Locating Castles Trivia Quiz

Answer: England

Corfe Castle is located in Dorset, England, on the Isle of Purbeck, which is actually a peninsula rather than an island. The original castle was built on the orders of William the Conqueror so dates from the eleventh century. In the first twenty years of his reign the king was responsible for nearly forty new castles being built.

The castle survived until the English Civil War when it was captured by the Parliamentary forces of Oliver Cromwell and demolished. Ruins still remain and have been owned by the National Trust since the 1980s.

Answer: England

This English castle is in Gloucestershire, near the river Severn. This is another castle dating from the eleventh century, but the difference is that it is still occupied as a home. It is the oldest English castle to be owned and lived in by one family - the Berkeleys.

It also boasts a four poster bed which has been described as the oldest to have been in continuous use by the same family.

Answer: England

Located in East Sussex, Bodiam Castle is about ten miles from Hastings on England's southern coast. The castle dates from the fourteenth century and is particularly known for its wide moat. Although the external walls remain largely intact, the castle is a ruin and has been owned by the National Trust since 1926.

Answer: Northern Ireland

Ardglass Castle is unusual in that it was originally a series of warehouses, dating from the fifteenth century, and located by the harbour in the village of Ardglass, County Down, in Northern Ireland. In the late eighteenth century, the warehouses were converted into a house which was occupied by the 1st Baron Lecale, a politician.

His mother, the Duchess of Leinster, also lived there. It was acquired by Ardglass Golf Club in 1911 and remains largely intact as part of the clubhouse into the twenty-first century.

Answer: Northern Ireland

This castle is in Northern Ireland's County Fermanagh and is relatively modern for a British castle, dating only from the fifteenth century. It was built in 1428 to guard a pass into Ulster and was besieged regularly due to its position. It was held by English troops from the early seventeenth century, being used as a garrison until well into the twentieth century.

The castle buildings are in good repair and have been open to the public as museums and a heritage centre since the latter part of the twentieth century.

Answer: Northern Ireland

Carrickfergus Castle dates from Norman times and is situated on the banks of Belfast Lough in Northern Ireland. It was originally built in 1177 by a Norman lord and by the early thirteenth century had been captured by the English. It has been attacked over the years by the Scots, English and French with its main use being an armoury and garrison. Since 1928, it has been owned by the government of Northern Ireland and is open to the public as an ancient monument.

Answer: Scotland

This castle is located in Angus, Scotland, and is where Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who married King George VI, grew up. There has been a castle at Glamis since the fourteenth century, with the present building having been built in the seventeenth century. Although the castle is still privately owned, the public can visit with tours running from May until December most years.

Answer: Scotland

This castle is located on the banks of Loch Ness, so belongs in Scotland, in the Highland region not too far from Inverness. As with so many British castles, all that remains is the ruin of the castle, dating from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries.

The castle was one of those captured by England's King Edward I early on in the battle for Scottish independence. It was partially destroyed following the Jacobite rebellion, which ended in 1746. As with most castles, the ruins attract tourists and Urquart is high on the list of Scotland's 'must see' castles, along with Stirling and Edinburgh.

Answer: Scotland

Tantallon Castle is in East Lothian, in Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth. It was built in the middle of the fourteenth century by the 1st Earl of Douglas, with the cliffs of the Firth providing protection to three sides of the castle. It was the subject of various sieges, including by Oliver Cromwell's forces in the mid seventeenth century, which left it in ruins.

The castle was never repaired, but is maintained as an historic monument by Historic Environment Scotland.

Answer: Wales

Oystermouth Castle is situated on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, with Swansea being the nearest big city. Dating from Norman times, the castle was built in 1106 originally but was soon destroyed with its replacement suffering the same fate. The castle remains which can still be seen are from the castle built in the thirteenth century. By 1650, it had fallen into disrepair but its location makes it a tourist attraction with Swansea Council responsible for its upkeep in the twenty-first century.

Answer: Wales

Located on the island of Anglesey in northwest Wales, Beaumaris is one of the castles built on the orders of Edward I. Construction began in 1295 but the castle was never finished, due to a lack of money - Edward was fighting the Scots at the time. Work continued intermittently before being stopped in 1330, leaving the castle incomplete.

The design of the castle is symmetrical with round towers on each side and, although it was abandoned in the seventeenth century , the walls and towers remain substantially intact.

It is now owned by Cadw, the Welsh historic environment preservation organisation.

Answer: Wales

There are two candidates for the title of Hawarden Castle, but they are both located in the same place in Flintshire, Wales. The new Hawarden Castle was the home of William Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on four separate occasions, but the one which fits better in this quiz is the mediaeval one, the ruins of which are in the grounds of Gladstone's former home.

This castle is believed to date from the thirteenth century and was attacked during fighting for Welsh independence by both Dafydd ap Gruffud and Madoc ap Llywlyn.

Its final downfall came on the orders of Oliver Cromwell in the seventeenth century, leaving the picturesque ruins which are still visible.