Sarum Castle: Sharing Ideas on a Medieval Stronghold I Have Researched and Built

[Lady Ivonne 4]

Years ago, with some realism, I have imagined and documented Sarum Castle — a formidable fortress along the North Norfolk Coast in England during the early 1400s fully sustained by its household and town.

Key features which you can consider for your own castle:

• Concentric design: Two defensive layers around the keep, with moats, drawbridges and barbicans.
• Defensive tricks: Trebuchets, mangonels, ballistas, rolling logs, oil and stone tippers along different hidden traps and kill zones.
• Landscape strategy: Plateau placement, river bend and marsh protection as well as concealed paths to dock and town.
• Population: About 740 inhabitants, including warriors and peasants.
• Balanced garrison: 230 archers, 240 infantry, 75 cavalry, plus boat warriors and engineers.
• Efficient workforce: 140 peasants in tool manufacturing, mining, farming and services.

Included are videos and documentation on daily life, other design considerations and even siege scenarios to illustrate how the castle would function in action:

Daily Life

• Tool manufacturing: Bows, swords, spears, armour, candles and cloth.
• Logging and mining: Wood, pitch, iron and stone.
• Livestock farming: Dairy, hunting, eels, geese, pigs, beeswax and wool.
• Crop farming: Hops > ale, apples, wheat > flour > bread, vegetables and vines > wine.
• Services: Religion, law enforcement, medical, sanitation, meals, entertainment, etc.

Siege Scenario

• Waves of attackers charged with reckless fury.
• From the battlements, archers and ballistas rained arrows and bolts, cutting down wave after wave before they reached the walls.
• Mangonels roared to life, hurling colossal rocks that scattered enemy ranks at kill zones.
• Hidden traps at choke points turned breaches into slaughters.
• Burning logs rolled and boiling oil poured on those who dared approach the walls.
• The keep stood untouched, a symbol of defiance.

If prompted, I can explain the positioning of the various buildings or defences else discuss new perspectives such as:

• How the castle compared to real medieval castles.
• The need for more cavalry to scout and secure the surrounding lands under the jurisdiction of the castle.
• How can the castle design be improved efficiently.

Want to learn more about medieval castles, life and warfare? You can explore videos and other references I have also compiled besides diving deeper into the full project here: sarumcastle.wordpress.com/(Blog)

 

Updates

1. Addition of Second Vineyard

The second vineyard can be added but requires some rearrangement of the sheep farms, weaver's workshops and the south stockpile as shown in the "Life and Tour @ Sarum" page of the full project (Blog) on the castle.

 

Sharing a library out of charity — no promotion.

 

Edited May 8 by Lady Ivonne

[Sir Windows 43]

First off welcome to Stronghold Nation! 
That's quite a level of documentation and I quite like the dedication to civilian life on your blog. 👍

[Lady Ivonne 4]

Thanks, Sir Windows, for the warm welcome!

I’m glad you enjoyed the civilian life aspect — I’ve tried to cover not just castle and community design, sieges and battles, but also the everyday rhythms of Stronghold 2.

Blogging about my castle has been a fun way to bring the game to another level, blending strategy with narrative.

Looking forward to sharing more and learning from the community here!

😊

Edited May 9 by Lady Ivonne

[Sir Windows 43]

Adding some narrative to ones game is always fun. I always enjoy reading stories or after action reports people write about their experiences.

Judging by the quotes the attacker during the first siege was Sir Edwin? 😄 

[Lady Ivonne 4]

Spot on, Sir Windows — the attacker was indeed Sir Edwin! 🤣

In my version of events, he struck twice: escaping after the first siege, but after the second failed attempt his fate was sealed as he was captured — and only then was his true identity unveiled. I kept his identity deliberately cloaked in secrecy throughout the earlier page, with the revelation intentionally reserved for the ‘Sieges of Sarum: Close-ups’ page as a fitting conclusion to his campaign.

Edited May 10 by Lady Ivonne

[Lady Ivonne 4]

Truth be told, the attacker in Free Build mode was only the faceless AI enemy lord.

But his pitiful showing begged for a name — and who better than Sir Edwin, master of bungled campaigns in Stronghold 2, to match the defeats? 😁

Edited May 10 by Lady Ivonne

[Sir Windows 43]

Certainly fitting as the hawk or hammer would lead a much more competent siege.