ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Tower houses in Britain and Ireland

Tower houses in Britain and Ireland are huge, tall buildings that were built long ago to protect people from enemies or invaders. They can be like big castles without the fancy decorations. They were usually built out of stone, brick or timber and had thick walls with very few windows.

Inside the tower house, there were many different levels or floors, each with their own purpose. The bottom level was often used for storage while the middle levels were for living quarters. The top level was usually the most important level where the Lord or Lady of the house lived.

Tower houses were built by wealthy land owners, and they were built to show off their power and wealth. They were usually located in the countryside, where people could see them from far away, and they often had a moat or other defenses to protect them from attack.

The tower houses were usually built close to farmland or other resources that the owners needed to survive. Some tower houses even had secret passages that allowed people to escape in times of danger.

Today, many tower houses in Britain and Ireland are abandoned or in ruins, but they are still an important part of history and show how people used to live many years ago.