intention of giving the feel of the castle and what it would have been like to be there. For
example the great hall reconstruction shows a feast with many people and tables. This occasion is
most likely to be fictional and there are details in the picture, which do not match up with any
evidence. The floor for instance is shiny, probably marble, which gives the impression of
grandeur, this is perfectly true, as marble would have been extremely expensive and probably too
heavy to be supported as a first floor. The bay window probably has the incorrect amount of inner
windows too, but it does not affect the quality of representation as the picture as it still helps you
get to know how the place would feel.
Kenilworth castle today is in ruins, nearly all of the buildings are badly damaged and it is hard to
see how grand the castle would have looked in the sixteenth century and earlier. The four
representations here show how the castle developed over time and anyone can see how changed
without having to go through books of sources and accounts. The reconstructions make
Kenilworth castle accessible to anyone which cant be a bad thing.
The reconstruction's are likely to be mostly accurate, the outlines of the main buildings and walls
are largely still in tact today. The present evidence of a dam and the features of water gates as
well as marshy land indicates the presence of a large mere which has been included on all the
representations. The large features, which give the overall impression of the castle, are going to
be mostly accurate in the representations and it is only minor things, which may be subject to the
artist’s imagination. For instance the thin towers around the great hall in the fourteenth century
and the absence of a chapel, which’s foundations remain today close to the long barn.
To conclude I think modern pictorial representations are accurate enough for their purpose,
giving people the overall feel of the structure. Individual instances of error in reconstructions are
inevitable but it does not particularly matter unless you want an entirely accurate reconstruction
which is not possible.
