<P> Across Europe, motte - and - bailey construction came to an end . At the end of the 12th century the Welsh rulers began to build castles in stone, primarily in the principality of North Wales and usually along the higher peaks where mottes were unnecessary . In Flanders, decline came in the 13th century as feudal society changed . In the Netherlands, cheap brick started to be used in castles from the 13th century onwards in place of earthworks, and many mottes were levelled, to help develop the surrounding, low - lying fields; these "levelled mottes" are a particularly Dutch phenomenon . In Denmark, motte and baileys gave way in the 14th century to a castrum - curia model, where the castle was built with a fortified bailey and a fortified mound, somewhat smaller than the typical motte . By the 12th century, the castles in Western Germany began to thin in number, due to changes in land ownership, and various mottes were abandoned . In Germany and Denmark, motte - and - bailey castles also provided the model for the later wasserburg, or "water castle", a stronghold and bailey construction surrounded by water, and widely built in the late medieval period . </P> <P> In England, motte - and - bailey earthworks were put to various uses over later years; in some cases, mottes were turned into garden features in the 18th century, or reused as military defences during the Second World War . Today, almost no mottes of motte - and - bailey castles remain in regular use in Europe, with one of the few exceptions being that at Windsor Castle, converted for the storage of royal documents . The landscape of northern Europe remains scattered with their earthworks, and many form popular tourist attractions as part of the European heritage industry . </P>

Who lived in the motte and bailey castle