I'm writing a fantasy story where the head of state is an earl, rather than a king. I'm trying to get away from the idea of him living in a castle so want him based more in a large stately home with a strong military presence, but I'm having trouble finding a name for this that isn't a long winded description. Any ideas would be grately appreciated.
well...if it is a stately home, try calling it 'Sir-name-of-character residence' so say he is called Jim-Bob George it would be called The George Residence. hope this helps
Give him one of these. It's a fortified manor - Pictish style - but will seem original to any readers. Of course, it was an oval at one time, rather than just a curved wall. Each major stone you see going up the side is a floor, which gives you an idea of the scale these structures can be built at (any higher and they'd collapse - if you want a realistic story, another floor is about the maximum you can get). They were earth ramparts and scattered guardhouses around these things. It sounds a lot like a fortified town/manor/garrison to me. And the equivalent of earls lived in these. EDIT: For a better idea of the building's scale, look at the door. I am half as tall as that door, and I'm a bit over five foot.
If it's pure fantasy then would it matter what you called it? Other than that, I think the term ' ................. House' makes things look grand and stately.
I may be mistaken but I think the OP is asking for help to find a term for the building, not a name. For example citadel, rather than White City. I could be wrong; that's just how I've read it.
Forde's on the nose there. Trying to work out the class of the building, rather than it's name, if that makes sense. Gallowglass's suggestion of it being like a garrison is going in the right direction I think.
Castellated manor is something used a lot to describe that kind of castle/garrison/house, like the broch above (which is Dun Telve if you want to look up more pictures). You could actually call it a dun in the story. No-one will relate that to brochs, even if you practically tell them
I think you might find it difficult to discover a proper term for what you want to write about. I've done a little research on this and it's hard to find a building which is a true blend of fortification and lavish domesticity and not one which has basically had extra bits stuck on over the years. A castellated manor, like Gallowglass says is a good starting point, but they are really just mansions with a crenellations and the odd tower here and there. They would last little longer than a normal mansion in a true assault and many were crenellated merely for style purposes (and to send a visual message to those at the bottom of society's food chain). Instead of trying to hint at the defensive nature of the edifice with a term, I would give the building a normal name (mansion, house, hall etc) but make sure to include descriptions of the thick stone walls, the crenellations, the high perimeter wall (perhaps several) and various barracks for the garrison. Perhaps you could include a moat, or a character could comment about the smaller than usual windows that are designed for defensive purposes rather than luxury. Your readers should get the message, but I know this isn't exactly what you asked for. There are a massive amount of details which mark out a defensive design when it comes to architecture, there's no reason why you can't include them without having to have an actual fortress or castle. It's hard to know without reading your text.
The only building that truly fits both purposes is the broch, like the one at Dun Telve. But I'm guessing that's not quite what you had in mind?
Estate would work, i think. The "Jim-Bob" Estate for example (to steal a name from earlier, lol). It is what I used for a similar residence in one of my stories.
