An illustrated history by David Dawson from Britannia. The internet's most comprehensive information resource for the times, places, events and people of British history. Perhaps the first issue to be dealt with is an answer to the question, "what is a castle?" The English Medieval castle, like its counterparts in Europe, is a unique phenomenon. Most buildings are created to fulfil a single, specific purpose: a church, a house, a factory, a school, a bank, a hotel etc. A castle, depending upon the status of the man who occupied it, could be variously, a military base, a seat of government, a court and a stronghold for the surrounding region. It could be any or all of the above but it was principally the private residence of its owner, his family and his dependents.