The second story had a timber floor resting on twelve corbels, and is

cylindrical, like the first, and of the same diameter, but higher.

It was the best room. Besides its entrance door on the west, it has

on the south-west a fireplace under a flat segmental arch with plain

chamfer, above which are two slender octagonal corbels, which evidently

supported a hood, probably of timber. There are also two windows

beneath drop-arch recesses, towards the south-east and north-east.

The former has stone seats; and the latter a light 2 feet broad, with

a cinquefoil head, of which the central foil is an ogee. The head is

made of two stones only. The moulding is plain, having a shutter rebate

inside; and outside, rounded jambs in place of the usual chamfer. This

recess has a stone seat on the west side only. In the east jamb is a

small square-headed door opening upon a mural stair of 2 feet 5 inches

broad, of which nineteen steps remain, and which led to the third floor.

The stair is lighted by a small hole below, and above by a

square-headed loop of 9 inches in a recess splayed to 3 feet 7 inches

opening. The loop, though about 60 feet from the ground, was closed by

one vertical and three horizontal bars. This floor may have been used

as a prison.

The third stage has walls 8 feet thick, and had a wooden floor. The

stair from below opened into it on the south-east side, but seems to

have been continued in the south wall, so as to reach the battlement

platform, now entirely gone. This floor has a small mural chamber, no

doubt a garderobe, on its west side, the door into which is narrow, and

has an arch of two stones, which seems to be four-centred, or of Tudor

pattern. This door is placed between a window on the north-west, the

recess of which has a flat drop arch; and another on the south-west, of

which the recess is broken away. There is also a small fireplace on the

north side, and another window to the north-east.

In the wall close south of the mural chamber are two small square

shafts, one of which was no doubt a chimney and the other perhaps a

garderobe vent from the battlements.

Bronllys Tower presents divers peculiarities. Though of rude masonry,

its door and window dressings are excellent. In general design it

resembles early English work; but its doors, recesses, fireplace,

and corbels, seem of early Decorated, and perhaps, in parts, of

Perpendicular work. It is altogether superior in detail to Penrice,

which it resembles in dimensions, and it is inferior to Tre-Tower. The

walls may be safely assigned to the first quarter of the thirteenth

century; but it was no doubt inhabited as a place of defence, and

afterwards as a dwelling, for two centuries and a half after this;

and from time to time it received certain alterations, of which the

present fireplace-front, the cinquefoiled and other windows, and the

entrance to the mural chamber in the upper floor, may be cited as

instances. The vault of the basement is possibly original, but may be

an addition.

THE CASTLES OF BROUGH AND BROUGHAM, WESTMORELAND.

“Anne Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery,” Baroness Clifford,

Westmoreland, and Vesci, hereditary sheriff of Westmoreland, and Lady

of the Honour of Skipton, in Craven, was in every way a remarkable

woman: she was of high birth, held large estates, was the widow of

two considerable peers, and had received and largely profited by an

excellent education. To a strong and copious memory she added a sound

judgment and a discerning spirit. She was a person of great firmness

of character, and passed her life amidst events that exercised and

strengthened that quality. Among the many subjects upon which she was

informed, and which ranged, says Dr. Donne, from “predestination to

slea silk,” was included a very close knowledge of the particulars

of her own estates, and a very thorough determination to maintain

her houses and castles in good repair. She found the castles of her

Clifford and Vipont ancestors, Appleby, Brougham, and Brough, in ruins;

she restored and made them habitable, and, though time and the hand of

the spoiler have again brought two of them, Brougham and Brough, to

decay, their walls still exhibit much of the amending hand of the great

Countess, as well as of the original work of her remote ancestors.

BROUGH CASTLE.

Brough Castle covers the whole of a steep knoll which rises 60 feet on

the left bank of the Swimdale or Helle Beck, and is about 50 yards from

the water. The beck receives the Augill from the south-east, just above

the castle, and their combined waters, at times of considerable volume

and force, fall into the Eden about a mile and a half lower down. The

castle itself is 630 feet above the sea-level, and the encircling fells

of Westmoreland and Yorkshire rise to elevations of from 1,000 feet to

2,000 feet. About five miles to the east are the sources of the Greta

and the Balder, and a little further off and towards the north the head

springs of the Lune, not the noble stream that gives name to Lancaster,

but a tributary to the Tees.

