The north of the enclosure and the keep, 1060-1204

Romantic view of the keep,
by H. de Jolimont, 1825
Source : Musée de Normandie

   Caen Castle in the 11 th century was to begin with a very large enclosure covering five hectares (12 acres). At the time the main entrance was on the north side, through a powerful tower-gate which strengthened the most vulnerable section of the wall. The duke's residence comprised several buildings, including a chapel, located in the north-west part of the enclosure, its entire south part occupied by St George's church and parish. All that remains of the " Old Ducal Palace " are the foundations that came to light during excavation work.

   By the 12 th century, the castle already looked substantially different. Henry I Beauclerc had two notable additions built on to his father's castle - the keep and the large hall (aula), called the Exchequer Hall. The keep was erected in c. 1120. It was later razed to the ground. It was a large quadrangular-shape tower, flanked with buttresses that had characteristics common to many Anglo-Norman constructions of this type - inner partition wall, entrance on the first floor only accessible via a fore-front.
As for the palace's large hall, it was on two levels, the hall where the sovereign sat in court and presided over banquets was upstairs, with the kitchen and other amenities needed to accommodate the court on the ground floor.
After 1204 and annexation of Normandy to France, King Philip Augustus made the keep entirely self-standing by surrounding it with a chemise with four round corner towers and edged by a moat carved out of the rock, and this led to the removal of the tower-gate in the 11 th century.

The castle in the early 13 th c. : reconstitution by Ch. Fouetillou Source : Musée de Normandie

Link to the future of the keep