📚 History Books
The same books we draw on for each castle's Further Reading picks, gathered in one place and grouped by period - Norman conquest to Tudor court to Civil War siege.
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General Histories
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Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain
by Marc Morris - Acclaimed single-volume history of the British castle, Conquest to Civil War.
Find it on AmazonCastle: A History of the Buildings that Shaped Medieval Britain
by Marc Morris - Narrative history built around specific great castles and the people who built them.
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The English Castle: 1066-1650
by John Goodall - The standard scholarly architectural history of the English castle.
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Castles of Britain and Ireland
by Plantagenet Somerset Fry - A region-by-region gazetteer covering over 1,350 castles.
Find it on AmazonThe Norman Conquest
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The Norman Conquest
by Marc Morris - Definitive narrative of 1066 and the first wave of castle-building that followed.
Find it on AmazonEdward I and the Welsh Castles
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A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain
by Marc Morris - Full biography of Edward I, covering the conquest of Wales and his castle-building programme.
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The Welsh Castles of Edward I
by Arnold J. Taylor - The classic authoritative study by the historian who led post-war research at Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech and Beaumaris.
Find it on AmazonCadw Guidebook: Caernarfon Castle
by Arnold Taylor - The official on-site guidebook to Caernarfon Castle.
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Cadw Guidebook: Conwy Castle
by Arnold Taylor / Jeremy A. Ashbee - The official guidebook to Conwy Castle and its town walls.
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Cadw Guidebook: Harlech Castle
by Cadw - The official on-site guidebook to Harlech Castle.
Find it on AmazonCadw Guidebook: Beaumaris Castle
by Cadw - The official on-site guidebook to Beaumaris Castle.
Find it on AmazonScottish Castles and Clans
Castles of the Clans
by Martin Coventry - The strongholds and seats of 750 Scottish families and clans.
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The Castles of Scotland
by Martin Coventry - Comprehensive gazetteer of over 4,000 Scottish castles, towers and historic houses.
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Scotland's Castles
by Chris Tabraham - Overview from the former Principal Inspector of Historic Scotland monuments.
Find it on AmazonWars of the Roses
The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors
by Dan Jones - Fast-paced narrative history of the fifteenth-century dynastic wars.
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The Wars of the Roses
by Alison Weir - Long-standing popular history of the Yorkist-Lancastrian conflict.
Find it on AmazonRichard III: The Self-Made King
by Michael Hicks - Definitive modern academic biography of Richard III, whose power base was Middleham.
Find it on AmazonRichard III: England's Most Controversial King
by Chris Skidmore - Accessible full biography drawing on manuscript evidence.
Find it on AmazonThe Tudor Court
Windsor Castle: A Thousand Years of a Royal Palace
by Steven Brindle - Authoritative illustrated history of Windsor Castle, official Royal Collection Trust publication.
Find it on AmazonThe Boleyns of Hever Castle
by Owen Emmerson & Claire Ridgway - Full-colour illustrated history of the Boleyn family's ownership of Hever Castle.
Find it on AmazonKenilworth Castle (English Heritage Guidebook)
by Richard Morris - Official English Heritage guidebook covering Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley's Kenilworth.
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The Six Wives of Henry VIII
by Alison Weir - The standard popular history of Henry VIII's wives, including Anne Boleyn of Hever.
Find it on AmazonCivil War Sieges
Sieges of the English Civil Wars
by John Barratt - A dozen Civil War sieges examined in detail via eyewitness accounts and archaeology.
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Civil War: The War of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660
by Trevor Royle - Single-volume history of the wider conflict across England, Scotland and Ireland.
Find it on AmazonGod's Fury, England's Fire
by Michael Braddick - Well-regarded modern one-volume history of the English Civil Wars.
Find it on AmazonGhosts and Hauntings
Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland
by Richard Jones - Tours 100 castles across Britain and Ireland with their ghost stories.
Find it on AmazonMost Haunted Castles
by Yvette Fielding & Hannah Shaw - Ten of Britain's most notoriously haunted castles, from the Most Haunted TV presenter.
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In Search of Britain's Haunted Castles
by Marc Alexander & Paul Abrahams - Around 90 castles selected specifically for their ghost lore.
Find it on AmazonFor Younger Readers
See Inside Castles
by Katie Daynes & David Hancock - Interactive flap book for younger children on 13th-century castle life.
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Look Inside a Castle
by Conrad Mason - Usborne flap-book on castle construction and daily life, for slightly older children.
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DK Eyewitness Books: Castle
by Christopher Gravett - Classic illustrated non-fiction reference for ages 8-12.
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