Even in this wild and almost impenetrable country are traces of Roman

civilisation. The road from Lavatræ (Bowes) to Luguvallium (Carlisle)

ran through Brough, which is identified with the station Verteræ, and

by Appleby and Brougham, joining at Penrith the main road, the work of

the same people, from the south. Five and seven miles to the east of

Brough are two Roman camps, and there are others upon the same line of

road at Redlands and Kirkby-Thore, and a very perfect one at Brougham.

The Roman road at Brough runs generally east and west, and crosses the

beck at Market Brough, so called in distinction from Church-Brough,

which lies three furlongs to the south of the river, and contains

the castle. The collective parish is named “Brough-under-Stainmore.”

Verteræ, if identified with the existing camp and castle, stands off

the main road, and south of the river, as at Brougham.

[Illustration: BROUGH CASTLE]

Verteræ is represented by a rectangular camp, of which the castle

covers the northern and higher end, that next to the river. This camp

is 157 yards north and south, by 113 yards east and west, of which

the platform within the ditch covers 134 yards by 90 yards. Of this

area there is cut off at the northern end by a cross-ditch a plot, 90

yards east and west by 50 yards, which is occupied by the castle. This

portion is further defended by some additional earthworks, perhaps

Norman, to the east and west. The southern fragment of the camp seems

to have been used as a sort of outwork to the castle, probably for the

protection of sheep and cattle.

The castle was thus placed cross-wise in the camp, and parallel to

the river, the action of which has carried away the outer half of its

ditch, and converted the slope into a precipitous bank, at the top

of which is the curtain-wall. The eastern outwork is composed of the

end of the knoll, or ridge, on which the castle stands, and which is

scarped into a triangular platform, the base of which, 57 yards long,

covers the end of the fortress, and projects 38 yards. The ditch

cutting off this work from the body of the place is 23 yards broad, and

very deep. The earthworks westward are two banks and ditches, across

the tail of the knoll, one 57 yards long, and 47 yards in advance of

the main ditch, and the other 84 yards further in advance, and 94 yards

long. Both are intended to cut off approaches along the river bank. The

cross-ditch covering the south front of the castle is about 30 yards

broad, and up it, from the east, came the main approach. These ditches,

on the south-east and west fronts, are wholly artificial. There is also

a trace of a bank and ditch along the east front of the camp, about 30

yards in advance of the main ditch, and about 60 yards long. A road,

which may be Roman, comes up from the south, and crosses the Augill by

a bridge, 250 yards above or to the east of the castle, to join the

main road over another bridge in Market Brough. Upon this stream is the

castle mill. The defences, in masonry, seem to have been confined to

the castle proper. There is no trace of such upon the outworks, which

probably were stockaded. The ditches were at far too high a level to

have been fed from the river; but the soil is retentive, and they seem

to have been filled with rain water.

The castle is composed of one ward, a trapezium in outline, the east,

north, and west sides being at right angles, and respectively 77, 90,

and 57 yards, and the south or oblique side, 94 yards. It is, in fact,

a right-angled triangle, with the acute angle truncated. The keep is

placed at the truncated end, and forms the south-west angle of the

ward, its south and west sides being exterior, and in the line of the

curtain. The domestic buildings were along the south side, and about

the south-east angle, and built against the curtain. Near the centre

of that side was the gatehouse, and attached east of it the hall,

beyond which a large three-quarter drum tower capped the south-east

angle. This and the gatehouse are the only mural towers. The kitchen

and chapel, and some later buildings, probably rested against the east

wall, and there are slight foundations between the gatehouse and the

keep. The north curtain, towards the river, seems to have been free

from buildings. Upon it are two buttresses, and in one a garderobe,

entered probably by a side door and passage in the wall. This curtain

is 3 feet to 5 feet thick, and from 12 feet to 15 feet high inside.

