in 1201, king john gave the three castles to hubert de burgh. hubert was a minor landowner who had become john's household chamberlain when he was still a prince, and went on to become an increasingly powerful royal official once john inherited the throne. at this time, white castle was primarily a military fortification, holding a garrison and stores of arrows and crossbow bolts. it was relatively exposed to the elements and had, at best, only basic accommodation; the historian cathcart king describes the conditions in the castle as likely to have been "miserable", "squalid" and "unpleasant".