p. 1

is conisbrough castle a typical norman castle the normans built castles in england after the battle of hastings in 1066 the normans had defeated the saxons in battle and england was their new territory they built castles to defend their new land the castles served two purposes they were used to defend against enemy soldiers or other foes and they were also used instill fear into towns people you can see the whole surrounding area from the top of the keep so the villagers would have been aware that the lord could see them william duke of normandy would have built a castle at conisbrough because it was strategically positioned to be on top of high ground which makes it harder to attack it also allows the surrounding area to be seen the castle was also placed next to the narrowest part of the river don so they could make a tax on the bridge if people wanted to cross it.

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p. 2

the normans built castles all over england to defend their noblemen conisbrough castle was close to the river don so that they could control the movement of the enemy enforce a tax on the bridge and also acquire fresh water from the river the normans would always make sure the castle is on high ground so that the keep would make a good lookout they also tried to make sure that the high ground was on a rocky outcrop so that the keep was hard to get to there would usually be a moat surrounding the keep and bailey at conisbrough castle the moat wouldn t have been filled with water because underneath there is limestone which would have let the water through this isn t a typical feature of a norman castle most would have a moat filled with water some castles were built on the welsh and scottish borders to stop raiders attacking england they would also be built at ports for the same reason sometimes roads were built around the castle so that traffic in the surrounding area could be controlled the original norman castles were made out of wood and were just a mott and bailey this caused defensive problems so the design was changed over the years the mott and bailey at conisbrough was built in 1070 in 1088 william de warren died and his son became earl of conisbrough castle in 1147 his grandson the third earl died in the crusades the half brother of henry 11 hameline plantagenet who married william s sister isabel was responsible for building conisbrough castle in stone from 1180 1190 the small mott and bailey grew into a stone wall stone keep and inner bailey most of this still stands today the were pictures of the first norman castles in the bayeux tapestry this tapestry contains information about the norman conquest this was

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p. 3

embroidered by william the conquerors wife the pictures in this embroidery would have been factual and with this we can see the original norman castles they were built out of wood and mud this is because they had to build fast after the normans had taken over obviously this posed the threat of being destroyed by fire and maybe even rain so between 1100 and 1175 they were gradually rebuilt and modified into stone the square keeps were changed onto round ones this is because if it was square the defending soldiers had to lean out to fire their weapons whereas in a round keep this was not a problem also the attacking soldiers could mine under the corners of a square keep this would cause the keep to collapse it was also discovered that with a round tower missiles such as rocks would bounce off in most cases it was a more economical way to build castles because when round it would take less stone to build and was also easier to put a roof over over time the bailey walls were strengthened into something called curtain walls these stopped the enemy from getting through so easily to attack the keep they were also thick enough for guards to patrol over the top and it had battlements to protect them towers were added to the square wall to give defenders a better view below the walls the gateway was a weak point in the castles defenses they were strengthened with drawbridges murder holes and sometimes a barbican after 1200 it was common to build a moat round the castle this was sometimes filled with water there is evidence to suggest that the castle at conisbrough was built in norman times because it had slits for windows so it would be possible to fire a bow out without the risk of being hit back all norman castles had baileys and there was norman art work inside

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p. 4

the keep which proves that it is a norman castle the present castle was not the first castle to be built there it would probably have been a motte with a wooden keep the castle at conisbrough was changed over time to include a round keep a curtain wall a draw bridge and also moat no one is exactly sure when this was put in but it was one of the last changes made the castle was attacked in 1317 by thomas earl of lancaster because he believed that his wife had a love affair with earl john de warren the 8th earl then in 1347 he died leaving no children so the castle became the property of the crown by the mid 16th century it had became derelict because there had been no family to take care of the castle so nobody cared about it any more conisbrough castle is similar others like framingham castle because it was built on high ground and orford with its a round keep with strengthened curtain walls also there is a gunfort in kent which also follows the rules of a round keep and thick walls with a moat other ways in which the castle might be a typical norman one are that the lord had a large bedroom with a fireplace and a large eating and entertaining room there is also a chapel in the keep this was common in norman castles the bailey had a dungeon prison for criminals and would have also housed some villagers and soldiers inside like in other norman castles there is also a cellar in the base of the tower to keep produce and equipment in conclusion i don t believe there is such a thing as a typical norman castle as all norman castles differ in one way or another,

