Château Gaillard consists of three baileys—an inner, a middle, and an outer with the main entrance to the castle—and a keep, also called a donjon, in the inner-bailey. The baileys, which were separated by rock-cut ditches, housed the castle's stables, workshops, and storage facilities. It is common for extant castles to be the result of several phases of construction, and were adapted and added to over the period of their use; however Château Gaillard essentially is the result of one period of building. The division into three wards bears similarities with the design of Château de Chinon, built by Henry II in the mid-12th century on a promontory overlooking a town.