Hey historians!
I'm currently staying in a Norman castle which has been converted into a youth hostel, and the dorm I am staying in has a very interesting feature on one of the walls. According to one of the cooks it used to be the throne for whoever was occupying the castle at the time, and when the modern partitions are ignored it does indeed sit in the right place.
The only thing is, as you can see in the pictures, it is set very deep into the wall, and the throne is effectively the wall itself. I have never heard of alcoves acting as thrones, and my first impression after "wow, that kinda looks like a throne..." was that it is an old window.
For anyone wanting some context and history of the building, it's St Briavels Castle in Gloucestershire.
I mean, if it is indeed a throne, I am sleeping right next to where King John (of the Magna Carta) used to sit. How cool would that be?
Anyway, if anyone could offer some theories or knowledge I'd really appreciate it.
You could likely nail down the question as to whether it's a window by going and looking at the stones outside-are the rocks slightly different, does it seem to have been filled in? You could also think about what it overlooks. Those seats at each side would be handy for an archer tasked with guarding the walls-( keeping someone from digging into them or scaling them)- during a siege.