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p. 5

the differential part of conisbrough castle is that the wall joins onto the keep and no other castle built by the normans had this feature i believe this is because the keep was built first and the wall put in later leaving no room for it by jake roberts

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p. 6

jake roberts what were the main differences between the beliefs of the republicans/nationalists and the loyalists/unionists in northern ireland there is peace at the moment but up until very recently there have been troubles such as bombings and constant fighting the fighting has been between the protestant loyalists and the catholic nationalists who wanted to become a part of the republic of ireland because they believe ireland is for the irish and shouldn t be under british rule the nationalists fought for their right to be free from english oppression the loyalists who are a part of the church of england didn t want independence and they wanted to remain part of the u.k the contrasting religious sects of the christian faith helped to fuel the hatred between the loyalists and the republicans the most recent of the troubles was the holy cross incident in 2001 where holy cross students catholics began complaining to their parents of threatening verbal abuse when passing the protestant area the protestants on the other hand said that the catholics were vandalizing the protestant area on their way to school and didn t want them traveling through their area but of course they had to use it to get to school during some of the worst times of this dispute fireworks and abuse were thrown at the parents death threats were made to teachers and other staff working in catholic schools in north belfast police increased security and the threats were never acted upon since then there has been an uneasy peace the irish wanted independence from british rule this was called the home rule movement and was spread across the vast majority of ireland this was only limited rule in 1914 this bill was passed but it was postponed by the outbreak of world war one some irish republicans saw home rule as being a too limited form of independence so some rebelled and turned violence on the british rulers in 1916 this was called `the easter rising `the easter rising was the first violent outbreak for irish independence for hundreds of years the british government began sending in troops to fight the ira however this only caused more fighting and violence on

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p. 7

both sides as a `tit for tat scenario the ira were formed to get the brutish british out of ireland and of course the english wouldn t surrender to the `micks so the fighting continued at the build up to world war two the fighting subsided and the irish economy boomed as its industries swelled to make equipment for the military and the men were sent to fight this boom continued into the 50 s until industry in the 60 s all across the u.k began to subside with no help from the british government there was once again trouble in ireland this disorder culminated in the battle of the bogside from12 august 1969 to 14 august 1969 involving a nationalist communal uprising in derry the riot started in a confrontation between catholic residents of the bogside police and members of the apprentice boys of derry who were due to march past the bogside along the city walls rioting between police and loyalists on one side and bogside residents on the other continued for two days before british troops were sent in to restore order the battle sparked vicious sectarian rioting in belfast newry straban and elsewhere starting on 14 august 1969 which left many people dead and many homes burned the riots began with nationalist demonstrations in support of the bogside residents and escalated when a grenade was thrown at a police station afterwards the fighting continued and many irish and british people were hurt and killed the ira began a bombing campaign in ireland and britain is conisbrough castle a typical norman castle?

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p. 8

the normans built castles in england after the battle of hastings in 1066 the normans had defeated the saxons in battle and england was their new territory they built castles to defend their new land the castles served two purposes they were used to defend against enemy soldiers or other foes and they were also used instill fear into towns people you can see the whole surrounding area from the top of the keep so the villagers would have been aware that the lord could see them william duke of normandy would have built a castle at conisbrough because it was strategically positioned to be on top of high ground which makes it harder to attack it also allows the surrounding area to be seen the castle was also placed next to the narrowest part of the river don so they could make a tax on the bridge if people wanted to cross it.

