HISTORY Framlingham and Orford Castles

ENGLISH HERITAGE TEACHER’S KIT
Framlingham and Orford Castles
The history of these two castles has been inextricably linked for the past 1000
years. Providing state of the art defences for Henry II and the rival Bigod family,
the castles dominated the Suolk landscape. It is recommended that you visit both
castles to gain a greater understanding of their history. This resource will help you
to interpret the properties and provide you with engaging activity ideas to
undertake with your students.
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C onstable’s chamber
This room was no doubt allocated to
an important ocial due to it’s
proximity to the large warming re and
distance from the lower hall. A urinal
is also located in the outer wall of the
passage, saving a long walk to the
garderobe. The north chamber,
located near to here was also warmed
by the re and was probably allocated
to middle-ranking visitors.
The main stairway can be accessed
from this point, students should note
that it has been designed to give
right-handed defenders space to use
their sword, and hinders attackers
approaching from below.
Basement
This space was used to house food and
water, and was particularly useful
during sieges. The well is nearly 14
metres deep. Due to the close
proximity to the sea, the water from
here was often salty. Therefore water
was collected from the roof though
cisterns and dispersed through pipes
that can be seen dotted around the
keep.
C hapel and chaplain’s chamber
The chapel was the most highly
decorated space within the keep, and
many of the decorative arches still
survive. Students should be able to
locate the piscine for washing sacred
vessels, two cupboards and a squint to
allow people in the outer passageway
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to hear the service. A key defence
mechanism, the portcullis slot, is
concealed beneath the raised wooden
board.
The chamber held a private latrine and
store cupboard for the chaplain’s
private use.
Upper hall
This hall was more highly decorated
than the one below and was used to
entertain important visitors. The room
was topped o by an imposing conical
roof, similar to those seen in Byzantium
(Istanbul), aligning the king with the
great rulers of the past.
Rooms leading o from the hall include
the upper kitchen where meals were
heated and features a single roundarched
replace and herringbone roof
tiles.
T he king’s chamber
This room, complete with a private
latrine, was easily reached from the
upper hall. This was the most
luxurious room in the keep and was
reserved for the king’s use.
Walking up the main staircase from this
space you will come to a short passage
way which has a cistern. This is one of
the cisterns that collected rainwater for
use within the castle. This method of
water collection is similar to that at
Dover Castle.
HISTORY
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