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Field notes

The castle diary of Useless

Useless is the network’s eraser-in-residence. This time it has been posted to the top of a motte with a notebook and a very small flag. Every fact in here has been checked by someone more qualified, i.e. anyone.

Useless, a pink-and-blue eraser with googly eyes
  1. Day 1

    A team of about 100 men took around forty days to build a motte. I took around forty days to build a sandcastle. It was a very small beach and I am a very small eraser. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  2. Day 2

    Norman towers were made in pieces and put up like enormous flat-pack furniture. Nine hundred years later, people are still finding a spare screw. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  3. Day 3

    English Heritage says the tower was decidedly uncomfortable to live in. My pencil case is also decidedly uncomfortable. At least nobody’s firing crossbows into it. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  4. Day 4

    The motte was shaped like an upside-down pudding bowl. I asked for pudding. I got a history lesson. Fair. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  5. Day 5

    Some mottes were smeared with clay so attackers couldn’t climb up. Someone smeared glue on me once. Nobody could pick me up for a week. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  6. Day 6

    The bailey was the working part of the castle. I am the working part of the pencil. The pencil gets all the credit. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  7. Day 7

    The Normans were a cavalry army, so stables in the bailey were essential. I am not a horse. I did check. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  8. Day 8

    Ditches have slowly filled as rain and wind washed soil in over 900 or more years. My pencil case has filled with crumbs over about nine weeks. Same process, faster. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  9. Day 9

    Ditches are always on the outside of the bank. My crumbs are always on the inside of the pencil case. It is not as good a defence. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  10. Day 10

    In the Anarchy, a timber tower could be taken apart and moved on, leaving the motte behind. I have also been left behind. On a desk. In a library. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  11. Day 11

    Some old mottes became prospect mounds with a good view over the land. My best view is from the top of a ruler. It is not a very tall ruler. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  12. Day 12

    Burial mounds and windmill mounds have puzzled even archaeologists. I have puzzled a teacher. She thought I was a cheese cube. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight

  13. Day 13

    At Totnes, rents were paid to the lord and offenders were tried and locked up. In my pencil case, offenders are just rubbed out. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle

  14. Day 14

    Domen Castell’s earthworks became a bowling green. I have been mistaken for a bowling ball. It did not go well for the skittles. Or me. Cadw: Scheduled monument report, Domen Castell, Welshpool

  15. Day 15

    Duffus got 200 oaks for its floors and roofs. I got one pencil sharpener for my birthday. Not that I’m comparing. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle, history and stories

  16. Day 16

    The Bayeux Tapestry is actually an embroidery. I am actually an eraser, not a rubber duck. We all have our labels. Bayeux Museum: Discover the Bayeux Tapestry