Lewes Castle is one of the first castles in England built following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was built by William de Warenne between 1068 and 1070 and is a motte and bailey type. A motte is a kind of hill-top keep and Lewes Castle in unusual because it has two mottes. 
The original castle consisted of a courtyard or bailey surrounded by a wooden curtain wall.  At the beginning of the 12th century, a wooden gatehouse was added to the curtain wall and a keep constructed atop the second motte consisting of wooden palisades or fences, which were eventually replaced by stone. South Tower and West Towers were added later to the outer walls increasing target areas for archers in the event of attack.  Lewes Castle remained in possession of the de Warenne family for nearly three hundred years. When John de Warenne died in 1347 without any heirs, the castle passed to his nephew, the Earl of Arundel, who already owned great estates. Thereafter, the castle began to slowly fall into decline. 
 
 
This image is a view of the ruins of Castle remains, partly on a hilltop to right, a field in the foreground. Copperplate engraving of Lewes Castle by James Sparrow.