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CSG Research Resources


The Research resources offer a wide spread of interests: online academic PhD theses; visual resources in the form of antiquarian prints and drawings from the sixteenth century onwards; early Victorian photographic archives from the 1840s, and a developing list of specialist essays and papers that are only available from this page.


The Online academic resources page (E-theses) directs users to freely accessible doctoral theses on castle related subjects, and articles in electronically stored Journals where a commercial charge may be made for downloading. Many universities are now providing their own e-thesis archive, including Durham, Newcastle and Nottingham. In addition, the ‘ethesis repository holds full texts of theses from the University of Birmingham. The British Library Electronic Theses Online Service (EthOS) holds over 300,000 downloadable theses, some downloadable free under ‘Open Access’ and others usually available upon making a modest payment.


‘Antiquarian Image Resources’. This pulls into one hypertext-based listing a collection of museums, galleries, rare print vendors and other online facilities to enable members to find, in one place, a comprehensive view of all known antiquarian prints, engravings, sketches and paintings of named castles throughout the UK. Many can be enlarged on screen and downloaded, and freely used in non-commercial, educational material, provided suitable credits are given, permissions sought and copyright sources acknowledged.


Early Photographic Resources’. This likewise brings together all known sources and online archives of early Victorian photographic material from the 1840s starting with W H Fox Talbot through to the early 20th century. It details the early pioneers and locates where the earliest published photographic images of castles can be found. There is a downloadable fourteen-page essay entitled ‘Castle Studies and the Early Use of the Camera 1840-1914’. This charts the use of photographs in early castle-related publications and how the presentation and technology changed over the years. It includes a bibliography and a list of resources. Currently the essay visually concentrates on many of the castles that the CSG will be visiting in April during their conference based at Hereford. Further research-based essays accessible by both members and non-members will become available during the year.


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Shell-Keeps Revisited

Shell-Keeps Revisited -The Bailey on the Motte

A new essay by R A Higham on the history of shell-keeps, including a detailed analysis & gazetteer of 20 shell-keeps

Early Photographic Resources

Castle Studies and the Early Use  of the Camera 1840-1914

An essay by Neil Guy


Derek Renn Festschrift

Castles: History, Archaeology, Landscape, Architecture and Symbolism. Available directly from the Castle Studies Group.

Dunstanburgh Castle - S & N Buck - 1728