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p. 9

the normans built castles all over england to defend their noblemen conisbrough castle was close to the river don so that they could control the movement of the enemy enforce a tax on the bridge and also acquire fresh water from the river the normans would always make sure the castle is on high ground so that the keep would make a good lookout they also tried to make sure that the high ground was on a rocky outcrop so that the keep was hard to get to there would usually be a moat surrounding the keep and bailey at conisbrough castle the moat wouldn t have been filled with water because underneath there is limestone which would have let the water through this isn t a typical feature of a norman castle most would have a moat filled with water some castles were built on the welsh and scottish borders to stop raiders attacking england they would also be built at ports for the same reason sometimes roads were built around the castle so that traffic in the surrounding area could be controlled the original norman castles were made out of wood and were just a mott and bailey this caused defensive problems so the design was changed over the years the mott and bailey at conisbrough was built in 1070 in 1088 william de warren died and his son became earl of conisbrough castle in 1147 his grandson the third earl died in the crusades the half brother of henry 11 hameline plantagenet who married william s sister isabel was responsible for building conisbrough castle in stone from 1180 1190 the small mott and bailey grew into a stone wall stone keep and inner bailey most of this still stands today the were pictures of the first norman castles in the bayeux tapestry this tapestry contains information about the norman conquest this was embroidered by william the conquerors wife the pictures in this embroidery would have been factual and with this we can see the original norman castles they

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p. 10

were built out of wood and mud this is because they had to build fast after the normans had taken over obviously this posed the threat of being destroyed by fire and maybe even rain so between 1100 and 1175 they were gradually rebuilt and modified into stone the square keeps were changed onto round ones this is because if it was square the defending soldiers had to lean out to fire their weapons whereas in a round keep this was not a problem also the attacking soldiers could mine under the corners of a square keep this would cause the keep to collapse it was also discovered that with a round tower missiles such as rocks would bounce off in most cases it was a more economical way to build castles because when round it would take less stone to build and was also easier to put a roof over over time the bailey walls were strengthened into something called curtain walls these stopped the enemy from getting through so easily to attack the keep they were also thick enough for guards to patrol over the top and it had battlements to protect them towers were added to the square wall to give defenders a better view below the walls the gateway was a weak point in the castles defences they were strengthened with drawbridges murder holes and sometimes a barbican after 1200 it was common to build a moat round the castle this was sometimes filled with water although the barbican was not a norman feature in fact the barbican was invented after the norman period there is evidence to suggest that the castle at conisbrough was built in norman times because it had slits for windows so it would be possible to fire a bow out without the risk of being hit back all norman castles had baileys and there was norman art work inside the keep which proves that it is a norman castle the present castle was not the first castle to be built there it would probably have been a motte with a wooden keep.

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p. 11

the castle at conisbrough was changed over time to include a round keep a curtain wall a draw bridge and also a moat no one is exactly sure when this was put in but it was one of the last changes made but since their was not any water in the moat the keep was round and it had a barbican these are non norman additions which are not found in norman castles the castle was attacked in 1317 by thomas earl of lancaster because he believed that his wife had a love affair with earl john de warren the 8th earl then in 1347 he died leaving no children so the castle became the property of the crown by the mid 16th century it had became derelict because there had been no family to take care of the castle so nobody cared about it any more conisbrough castle is similar others like framingham castle because it was built on high ground and oxford with its a round keep with strengthened curtain walls also there is a gun fort in kent which also follows the rules of a round keep and thick walls with a moat other ways in which the castle might be a typical norman one are that the lord had a large bedroom with a fireplace and a large eating and entertaining room there is also a chapel in the keep this was common in norman castles the bailey had a dungeon prison for criminals and would have also housed some villagers and soldiers inside like in other norman castles there is also a cellar in the base of the tower to keep produce and equipment in conclusion i don t believe there is such a thing as a typical norman castle as all norman castles differ in one way or another the differential part of conisbrough castle is that the wall joins onto the keep and no other castle built by the normans had this feature i believe this is

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p. 12

because the keep was built first and the wall put in later leaving no room for it by jake roberts jake roberts

