Elizabeth castle was built in 1601, making it 422 years old. Construction was started in the 16th century when the power of the cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St. Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships armed with cannons.

The British government withdrew the garrison and relinquished the castle to the States of Jersey in 1923. The States then opened it to the public as a museum. During the Second World War the Germans, who occupied the Channel Islands, modernized the castle with guns, bunkers and battlements.

How was the castle made?

Construction of the earliest parts of the castle, the Upper Ward including the Queen Elizabeth Gate, began in 1594. This work was carried out by the Flemish military engineer Paul Ivy.

The Lower Ward was constructed, between 1626 and 1636, on the site of the ruined Abbey church. This area of the castle became a parade ground, surrounded by a barrack building and officers’ quarters. Wells and cisterns for water existed within this area

 In 1651, a windmill was constructed half-way between Fort Charles and the Lower Ward. In the same year, the Parliamentarian forces landed in Jersey and bombarded the castle with mortars. The destruction of the medieval Abbey church in the heart of the castle complex which had been used as the storehouse for ammunition and provisions forced Carteret to surrender on 15 December 1651 after being besieged for seven weeks.^[4] Jersey was held by Parliamentarians for the next nine years until the restoration of the monarchy.

In 1668, or shortly afterwards, King William’s Gate was constructed, which is located between the Outer Ward, and Lower Ward.

After doing some research and gathering facts about the castle, I want to base our film off the architecture of the castle, including things like the walls, archways, the different layers of the castle and so on. This interests me as although it may just look like basic walls and buildings, they have way more history behind them. I think this will make a good film.