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HistoryThe Norman Conquest, 1066–108738 min★★ difficulty

Lesson 3: Conquest by castle

A coronation did not mean England was conquered; fortification, land grants and garrisons extended control.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Britain 1066-1901: Understand the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509
  • Britain 1066-1901: Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

Key learning points

  • • Motte and bailey
  • • A political landscape

This lesson at a glance

  • 38 minutes
  • 17 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

impactnormanconquestsocietyestablishment

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 17 · Discover6%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 17

Watch first

Lesson 3: Conquest by castle

An English teaching video on this topic from TED-Ed. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 17

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that William won at Hastings in October 1066 and was crowned that Christmas, but that most of England had not yet submitted.

Recap: Lesson 2: The battles of 1066
3

Key words

Part 3 of 17

Key words

Words you'll need today

Motte
A raised mound of earth carrying a tower.
Bailey
The enclosed yard below a motte, protected by a ditch and fence.
Garrison
The soldiers stationed in a castle or town.
Keep
The strong central tower of a castle, later built in stone.
4

Your lesson plan

Part 4 of 17

Lesson brief

How did castles turn victory into control?

By the end, you will be able to

  • • Place events accurately in the conquest chronology
  • • Explain causes and consequences rather than list them
  • • Use the named evidence with attention to provenance

Resources

  • • The Norman Conquest and resistance (1066–1071)
  • • Lesson notes and marked knowledge check
4 minRecall the chronology and frame the enquiry
15 minRead the textbook explanation and build the argument
11 minInterrogate the archive evidence in context
8 minAnswer the checks and write a supported conclusion
5

Learning cycle

Part 5 of 17

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Building control

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 17

Learn

Motte and bailey

Rapid earth-and-timber castles dominated routes and towns. Stone keeps later made power more permanent.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 17

Quick check

An early Norman castle usually had…

8

Reset break

Part 8 of 17

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
9

Quick check

Part 9 of 17

Quick check

Castles were political because…

10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 17

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Castles as politics

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 17

Learn

A political landscape

Castles protected troops and administrators while visibly displacing and intimidating local communities.

12

Quick check

Part 12 of 17

Quick check

A map helps reveal…

13

Investigate evidence

Part 13 of 17

Evidence 1 of 1

map

The Norman Conquest and resistance

Modern historical reconstruction from chronicles and archaeology, 1066–1071

The mapped sequence links Hastings, coronation, castle-building, rebellions and the Harrying of the North.

This is a modern interpretation, not a medieval object. Its value lies in making distance and sequence visible; its choices must still be questioned.

Think like a historian

How does geography help explain where resistance lasted longest?

Source: English Heritage, History of the Norman Conquest

View the archive record ↗
14

Common mix-ups

Part 14 of 17

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • People often think castles were built as comfortable homes. Early Norman castles were tools of military and political control.
  • People often think a coronation ended the conquest. Control had to be built place by place over years.
15

Challenge round

Part 15 of 17

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

16

Mastery quiz

Part 16 of 17

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Lesson 3: Conquest by castle

5 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Why were castles built quickly?

  2. 2. Castles were political because they…

  3. 3. Building a castle in a town often meant…

  4. 4. Stone keeps replaced timber because they were…

  5. 5. A map of castle sites helps reveal…

17

Lesson round-up

Part 17 of 17

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

A factory inspector's notebook, 1842

"I visited the mill at seven in the morning. The machines were already running. I counted fourteen children at the frames, the youngest no more than nine years of age. The overseer told me they work from six until seven, with forty minutes for dinner."

"The air is thick with cotton dust and the windows are kept shut so the thread does not break. Two of the children showed me hands cut by the shuttles. The owner assured me that the work is light and that the families beg him for the places, since without the children's wages the rent cannot be paid."

"I have written to the magistrates. I doubt much will follow from it."

Original source-style text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Who wrote this, when, and why might that make it useful to a historian?
  2. What does the source tell you about children's work — and what does it not tell you?
  3. How far does this source show that mill owners were to blame? Answer with a judgement and evidence.

Source for this lesson

Use this for the source work task below.

The Norman Conquest and resistance

map

Modern historical reconstruction from chronicles and archaeology, 1066–1071

The mapped sequence links Hastings, coronation, castle-building, rebellions and the Harrying of the North.

This is a modern interpretation, not a medieval object. Its value lies in making distance and sequence visible; its choices must still be questioned.

Source: English Heritage, History of the Norman Conquest

View the original record ↗

  • Source work

    Reading

    Read the source closely. Write who made it, when, and what it tells you — then what it does not tell you.

    2 paragraphs

  • Essay answer

    Writing

    Answer the enquiry question with a clear judgement. Use two pieces of evidence and finish with a sentence that weighs them up.

    300–400 words

  • Timeline

    Diagram

    Draw a timeline of the events in this lesson with dates, then photograph it.

    6–8 events

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 17 · Watch & discover

How this is going

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    Understand the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government

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