CASTLE

PROGRAMME 4: THE AGE OF THE CASTLE AS A HOME

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

00.00 – 00.43

A glimpse at what is to come in this programme, with views of Bodiam Castle.

00.44 – 03.00

We see how domestic living became more important in castle building than the need for defence. Bodiam Castle shows how newly rich nobles could now build castles as a mark of their status.

03.01 – 07.55

The debate over whether Bodiam was ever seriously intended as a 'proper' defensive castle or whether its owner – Sir Edward Dallingridge – was, in fact, just showing off his wealth and power.

07.56 – 17.53

Marc explains how Dallingridge climbed the social ladder by marrying well and how fighting in the Hundred Years War with France gained him huge wealth. We learn what he would have worn in battle and how much this would have cost.

17.54 – 20.05

Dallingridge receives his 'Licence to Crenellate' from Richard II.

20.06 – 25.28

The interior of Bodiam Castle would have been lavish for its time and we find out what the different rooms would have been like.

25.29 – 29.01

We hear the story of how Dallingridge ended up in jail following a local dispute.

29.02 – 38.39

A more detailed examination of the sort of food that was eaten by the nobility at this time and how food and drink was stored and served. An expert in early music shows us the type of instruments that would have been played by minstrels.

38.40 – 44.19

We learn how Dallingridge became a royal counsellor, and look at the role of religious contemplation in his later life.

44.20 – 48.15

A summary of the programme and a preview of programme 5.