main phases in the development of mont orgueil

The present castle can be dated to the early thirteenth century and its development can be loosely divided into two phases - the bow and arrow castle and the gunpowder fortress. Although there has been some sort of fortification at Mont Orgueil since at least the Iron Age (second century BC), and probably since the Neolithic period (c.3000 BC). This was a banked and ditched enclosure and some of the larger stones used can still be seen in the Middle Ward.

The bow and arrow castle
The first castle developed over a period of about 250 gears, between 1200 and 1450. The builders used all the latest technological ideas in its design. While it is not a true concentric castle, it does use the same idea of one area being overlooked and dominated by the next in the chain; hence, the Outer Ward was dominated by both the Lower Ward and the Middle Ward, the Lower Ward is overlooked bg the Middle Ward which in turn is dominated by the Upper Ward or Keep which is built on the highest part of the promontory.

The curtain walls were built on to rock wherever possible to prevent undermining and to gain height without the effont of construction. The curtain walls were punctuated with round towers which had the benefit of being stronger than square towers as they were more difficult undermine and more resistant to bombardment.

In the early fourteenth century, there was further development in the area of the North East Bastion and Sally Port. It may have been about this time that the new Gate House and Guardhouse in the Keep were built, the Residential Apartments were added here in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century.

The Gunpowder Fortress
With the introduction of cannons into warfare, the castle had to be adapted because, for the first time, the site became vulnerable from the sea with the appearance of ship-mounted guns. This period of development lasted just over 200 years from about 1470 until about 1690. Although the first mention of cannon in the castle's armament was in 1462, it was not until 1470 that the first purpose-built tower, the Harliston Tower dominating the Main Gate, was built to accommodate cannon.

The bulk of the development to do with gunpowder warfare took place from about 1540 until 1650, when the Cornish Bastion was adapted to house cannon, the Somerset Tower was built both to protect the Governor's apartments and to mount a battery to challenge the potential threat from Mont St Nicholas; following on from this, the Tudor Great Hall was built. The walls of the Middle Ward facing Mont St Nicholas were realigned, thickened and heightened to create the rampier.

At the end of the sixteenth century the Fourth Gate was remodelled and the Sir John Peyton Bulwark built behind it to provide a cannon platform. Down in the Outer Ward by the Main gate, the Picardy Half-Moon Battery was built to house cannon which commanded the anchorage beneath the castle. By the time of the Civil War in the 1640s, these works had been completed and Sir George Carteret built the Carteret Rampant in the Lower Ward to provide an extra battery.

There was a series of minor repairs in the late seventeeth century but in general the castle was a secondary defensive position in the island and remained so for the rest of its active life. In 1907, it was given to the people of Jersey as an historic monument and, with the exception of the period of the Occupation (1940-45), it has continued in this role.