Rendering of Medieval Castle Walls

[Codsticker]

I'm curious about when they might have stopped rendering castle walls. What state would the walls be in during the ECW? Would the rendering have been repaired in the years leading up to the period?

[Arlequín]

Hard question. I imagine but do not know, that the Wars of the Roses saw the end of any public spending on communal defence, other than Henry VIII on coastal defences and the 'Device Forts'. Beyond that I would be surprised if any community was maintaining its walls much after 1500. Even new 'bling castles' were being built in bare brick before 1500 by 'new money' families; they definitely weren't rendered.

Chester's walls were apparently in a very poor state in 1642, with many buildings built against them, inside and out. Fortifying it meant clearing the ones outside and throwing up earth buttresses, ditches and artillery platforms in their place. That said, the stone half-Roman walls still had to be breached before surrender was entertained by the garrison.

[levied troop]

My best guess at the moment on town walls is that they varied considerably  I’ve been looking more at French town walls during the 100YW - even during that critical period for defence quite a few town walls seem to have been in a poor state, mainly due to lack of money.  I’m assuming the ‘big lord’ for the area preferred to spend his cash on his own castle rather than communal defence and that constant raids from the perfidious English tended to deplete tax revenues for the local council.

A French example again (not sure England would be that different) but the Duc de Berry’s Les Tres Riches Heures shows his castles as shining white and plastered but other walls as a mix of unplastered stone, plastered or exposed brickwork.

[Silent Invader]

A French example again (not sure England would be that different) but the Duc de Berry’s Les Tres Riches Heures shows his castles as shining white and plastered but other walls as a mix of unplastered stone, plastered or exposed brickwork.

From the quote in my post about The White Tower on 25/10:

“contemporary fashion in Europe to paint prestigious buildings white”

Suggestive (but not definitive) that the focus was on specific buildings