How useful and reliable is the 1565 Elizabethan survey of Sandal Castle?
This survey was produced to show what Sandal Castle looked like; it is a primary source so the castle would still have been standing when it was drawn. The picture shows a lot of the castle and does not miss out any major rooms or features of the castle. This picture would have been drawn to show the castle at a different angle, which shows many of the castles features. It is very useful that it has been drawn this way because it helps us to imagine where everything was. We can also compare this picture to the remians of Sandal Castle at the site. This makes other sources more reliable because a primary source agrees with it.
The picture was produced in 1565, by this time the castle was decaying inside. The picture does not show the inside of the castle so therefore can not show the amount of decay. This isnt very reliable. However, the artist has tried to show the castle with a bit of damage by drawing a crack in the wall of the keep and by showing that the curtain wall has been bordered up. This helps to create the effect that the castle is not in the best condition and that it has been effected by age and attacks. The castle had previously seen wars and attacks, for example the Battle of Wakefield, which is where the damage on the exterior would have come from. Because the source is primary, it is very useful because it is more reliable. The picture has been drawn with the castle infront of the artist. This is useful to a historian because they have a better idea of what the castle looked like and how it worked. The historian will use this source or similar sources to present ideas on the castle and what it looked like. It shows what the castle might have looked like when all of its stages were complete. The picture is drawn at a distorted view in order to fit all the buildings in. This may make the drawing not as reliable as this could affect the placements of the buildings. The drawing does not show us the back of the castle either and it is very hard to make out which building is which in the bailey. The survey gives us information that we can not see at the site. We can see what the height of the castle would have been; we can see this to a certain extent because of the remains of the great hall. It also shows us the roofs of all the buildings; it shows us how intricate some of them were. It also shows us that the castle was surrounded by woodland. This tells us that the castle was of a high importance to have it in a strategic place. The woodland would have created a safe hidden place for the castle to be. The fact that it has two written surveys also suggests its importance. Pontefract castle also had written surveys and that was regarded as a main castle in the North.
This survey was produced to show what Sandal Castle looked like; it is a primary source so the castle would still have been standing when it was drawn. The picture shows a lot of the castle and does not miss out any major rooms or features of the castle. This picture would have been drawn to show the castle at a different angle, which shows many of the castles features. It is very useful that it has been drawn this way because it helps us to imagine where everything was. We can also compare this picture to the remians of Sandal Castle at the site. This makes other sources more reliable because a primary source agrees with it.
The picture was produced in 1565, by this time the castle was decaying inside. The picture does not show the inside of the castle so therefore can not show the amount of decay. This isnt very reliable. However, the artist has tried to show the castle with a bit of damage by drawing a crack in the wall of the keep and by showing that the curtain wall has been bordered up. This helps to create the effect that the castle is not in the best condition and that it has been effected by age and attacks. The castle had previously seen wars and attacks, for example the Battle of Wakefield, which is where the damage on the exterior would have come from. Because the source is primary, it is very useful because it is more reliable. The picture has been drawn with the castle infront of the artist. This is useful to a historian because they have a better idea of what the castle looked like and how it worked. The historian will use this source or similar sources to present ideas on the castle and what it looked like. It shows what the castle might have looked like when all of its stages were complete. The picture is drawn at a distorted view in order to fit all the buildings in. This may make the drawing not as reliable as this could affect the placements of the buildings. The drawing does not show us the back of the castle either and it is very hard to make out which building is which in the bailey. The survey gives us information that we can not see at the site. We can see what the height of the castle would have been; we can see this to a certain extent because of the remains of the great hall. It also shows us the roofs of all the buildings; it shows us how intricate some of them were. It also shows us that the castle was surrounded by woodland. This tells us that the castle was of a high importance to have it in a strategic place. The woodland would have created a safe hidden place for the castle to be. The fact that it has two written surveys also suggests its importance. Pontefract castle also had written surveys and that was regarded as a main castle in the North.
