1. Inside Stokesay Castle
Learning Objective:
1. To understand what the inside of Stokesay tells us about life in the reign of Edward I.

2. Task 1
Stick the floor plans of Stokesay into your book. Label each of the key rooms and what they would have been used for.
Strong room for Laurence to store money/valuables
Well or rubbish pit
Store rooms
Great Hall
This was the main space for eating and the main public area of the house.
Kitchens

3. Possibly a room for guests.
The South Tower had comfortable secure living quarters on three levels.
Room with a tiled floor.
Garderobe
Medieval en-suite facilities!
The Solar. This was Laurence’s private living quarters.

4. Medieval Houses
The main feature of grand houses from about the 1180s to the 1500s was the Great Hall.
Most halls had a very similar layout.
At one end would be kitchens and store rooms (pantry, buttery etc.)
Near to these would be the main door into the hall.
A wooden screen would separate the doorway and access to the kitchens from the rest of the hall.
The hall would then be used for eating and social time.
Servants would have slept in the hall on the floor, which would be covered in rushes.
Often at the other end of the hall would be the lord’s private rooms (called the solar).
This meant that the lord and his family could have their own space away from the rest of the household.

5. Task 2 You need to cut out the pictures on your handout.
You then need to annotate these in detail to show the main features of Stokesay.
You will need your notes to answer a question later on in the lesson!

6. The Great Hall
The Great Hall at Stokesay is very similar in layout to other Medieval great halls.
However it also showed how wealthy Laurence of Ludlow was.
Constructing the roof required a lot of skill and several very large trees.
High-quality camerawork from Mr Fryer!

7. Stokesay’s Great Hall Single-span roof
Earlier halls had posts to hold the roof up. To have a roof this big in a private house was a sign of huge wealth.
It also showed Laurence wanted the very latest in design and engineering.
Doorways were similar in style to those in Edward I’s Welsh castles.
Stairs to give access to guest rooms in the North Tower.
Doorway giving access to the kitchen.

8. The Great Hall
Viewing holes allowed people in the solar to watch events in the Great Hall. Often these would be the women of the family.
Windows
These only had glass in the top parts, which was very expensive and a big status symbol. The lower parts were open but had wooden shutters for bad weather.
At the end of the hall would have been a raised platform for Laurence’s table.
The hall was heated by an open fire on a hearth in the middle of the room. There was no chimney – smoke escaped through the roof.

9. Inside the Kitchen What do you observe?
The kitchens have faint remains of wall paintings. If Laurence went to the trouble of having decorations in the kitchens, it’s very likely the rest of the house would have been very well decorated, again showing his wealth.

10. The North Tower The North Tower would probably have been for guests.
One of the rooms has this tiled floor.
To us it looks nothing special…but actually it is!
Why?

11. Encaustic Tiles These are known as encaustic tiles.
Many of them have patterns.
The patterns were formed from different colours of clay.
They run right through the tile.
This means even if the tile gets worn, the pattern is still there.
They were made by skilled craftsmen and were expensive.
They were often only found in castles or cathedrals.
Therefore Laurence was clearly showing his visitors just how rich he was!

12. The Solar This would have been Laurence’s private living area.
The woodwork there now is later – from the early 1600s.

13. This room was a store for wine/beer barrels!
Beneath the Solar…
What could have caused these marks on the wall?
This room was a store for wine/beer barrels!

14. What’s This?! Stokesay had several garderobes.
These were toilets which would empty into the moat.
Again, these were a sign of wealth – ordinary houses would just have a bucket!
They would also be a place to hang up clothes.
Why?!

15. The South Tower
The South Tower contained two large and comfortable rooms.
They had fireplaces with chimneys.
Garderobes were built into the walls.
The rooms were well lit.
The tower gave excellent views over the surrounding area.
Again, this all showed great wealth.
In the basement is a room with no latrines or fireplace.
This would probably have been a store – perhaps another secure area for Laurence to keep money/goods.

16. Your Task
Answer this question in detail. Make sure you include lots of pieces of evidence to support your points.
How does the inside of Stokesay Castle show Laurence of Ludlow’s wealth and status?