a certain 14th century. Viollet-le-Duc (p. 121) has gone manner because it is pleasing to you or you further to suggest beaked towers like the Nar- think it will be to others. Lise Hull’s explana- bonne Gate at Carcassonne, are superior to tion of the polygonal form emphasises this round towers. More recently James Petre, Cru- argument. It is possible certain architects may sader Castles of Cyprus, (p. 340) has highlight- have favoured certain shapes as being more ed the Byzantine use of what he calls “cut aesthetic and we are aware that in the late water towers” i.e. half a hexagon, which I medieval period there are some architects, such would refer to as stylistically hexagonal; this as Henry Yevele and John Lewyn, who could being recommended as a superior form of de- have been very single minded in their designs fence by Byzantine writers. Many might see of buildings. At a particular site a tower form the decline in the numbers of circular towers as may be used because it matches previous work. reflecting a decline in the military aspects of I do wonder if the polygonal nature of the great castles in the late medieval period. tower at Warkworth in Northumberland is ● Residential Qualities: There is a consensus partly to match the polygonal 13th-century that rectangular towers are superior for resi- towers in the rest of the castle (fig. 3). dential purposes. A good example would be ● Fashion: You adopt a style which you be- Rochester in Kent where Edward III replaced lieve is up-to-date and popular. Perhaps you the dilapidated living quarters in the bailey feel it enables you to feel part of a grouping of with two rectangular residential mural towers people who build in a certain style. For in- in the 1340s (fig. 6). This superiority clearly stance, a style of building might be adopted by helps to explain the continued use of rectangu- those at court which is then applied by others lar towers throughout the medieval period. down the social scale who upwardly aspire or ● Ease of Building: I have spoken to senior you might build like your neighbours have just professionals in large building companies who done to show you remain on the same standing. confirm my view that rectangular towers are The article by John Wiles in the Castle Studies quicker and easier to build than round or polyg- Group Journal 27, (2013/14) on the round onal towers. This helps to explain the continued towers of Pembrokeshire, adopting the style of use of this form, especially in the lower status the earl, I would suggest espouses such an buildings. Also in times of stress, rectangular argument. Might the absence of polygonal towers might have been built because of the towers in the North in the first part of the 15th need for urgency. Does this help to explain the century relate to the fall of the House of Percy THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNALTHE NO CASTLE 29: 2015-16265 STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 29: 2015-16 The rise of the polygonal tower who had used such towers in the previous decided to note, where there was evidence of century? The hypothesis, I will argue, is that the stylistic shape and date of all castle towers the circular tower was the fashionable style in built in the late medieval period, based on the 13th century but by the 15th century it was standing remains, archaeology and documenta- the polygonal form.