The _Gatehouse_ is placed near the centre of the south side of the

castle. It was an oblong building, and formed the west end of a block,

of which the hall and withdrawing-room formed the eastern part and

remainder. It was composed of a passage between two walls, of which

one remains, and is 6 feet 6 inches thick and 45 feet long; the

outer 10 feet being outside the curtain. The portal is gone, but the

spring-stone remains of the inner doorway, 3 feet 7 inches broad, and

recessed 8 feet 6 inches within the inner front. The vault of the

passage, about 10 feet long, rested upon three bold ribs, of which the

springing-stones remain, and beyond which was the outer gate, of which

a part only remains. There was an upper floor, and if the rubbish were

cleared away the plan of the gatehouse would be visible. The walls seem

Norman, but the ribs, vault, and fittings are probably insertions of

the Decorated age.

The _Hall_ was poor. It was on the first-floor level, and had a floor

above it, and, therefore, a flat ceiling. The basement is composed of

three vaults placed transversely, with flat, slightly-pointed arches.

The doors are towards the court, and one chamber has a small Tudor

fireplace, in a corner. Each had a loop in the outer end, and in the

ends of two are mural garderobes in the substance of the curtain. The

hall was not above 12 feet or 14 feet high. In its north side is a

round-arched recess, probably the original entrance, by an outer stair;

and near it a fireplace. In the south or curtain side are two good late

Decorated windows of two lights, rather flamboyant in tone, with plain

exterior drips. Above these is a step, or ledge, for the floor of the

upper room, and two windows, not directly over those of the hall.

There is no very decided evidence of a _Chapel_. The _Kitchen_,

probably, was near the north-east end of the hall, and against the

east end of the curtain. The withdrawing-rooms were at the east end of

the hall, and extended into _Clifford’s Tower_, a fine bold drum of

30 feet diameter, which caps the south-east angle of the ward. This

tower seems to be of Decorated date, and the base and part of the wall

original; but it has been almost rebuilt, probably with the old cut

stones, in the Tudor period, to which belong its numerous square-headed

windows. Part of it was taken down in 1763.

The _Keep_ stands upon rather the highest part of the enclosure. It

is rectangular, 43 feet east and west, by 51 feet north and south,

and stands upon the curtain, with which its west and south faces are

continuous. As it does not quite cover the whole end of the ward,

this is closed by a low curtain, 17 feet long and 3 feet thick, which

extends from the keep to the north-west angle of the ward. The keep is

composed of a basement and three floors, and is about 60 feet high. The

parapet is gone. It has a plinth only on the two exterior faces, where

the ground is low, and there are two sets-off which indicate the level

of the second and upper floors. At the end of each face is a pilaster,

7 feet broad, and of 6 inches projection, and those adjacent meet and

form a solid angle. These pilasters rose clear of the wall to form

angle turrets, of which parts remain. From the upper set-off, on the

north and south faces, rises an intermediate pilaster, 3 feet broad.

The walls at the base are 10 feet thick, and, at the top, 6 feet.

The basement is at present nearly filled up with earth and rubbish,

concealing much of the east side. Part of the south-east angle fell in

in 1792, and obscures the details of the main entrance.

The _Basement_ is at present entered by a plain round-headed doorway

of 4 feet 7 inches opening, in the north wall near its east end. This

has a rebate for an inner door, but no groove for a portcullis. The

outer jambs are broken away. It is pretty clear, from a comparison of

its ring-stones with the original arches above, that this entrance is

an insertion, probably of the time of James I. or Charles I. In the

same side, near the doorway, is a very peculiar air-hole, formed of two

loops, 2 feet apart, which converge to a single exterior loop. There

are similar loops, of much later date, at Caernarvon. Possibly the

basement was divided into two chambers, and one loop opened from each;

but there is no trace of any partition. In the west wall there was

probably another loop, now converted into a window of 2 feet opening,

square topped, set in a bold splayed recess, evidently an insertion

of a period when security was no longer the first consideration. The

window opens in the line of the plinth, the set-off of which is carried

over its head as a square hood-moulding. The south wall was blank, and

so, probably, was that to the east. The basement was 13 feet or 14

feet high, with a flat timber ceiling. There certainly were no mural

chambers, and no staircase in it. It was probably entered from above by

a trapdoor and ladder, and used as a store.

