The Norman Conquest of England

The Norman Conquest was not just a political or military achievement: it altered the language, the landscape and the building styles of England. Who were the Normans? They were really French-speaking Vikings, who controlled large parts of Italy, Sicily and Antioch in Syria as well as conquering England and parts of Scotland and Ireland. To protect and control their conquest they built a vast number of motte and bailey castles. At first these were wooden structures, but many were later developed further in stone. The most impressive of all is the Tower of London, begun in 1068 as a simple earth fort and developed to display the importance of the king. The Normans also erected a great many ecclesiastical buildings, such as Rochester Cathedral. Norman features are pointed out - many churches were later altered, so their Norman features are no longer obvious. Examples shown include Durham Cathedral, the tiny church of Kilpeck in Hereford and Worcester, and a Norman house in Lincoln that has the same shaped windows and doors as the churches. The landscape also holds many clues to the Norman Conquest. Besides the ditches, mottes and earth banks of the early castles, there are the remains of the great open fields preserved as ridge and furrow strips. Then there are the royal forests the Normans created, such as the New Forest. The Domesday Book is a great property survey of the kingdom; and a glance at the dictionary shows many words still in everyday use that were originally Norman French. The clues to the conquest are still all around us.

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