10 Gatehouses In England Where Families Live Inside the Castle Walls — Built Before the Tudors

England’s medieval gatehouses were never built to welcome visitors. They were designed to stop armies. Portcullises could trap attackers inside narrow passages, arrow loops allowed defenders to fire from safety, and murder holes opened directly above anyone unfortunate enough to make it beneath the gate. Yet centuries later, something extraordinary has happened. Behind some of these gates, people still live. Families cook, sleep, walk their dogs, and close their front doors inside fortresses built before the Tudor dynasty even existed. This documentary explores 10 remarkable English castles where ancient defensive gateways still lead to inhabited homes. We begin at Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire, where a gatehouse built in 1270 still carries its portcullis slots and arrow loops. Once a royal castle visited by medieval kings, it later became the home of the Watson family and their descendants. At Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire, visitors cross a moat to reach a fortified gatehouse dating from the early fifteenth century. The Fiennes family has held the property since 1448, while inside is the famous Room That Has No Ears, associated with secret political discussions before the English Civil War. Berkeley Castle takes the story even deeper into English history. The Berkeley family has occupied the castle for more than eight centuries, and it was here that the deposed King Edward II was imprisoned and died in 1327. The documentary also separates the documented history of his death from the gruesome legends that appeared later. Further north stands Chillingham Castle, a medieval border fortress that once expected attacks from Scotland. Outside its walls lives its extraordinary herd of wild white cattle, enclosed on the estate for centuries. At Raby Castle in County Durham, nine great towers surround a fortress where the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I was planned in 1569. The Vane family acquired Raby in 1626, and the castle remains their family seat. Then comes Maxstoke Castle in Warwickshire, one of the most remarkable survivors in the countdown. Licensed to crenellate in 1345, it remains an exceptionally complete medieval castle. Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, once lived here, while today Maxstoke remains a private family home that rarely opens its gates to the public. Bamburgh Castle carries us even further back. Its history reaches to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia, long before England existed as a unified kingdom. Norman fortifications, medieval warfare and Victorian restoration now overlap on the same dramatic Northumberland rock. Ripley Castle has another extraordinary record of continuity. The Ingilby family acquired the estate in 1308, and its gatehouse was completed in 1450. More than five centuries later, that medieval defensive gatehouse contains living accommodation. Alnwick Castle has been associated with the Percy family since 1309. Its medieval gate towers and enormous barbican were designed to defend England’s northern frontier. Today millions recognise its courtyards from the Harry Potter films, but behind the film location it remains the home of the Duke of Northumberland and his family. Finally, Arundel Castle takes the story back almost a thousand years. Its motte dates to 1068 and its stone gatehouse to around 1070. When that gate was new, the Domesday Book had not even been written. Today Arundel remains the home of the Duke of Norfolk. These gates survived medieval wars, rebellions, sieges and enormous political change. But perhaps the real reason many survived is much simpler: people kept living behind them. A gate only survives if someone keeps walking through it. Which of these castles would you spend a night inside, and which one would you refuse to sleep in? Subscribe for more journeys into Britain’s hidden history. We don’t stop at the gate. We go through it.