The _first floor_, about 13 feet high, seems to have had loops in plain

round-headed recesses in the north, south, and west sides, of which

the latter is broken away, and a two-light Tudor window inserted. The

northern loop has also been replaced by a similar window. In the south

wall the loop is represented by a small square opening. In the ruins of

the east side may be traced the remains of a doorway and the base of

a lobby and staircase in the wall. It is clear that the external door

was in this face, near the south end, and that it opened direct into

the first floor, while right and left, in the thickness of the wall,

was a mural passage, at its south end a mere lobby, but to the north

containing a straight staircase which rises 13 feet by twelve steps, 4

feet 4 inches broad, towards the east angle, where was a small lobby

which opened on the second floor, and was lighted by a loop in the east

wall.

Thus, the _second floor_ was entered in its east side by a direct

mural stair, like those at Carlisle, at Chepstow, and at Ludlow.

In each of the sides, north, south, and west, of this floor is an

original round-headed recess, and in the east wall, over the mural

stair, are traces of a shorter recess, placed higher up, whence

seems to have been a passage into a mural chamber in the south-east

angle. The southern recess alone contains its original window. This

is a small coupled window of two lights, square headed, but within a

round-headed arch. The dividing shaft is decidedly Norman, as is the

whole character of the opening. The north window is also coupled and

round headed, but looks like a Stuart insertion. The east and west

windows are square headed, of Tudor date. In the north-west angle is a

mural recess with loops, possibly a garderobe, and in the north-east

angle a square-headed doorway opens by a lobby into a well-stair, which

commences at this level and ascends to the roof. It is 7 feet 6 inches

in diameter, and rises 31 feet by forty-six steps to the allure, or

rampart walk. This second was originally the principal and uppermost

floor, lofty, and with a high-pitched roof, the weather moulding of

which is still seen on the east and west walls. The roof ridge was at

the level of the rampart walk, and, as the north and south walls seem

original, there must have been a deep cavity on either side, with the

gutter in its bottom. Subsequently this roof was removed, and replaced

by a flat roof, at the rampart level, the line of which is marked by a

row of corbels in the north and south walls. The cause of this change,

common, probably, to all Norman keeps, was the superior convenience for

defence of a flat roof, rendered possible by the introduction of sheet

lead as a roofing material.

The _third floor_ was formed by dividing the height thus gained by a

floor laid at the level of the springing of the old roof, and thus

was created a second floor of 10 feet, and a third of 20 feet. In the

west wall was opened a square-headed window, in a splayed recess, and

close south of it is a small Tudor fireplace, the flue of which ascends

into the south-west turret. The east wall is less perfect, but still

shows the line of the old roof, and the jamb of a Tudor window. In the

north-east angle is the door from the well-stair.

The floors of the walls were throughout of timber, the joists of the

first and second resting in the holes in the north and south walls of

the turrets; that at the south-west is probably modern. It contains

the flues of several fireplaces which appear to have been inserted

in the south wall, but which have fallen out. The keep probably had

originally no fireplaces. The north-east turret contains the head of

the well-stair. The other two turrets seem to have been mere shells,

having only the two outer walls. They all rose about 12 feet above the

rampart walk, and 5 feet or 6 feet above the crest of the parapet on

the outside of the east and south walls of the keep. Near the top are

ranges of triangular holes formed by thin tile-stones set on edge, and

looking much like pigeon-holes, which they probably were. The row in

the south wall has five holes, and in the south-east turret are three.

In the east wall are two sets, one of three holes, and one, imperfect,

of two. There is one hole in the north-east turret. They are evidently

original, and do not appear to communicate with the interior. There is

no trace of a regular forebuilding, for which the keep, like Goderich,

was too small, but there was probably an open stair, either of wood or

stone, ascending to the main door, which was about 12 feet from the

ground. The exterior of the keep was quite plain, and of rather rude

workmanship. The pilasters are of square stones, and the wall, in part

of similar material, and in part of stones of irregular shape, laid as

uncoursed rubble. There is no herring-bone work, and no visible trace

of Roman material worked up.

The keep is evidently late Norman, and the walls are original, though

much pulled about, and with many insertions of the Tudor and Stuart

days. This is another example of the high-pitched roof, as at Richmond

and Bridgenorth, the whole roof having been concealed by the walls.

Probably the founder of the castle built both the keep and the curtain

wall on the lines of the present curtain, and cut the cross-ditch which

isolates it from the rest of the Roman camp. The gatehouse and hall,

and the south-east tower were probably alterations and additions of the

Decorated period. The whole fortress was repaired by Countess Anne,

whose hand may be traced throughout the structure. The keep has been

split with gunpowder, probably by order of the Parliament, producing

fissures in its north and south walls.

