The bailey was the center of domestic life within the castle and could contain a variety of buildings, including halls, kitchens, stores, stables, a chapel, barracks, and workshops. The bailey was linked to the motte either by a flying bridge stretching between the two, or, more commonly in England, by steps cut into the motte.
The bailey was linked to the motte either by a flying bridge stretching between the two, or, more commonly in England, by steps cut into the motte. Sometimes, the ditches were filled with water by damming or diverting nearby streams forming water-filled moats.
Moreover, Norman designers found that the wider the ditch was dug, the deeper and steeper the sides of the scarp could be, making life even more difficult for the attackers. The biggest advantage of the Motte and Bailey design was how extremely cheap and easy to build it was.