CastleKingBlog:
The
Caerlaverock Castle
What’s our
task?
Well what
can I say; a task to complete given by Mr. OatesSoSimple, was never an easy
task to complete. And our task was to form a group of 4 or even more, and
create a model of a castle using materials they would bring, or what was given
to them. And to even make this much better, we had to base this model of a
castle, on a real castle that has been used in The United Kingdom in the past.
And just because Mr. OatesSoSimple is him, he has to make the task even harder!
Yay, what a joy. Since we were making
castles that had been alive centuries
ago, we had to be like the people who created it. So there was a Baron, a
handful of Knights, and obviously The King. The perfect castle came to mind for
our group, and this was the Caerlaverock Castle.
Our Initial aim for the project:
·
To create a replica of the Caerlaverock castle, to show as a
model.
·
To produce a blog, to keep
you posted.
·
To make posters, to try and persuade people our castle is great
and why.
·
To film ourselves, this will be evidence to show that we created the castle.
·
To compose a brochure, to tell information to guests who visit our
castle.
·
To score as much points as possible, obviously to win, J
·
To try to not lose any points, for any particular reason.
·
Teamwork, we need this so we can produce the project.
·
To not speak to the King, I
wish I could, but it’s all here in black and white.
Why did we choose this castle?
We chose
this castle due to its unique characteristics. The first time we saw it, we were already completely in LOVE. For
example, the Caerlaverock castle had been in the unique shape oddly of a
triangle. This was actually quite better, because as you would know, many of
years ago, when attackers had stormed castles, they usually had the tactic of
knocking down the corners of a castle, which was usually square. This led all
or most of the 4 walls down. Whereas, if you were to knock down one of the
corners of the castle, only 1 would fall down, this is because it had been the
shape it was. Other reasons for our choice towards this castle vary for many
reasons, and these reasons are:
·
It had a triangular moat around it, which makes it harder for attackers
to storm into the castle itself.
·
It takes fewer materials, rather than making a square castle. This
meant it had a much lower budget.
·
It had very tall turret towers; this meant that the people inside
the keep would be able to scope out the area, to know if there is danger.
·
It had important sentimental value to the Scottish race. This was
good because the castle had meant something, and was loyally respected.
·
It had rumored to actually be haunted. This gave the castle
strength, and had intimidated people who dared to attack.
·
It had been on low land, this made it easier for attacking,
because it would be easier to shoot straight forward.
What is the Caerlaverock Castle?
The
Caerlaverock castle is just basically a castle, in a triangular shape, with a
triangular moat that is surrounding the castle. It had been created in the 13th
century in the country area of Dumfries, this had been located Southwestern
England, in Scotland, South Coast. This castle was mostly
known for its owners. The Maxwell family owned this, and used it as housing in
Scotland, back in the day. (It was for them from the 13th century,
to the 17th century) This obviously meant generations, of generations
have passed the castle along the most of their ancestors. But when
they had lived in the castle, the Maxwell family at some point was besieged,
thus driving them to neglect their home, and left it, as they had no choice.
The castle itself had gone through various reconstructions, and had also been
broken down a couple of times. And due to these various physical forms, it was
given the title of, quote: “The most ambitious architecture in the whole of
Scotland”. This monument had much history behind it, and has such un-believable
characteristics regarding the way it’s made, and what it may look like. And
now, the castle is known to be a famous tourist attraction for many keen
foreigners. Our group share something in common with eager people who wish to
visit this life changing castle: it’s that we
both obviously like it.
The Downfall
There are
always going to be flaws in life and in certain things such as this castle. Nothing and nobody’s perfect anyway. Everything
had their share of good and bad, meaning the disadvantages, and the
advantages.
·
It had taken not much land, so it was easier to take down.
·
It had been haunted, thus it would be an intimidation, for even
the people who had lived in the castle.
·
It had been on low land, this was bad because it could mean that
the enemy would have an easier way of attacking with far range weapons.
·
The castle was created of stone, this meant that it had been very
expensive, and was vulnerable to things such as canons and battering rams.
·
Ii was not fully covered; this meant that in the weaker parts of the
castle, they were most likely to be attacked.
·
There were fewer walls to break down; this meant that it was less
work for people to attack it.
In the works
Our
group has spent both night and day trying to make this castle look exceptional
for the judges to see. Even though we
spent our breaks and lunch times, it was all worth it! We had painted until
our hands could not paint, we had gathered materials until we couldn’t anymore,
we cut until we couldn’t cut anymore, and
we had spent literally, FOREVER. W gathered information to share for
everyone, and wrote many many things, but this was actually the thing that had
helped us perform as a group together to complete this task, as we did.
The turn out
The
turnout for our group’s expectations was as we hoped, fabulous! Our castle looks great and unique with its awesome details
and great colour. It had quite looked like the castle we were actually planning
to make! The posters were spot on, they had been colourful as can be, eye
catching, and was filled with information. Isn’t
that something all posters should have? The brochure was great, it had been
quite similar to the posters, it was colourful as can be, eye catching, and was
filled with information. And the best part was the actual video; it was us in
fast forwards making the castle! It literally made me have goose bumps. Our
group was definitely prepared.
Comparing to other castles
Our
group personally thinks that we have loads of competition surrounding and in
the class room’s environment. We have
some hard competition. Yes there had been huge castles from other classes,
based on real castles, which is quite worrying as it raises the amount of
anxiety in the whole of our group. But to be honest, I think ours is actually
quit unique, in a sense it’s quite cute and small in a way. Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Our
group thinks that we have a chance that we can actually win this, because with
the combination of information finding, crafts making, leader, and materials
finder, you could already win with all of those many skills.
But looking back, I think we did a great job.
The Castle King, will be back to write again, don't you worry!
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