Robert de Veteriponte, or Vipont, the head of a great Westmoreland

family, to which the armorial bearings of the Musgraves and Lowthers,

the Blenkinsops and Hellbecks, show them to have paid early allegiance,

is regarded as the founder of the castles of Brougham and Brough, at

any rate in their Norman form. His immediate ancestor came over with

Duke William of Normandy, and the family first planted themselves in

the counties of Devon, Northampton, and York. Robert, the second or

third in descent, flourished in the reigns of Henry II., Richard, John,

and Henry III., dying in 1228, the twelfth of the latter sovereign. He

filled many posts of military trust, was custos of many castles, and

sheriff of many midland and northern counties. He was also a justice

itinerant, and of the Common Pleas. In 1203 (4 John) he had a grant

from the king of the Bailliewick of Westmoreland and the castles

of Appleby and Burg, at first during pleasure, but afterwards in

fee. Possibly the grant was connected with the fact that his mother,

Maud, was a member of the great Westmoreland family of Morville, and

probably a daughter of Hugh de Morville, one of Becket’s assassins.

Robert’s wife, Idonea de Buisli, was heiress of the castle and Honour

of Tickhill. He was a man of very great wealth and power, and likely to

have taken steps to secure his Westmoreland barony against its northern

neighbours. The grant mentions the castles of Appleby and Burgh; and

Burgh, that is Brough, was sacked by William of Scotland in 1174.

Probably, therefore, there already existed some kind of strongholds

at those places, founded, it may be, by the English on the Roman

stations. Moreover, the year 1204 is very late indeed for keeps of so

decided a Norman type, and it is no doubt possible that De Meschines,

or De Morville, the preceding lords of the fee, may have built both

castles.[2]

John de Vipont, son and successor, died 25 Henry III., in debt to

the king, who gave his estates in ward to the Prior of Carlisle,

who neglected the castles. In his time the keep of Brough was out

of repair, and the joists rotten. Lord John sided with the barons,

and died of wounds received at Lewes. His daughter, and finally sole

heiress, Isabel, was married to Roger de Clifford,—the Roger of the

inscription over the gate of Brougham,—and who was killed in battle in

Anglesea by the Welsh, in the reign of Edward I. Robert de Clifford,

their son, lord of the Honour of Skipton, of Appleby, Brougham, and

Brough, fell at Bannockburn. There were then two parks at Brough, a

mill, and the demesne land. The castle ditches let for the herbage at

6s. 8d. per annum, and the constable had 40s.

Roger, the next lord, was a great builder; he followed the fortunes and

shared the fate of Thomas of Lancaster. He is thought to have made the

additions to the eastern side of Brougham, where his arms and those of

his wife, Maud Beauchamp, were long to be seen. His successor was his

brother Robert, whose second and surviving son Roger, proved age 28

Edward III., recovered the family estates which had been forfeited, and

kept his castles in repair. He died, 15 Richard II., seized of Appleby,

Burgham, and Burgh. The four following lords fell in battle: Thomas in

Germany, John in France, Thomas at St. Alban’s, and John at Towton. In

4 Henry V., the castle of Brougham lay waste, and the whole profits of

the demesne were not sufficient to repair and maintain it. The next,

Henry, was the Shepherd Lord, who, in 1519, held a great feast at

Brough, at Christmas, which was followed, in 1521, by a severe fire, in

which the castle was burned to the bare walls, and long remained waste.

The succeeding lord and his son, both Henry, were the first and second

Earls of Cumberland, of whom the latter died at Brougham Castle about

1560. George, the third earl, the admiral, who died 1605, was born at

Brough in the last year of Queen Mary, 1558. With his brother Francis,

the fourth earl, who entertained King James at Brough for three days

in 1617, the male line failed, and the estates and baronies came to

Countess Anne, the daughter of Earl George. This lady, who repaired

Brougham and Brough in 1651-2, was born at Brougham in 1589, in the

same room in which her father was born, her mother died, and King

James was received. Margaret, her daughter, by the Earl of Dorset,

carried the estates to the Tuftons, earls of Thanet, who also inherited

the hereditary shrievalty of Westmoreland, until their extinction in

the present century. They dismantled Brougham and Brough, and sold

the fittings in 1714. The present owner appears to be very attentive

to what remains of the two castles. Both are repaired in a very

substantial manner.

