How uncomfortable is living in a castle?

Living in a historical castle would not have been pleasant—in fact, lords wealthy enough to afford multiple residences often spent hardly any time in their castles, preferring their much more comfortable manor houses. Castles were cold, dark, smelly, unsanitary, and just overall not great to live in.



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Despite needing a lot of money to be able to afford the luxury of building a castle, living in a castle today may seem rather miserable due to how under-developed they were as buildings during the Middle Ages.

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Living in a medieval castle was often uncomfortable and even hazardous, particularly for those who were not part of the nobility or royalty. For example, despite their grandeur and imposing appearance, many castles lacked basic amenities like running water, central heating, and proper ventilation.

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As the gate is always a vulnerable point of a castle, towers may be built near it to strengthen the defences at this point. In crusader castles, there is often a gate tower, with the gate passage leading through the base of the tower itself.

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After the 16th century, castles declined as a mode of defense, mostly because of the invention and improvement of heavy cannons and mortars. This artillery could throw heavy cannonballs with so much force that even strong curtain walls could not hold up.

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Castles and manor houses often smelled damp and musty. To counteract this, herbs and rushes were strewn across the floors.

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During the late Middle Ages, from the 10th to the 16th centuries, kings and lords lived in castles. As well as the lord, the lady (his wife), and their family there were lots of staff. Some were important officials, such as the constable who took care of the castle when the lord was away.

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At the time of Chr tien de Troyes, the rooms where the lord of a castle, his family and his knights lived and ate and slept were in the Keep (called the Donjon), the rectangular tower inside the walls of a castle. This was meant to be the strongest and safest place.

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Just like a private island, castles vary wildly in cost. But this may come as a surprise: A castle can cost as much as a house. On Le Figaro's website, for example, you'll find 315 listings — many of them smaller residential structures — priced at under 1 million euros ($1.3 million USD).

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Without electricity and just wood for heat, castles were often dark and cold in Medieval times, Bachrach said.

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In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as 'garderobes', and the waste dropped into a pit below.

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always warm- just above normal room temperature.

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No-one lives in Edinburgh Castle now. From the 17th century onwards it was used as a military base. Parts are still run by the army, but it is now predominantly a tourist attraction.

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