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p. 13

easter rising the easter rising was a rebellion against the british staged in ireland during easter week 1916 the rising was mounted by irish republicans with the aims of ending british rule in ireland and establishing an irish republic it was one of the most significant events in the history of ireland organised by the irish republican brotherhood the rising lasted from easter monday 24th april to 30th april 1916 the separatists of the easter rising campaign held small pockets of `independence in dublin and proclaimed it an irish republic the rising was suppressed after seven days of fighting and its leaders were courtmartialled and executed but it succeeded in bringing physical force republicanism back to the forefront of irish politics in the 1918 general election the last all-ireland election held in ireland for the british parliament republicans won 73 seats out of 105 on a policy of abstinence from westminster and irish independence this was less than two years after the easter rising in january 1919 the elected members of sinn féin who were not still in prison became members of parliament the british government refused to accept the legitimacy of the newly declared nation leading to the irish war of independence although the easter rising is perhaps the reason we have a republic today the majority of irelands citizens and even nationalists refused to take part in the easter rising as they felt that war and murder in the name of pure nationalism was wrong and would have no part in it the five biggest members and leader of the easter rising were thomas macdonagh major mcbride edward doiley jt clarke and joseph plunket the leader of the easter rising was school teacher and barrister patrick pearse 15 out of the estimated 200 men involved in the easter rising were executed by the british army in particular the execution of james connolly was especially barbaric because of wounds he d suffered in fighting he was unable to stand so the soldiers were ordered to tie him to a chair and shoot him this of course showed they had no compassion for the irish and caused the vast majority of irish who wanted to remain british and those who did not want to fight to dislike the british and eventually caused the ira to become increasingly popular with the nationalists.

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p. 14

`black and tans the royal irish constabulary reserve force also known as the `black and tans was a paramilitary force employed by the royal irish constabulary from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in ireland although it was established to target the irish republican army it became notorious through its numerous attacks on the irish civilian population committing inhumane beatings and unjustifiable killings as portrayed in the film `the wind that shakes the barley after the easter rising radical nationalism swelled through ireland and the ira began a guerrilla war against british rule the `black and tans were established and deployed around ireland to stop any opposing rebel force but got became `power mad and began to bully the innocent civilian population members of the black and tans were paid the relatively good wage of 10 shillings a day plus full board and lodging with minimal police training their main role was to strengthen the military might of police posts where they functioned as sentries guards escorts for government agents reinforcement to the regular police and crowd control and mounted a determined counter-insurgency campaign by november 1921 over 9,500 men had joined the royal irish constabulary reserve force with no real training and no one to `police the police they were allowed to run free and do as they liked and due to the ferocity of the tans behaviour in ireland and the atrocities committed feelings continue to run high regarding their actions black and tan or tan remains a pejorative term for the british in ireland and they are still despised by many there however many of the atrocities popularly attributed to the black and tans were probably committed by the far more brutal auxiliary division some were committed by irish ric royal irish constabulary reserve men for instance tomás maccurtain the mayor of cork was assassinated in march 1920 by local ric men and the massacre of 13 civilians at croke park on bloody sunday was also carried out by the ric although a small detachment of auxiliaries were also present moreover the regular british army also committed atrocities burning the towns of mallow and fermoy for example however most republicans did not make a distinction and black and tans was often used as a catch-all term for all police and army groups troops in 1969 after the troubles of the past 60 years the anger between the catholic nationlists and the protostant uninists was over flowing with bomings and shootings over wever ulster should remain apart of the u.k the nationlists wanted to suceed from british parliament and make ireland one hole nation they used a vigerus boming campain in belfast and over seas in england to `beat the british out as it was referd to these acts were carried out by the ira the british priminister margret thatcher sent in the army to restore order and stop the terrorist threat from the ira they were sent in to show the people that westminster had taken intrest and dident wat ulster to sussed but the nationlits and the ira sore it as an act of agression and turing northan ireland into a police state this casued more and more violence.

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