the first castles were built in europe in the 9th and 10th centuries.
when were the first castles built in europe?
9th and 10th centuries
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this is a list of castles in the ceremonial county of somerset, england. the first castles - private fortified residences of a lord or noble - were built in somerset following the norman conquest of england, although earlier fortified structures, such as burhs or hill forts, of which there are many in somerset were sometimes historically described as castles. in the aftermath of his victory at the battle of hastings in 1066, william the conqueror entrusted the conquest of the south-west of england to his half-brother robert of mortain. anticipating stiff resistance, robert marched west into somerset, supported by forces under walter of douai, who entered from the north; a third force, under the command of william de moyon, probably landed by sea along the somerset coast. these lords defended the coastline and the north and east of the county with a range of castles, including neroche, montacute and dunster. the castles were carefully positioned to control key settlements, rivers and roads, and were constructed from timber, using either motte-and-bailey or ringwork designs. rebellions soon broke out across the south-west, and montacute was placed under siege in 1069. by the turn of the 12th century, however, many of the smaller castles built in the post-conquest years had already been abandoned.
list of castles in somerset