E X T E N S I O N LIFE IN TOWN AND AROUND CASTLE Nottigham Castle as it may have appeared in the mid-thirteenth century. Later on in the same century the outer defences were rebuilt in stone. It was used as a Royal residence and as an administrative centre for the county. Entrance to and exit from a town (like Nottingham, for example) was through gates in the town walls. Within them there was a hospital, a guildhall1 and a church. In the hospital nuns2 looked after sick people. Barbers, instead, pulled teeth and operated on people. They also treated them by cutting their veins to make them bleed3 when their blood pressure was too high. Churches were a meeting point for merchants. Other people went to church to gossip, apart from praying. Bible plays were sometimes acted in front of the church. During the day the town was very busy. Goods were sold in open1. guildhall: sede di corporazioni, municipio. 2. nun: suora. 3. bleed: sanguinare. 24