Secrets of the Castle, Building a Medieval Castle in a Modern World

Secrets of the Castle, is a British factual television series that first broadcast on BBC Two from 18 November to 17 December 2014.  In the series, the team takes part in the medieval construction project at Guédelon Castle in Treigny, France.  

The castle construction site shown in the series is Guédelon Castle in France, a 25-year experimental archaeology project where a castle is being built using only the techniques, tools and materials from the Middle Ages.

Recently The Secrets of the Castle, was published on YouTube.  I have listed the episodes with their links below.  These videos offer some useful insight into our free mason ancestors. and the Freemason will recognize much of what is discussed by the masons building this medieval castle.  


These links are shared for your education and enjoyment.

Episode 1 Why Build a Castle?

The team arrives at Guédelon, in the Burgundy region of France, to join the world’s biggest archaeological experiment - a 25 year project to build a medieval castle from scratch, using only the tools and materials available in the 13th century.

Episode 2  Defending the Castle  
(Some good examples of the practicality of medieval masonry)

A look at the ingenious features medieval castle-builders came up with to withstand attack from an ever more formidable array of siege engines.

Episode 3 Inside the Castle

The surprisingly colourful world of medieval interior design. The castles that we see today are in fact scarred by centuries of decay. Most of their original roofs, carpentry and interior finishes have long since disappeared, but in their heyday they were lavishly decorated.

Episode 4  A Skilled Castle    (Some good pointers about medieval free masons)

The team delve deeper into the secrets of the skilled communities who built medieval castles. The stonemasons working on the castle walls are dependent on blacksmiths, whose metalwork was magical to the medieval mind-set.

Episode 5  Beyond the Castle Walls

The castle’s place in the wider medieval world. 13th century Europe was a busy, developing, connected place, where work, trade, pilgrimages and Crusades gave people the opportunity to travel across the continent and beyond.