Henry II destroys hostile baronial castles

1174

Victorious over the great revolt of his sons and their baronial supporters, Henry II ordered the demolition of scores of adulterine castles built during the rebellion. His agents measured walls, pulled down keeps, and confiscated the land of offenders. England's fortification map was rewritten. The systematic destruction demonstrated that in Henry's England the right to build a castle was a royal prerogative, not a baronial entitlement.