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About Us
Bringing the Echoes of History into the Modern Day
History is not a collection of dates in a dusty chronicle. It is a living record of power, consequence, and ordinary lives caught in extraordinary circumstances. At Histories and Castles, our mission is to strip back the myth and present the evidence, giving readers a grounded, forensic understanding of Britain's medieval and early modern past.
What began as a personal obsession with Britain's medieval heritage has evolved into a dedicated digital archive built for three different readers with the same underlying need: a reliable, evidenced account of the past that goes further than a summary but doesn't demand a university library card to follow. By focusing on real lives rather than royal narratives, we bridge the gap between dense academic study and the modern reader, making complex stories of sieges, chivalry, and social upheaval accessible to all.
Who Histories and Castles Is For
Most history content on the web is written for one reader at a time. We write for three, because the same well-sourced article can solve different problems depending on who's reading it.
Teachers
Save preparation time with articles built around real GCSE and A-level exam questions rather than generic overviews, sourced clearly enough to hand to a class with confidence. Our Fourth Crusade article is cited as a teaching resource in WJEC's own GCSE History guidance for teaching.
Pupils and Students
Get past revision-notes level. Articles and Investigated Histories study guides are built around the "how far", "to what extent", and "explain the significance of" framings examiners actually use, with named sources so you can cite with confidence in coursework and essays.
History Fans
If you just want a good, true story well told, that's here too: castles, crusades, plague, Welsh myth, and the odd haunted keep, written with the same evidence standard as everything else on the site, minus the exam framing.
About the Author: Simon Williams
Simon A. Williams is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Histories and Castles, and a published author specialising in medieval British history, early modern legal history, and Celtic folklore. He is based in North Wales, where he lives within reach of Edward I's Iron Ring of castles, Rhuddlan, Conwy, Flint, and Caernarfon, landscapes that form the backbone of his research.
His work is shaped by direct, on-the-ground engagement with historical sites. Rather than relying solely on secondary interpretation, Simon documents locations first-hand, studying terrain, defensive positioning, and architectural detail in situ. This methodology allows him to offer insights that go beyond standard guidebooks, connecting physical evidence to the documented historical record.
Simon's three published books reflect the breadth of his research:
No Law for the Poor: Justice, Villeinage and the Forgotten People of Medieval England
A forensic examination of the legal status of medieval England's villeins and the rural poor, exploring how the common law was systematically used to deny justice to those at the bottom of the feudal order.
View on Amazon UK →
The Pendle Witch Conspiracy: The True Story Behind England's Most Notorious Witch Trials
A forensic, evidence-based re-examination of the 1612 Lancashire trials, exploring how poverty, political ambition, and the weaponisation of a child witness led ten people to the gallows.
View on Amazon UK →
The Truth Behind Welsh Myths and Legends: Fear, Folklore and Everyday Belief in Medieval Wales
Drawing on history, archaeology, and social anthropology, this book reveals the practical human logic behind Welsh folklore, from the Tylwyth Teg to the Coblynau of the mines, and how myth functioned as a survival technology for ordinary communities.
View on Amazon UK →"History isn't just about what happened, it's about who had the power to shape the story."
Simon A. Williams
Investigated Histories: Argued, Evidenced Study Guides
The free articles on this site are built to the same evidence standard as everything else we publish, but some questions deserve more than a single article can give them. Investigated Histories is our range of digital study guides: short, fully argued, fully sourced investigations into a single specific question, each with in-text references and a complete bibliography so every claim can be checked rather than taken on trust.
Each guide is written to be read in 60 to 90 minutes, delivered instantly as a PDF, and priced as a single purchase with no subscription. They are built for A-level and GCSE-extension students who need a companion to primary source material rather than a summary of it, and for general readers who want the evidence behind a claim rather than the claim on its own. This is also where our study guide series lives, so if you've seen "study guide" or "the Academy" mentioned elsewhere on the site, this is the same range under one name.
The Last CrusadeThe trial and fall of the Knights Templar, 1291 to 1314. View guide →
Forest Law: The King's DeerHow the Norman kings turned English woodland into a separate legal code. View guide →
Benefit of ClergyHow the medieval Church carved out its own justice system, and whose life it was really designed to save. View guide →
Medieval Law and Jewish HistoryThe legal mechanisms behind the expulsion of England's Jewish community in 1290. View guide →
The Price of Survival & The Labour MachineTwo guides on the Black Death's aftermath: who survived, and why the survivors weren't allowed to profit from it. View guides →
The Empire's First BlueprintWas Wales the first English colony? The evidence behind the claim. View guide →
See the full, current range on the Investigated Histories page.
Our Research Methodology
We are not traditional scholars in gowns, nor are we content aggregators. Our work sits at the intersection of primary source research and direct site investigation, a combination that produces analysis grounded in both the documentary record and physical reality.
Primary Source FirstAll content is cross-referenced against primary sources wherever possible, from the records of the National Archives to the Chinon Parchment, ensuring accuracy over repetition of accepted narratives.
On-Site VerificationLocations are documented first-hand. If terrain, structure, or geography is described, it is based on direct observation, not assumption or secondary map work.
Evidence-Led AnalysisWe challenge accepted narratives where the evidence demands it. Our Pendle Witch Trials work applies a forensic legal lens that overturns four centuries of folklore-led interpretation.
Clarity Without CompromiseComplex medieval history is written in clear, accessible language, for casual visitors and serious enthusiasts alike, without sacrificing factual rigour.
Research Standards & Editorial Ethics
Primary Evidence
All historical claims are cross-referenced against primary sources. We do not treat widely repeated secondary narratives as sufficient verification.
On-Site Documentation
Geographic and architectural descriptions are based on first-hand observation. If a site is described, it has been visited.
Named Authorship
Every article on this site carries the name of its author. We do not publish anonymous content.
Referenced Sources
Articles include reference sections linking to primary and secondary sources so readers can verify claims independently.
Transparent Updates
Where articles are revised or updated, publication and last-updated dates are shown clearly on the page.
Independent Research
Histories and Castles is editorially independent. We carry no advertiser influence over our historical analysis or conclusions.
Supporting Independent History Research
Histories and Castles is an independent endeavour sustained by its community. When you buy a study guide from Investigated Histories, purchase one of Simon's books, or buy from our collection, you directly fund the continuation of this research, maintaining our digital archives, supporting primary source investigation, and keeping our historical articles free and accessible.
By supporting our work, you are helping keep the past alive for future readers.
Join the Conversation
History is a living dialogue. We invite you to explore our archives, read an Investigated Histories guide, and walk with us through the evidence. The past is not mythology, it is a system of decisions, power, and consequences that still echo today.