BROUGHAM CASTLE.

This very curious pile stands on the right bank of the river Eamont,

just below the point at which it is joined from the south by the

Lowther, so that the combined stream covers the fortress on the north,

as do the two waters and the marshy ground between them on the west

front. The castle is placed but a few yards distant from and but a few

feet above the Eamont, and between it and the large rectangular camp

which marks the site of the Roman “Brovacum,” whence both castle and

township derive their names; such, at least, seems the most probable

etymology, though a claim has been set up for Burgham, which would have

been more tenable had there been evidence of the place having been an

English as well as a Roman stronghold.

The Roman road from Brough and Appleby towards Carlisle and Penrith

skirts the north-eastern front of both camp and castle, and is carried,

by a modern bridge, across the river, a few yards below the latter.

Above the castle and upon the Eamont was placed the castle mill, the

weir connected with which still remains. The actual site of Brovacum

has been claimed for Brougham Hall, on the adjacent high ground; but,

however this may be, the camp below is undoubtedly Roman, and an

excellent example of the entrenchments of that people. A Roman altar

was found, in 1602, at the confluence of the two rivers. What earlier

name is embodied in the Roman Brovacum is not known, but “Bro” in South

Wales is the old Welsh word for “the hill country,” and is preserved

in Brocastle and Broviscin, in Glamorgan. The parish of Brougham is

large; the church is called Ninekirks, probably a corruption of St.

Ninian’s kirk. The parochial chapel, which stands near Brougham Hall,

is dedicated to St. Wilfrid.

The camp is contained within a single bank and exterior ditch, both

very well marked, though in height and depth very much reduced. Along

the scarp or inner slope of the ditch are traces of a step or terrace,

as for a line of palisades, in front of and below the main defence.

The area within the ditch is 113 yards broad, and its length, now 134

yards, was probably 198 yards, those being the proportions of the camp

at Brough. The ditch is about 25 yards broad. The entrance is gone;

it was no doubt in the centre of the east side, that towards the road.

The angles are, as usual, slightly rounded. The castle stands a few

yards north of the camp, the adjacent parts of the latter having been

cut away and levelled in forming its outworks. The castle is, in plan,

a very irregular four-sided figure; the south and west sides meet at

less than a right angle, and are in length 80 yards and 77 yards. The

north side, at right angles to the west, and upon the river, is 50

yards. The east side has been partly rebuilt, with a low salient angle.

It is in length about 40 yards. This area is the main, or rather the

only, court of the castle. The keep originally stood clear within the

court, near to its north-east angle; a large gatehouse now occupies

that angle, and much of the north front, and is connected with the

keep, which, therefore, is no longer isolated. The hall and domestic

buildings stand against the south wall, and are continued a short

distance along the east wall. A large square tower is placed at the

south-west angle, and covers a postern. The west wall is free, and

seems to have been low. The castle is about 50 yards from the river,

and 30 feet above it. The entrance was from the east, along the bank

of the river. A ditch, wholly artificial, and probably filled with

rainwater, protected the west, south, and east fronts. Towards the west

it is broadest and deepest, that being the exposed front. Towards the

river the natural fall and the marshy character of the ground were a

sufficient defence. The entrance is, and probably always was, in the

east wall, at its north or river end. This part of the _enceinte_ wall

is built with a shoulder or re-entering angle, so as to command, for

some yards, the approach to the outer gate. The moat is now traversed

by a causeway of earth, replacing the earlier drawbridge.

[Illustration: BROUGHAM CASTLE]

The _Gatehouse_, rectangular in plan, and 90 feet long by 39 feet

broad, occupies the space between the keep and the north wall, and

extends either way beyond the keep. It is composed of two parts,—one,

a block of chambers, lodges, &c., forms, or rather abuts upon, the

curtain; the other, connecting these chambers with the keep, contains

the vaulted entrance. The entrance is broken transversely into two

parts, separated by a small open court. The outer passage, 34 feet

long, belongs to the outer gate; the other, 36 feet, to the inner gate.

The keep forms one side and the lodges the other. Thus, there are

really two gatehouses,—one abutting on the north-east, and one on the

north-west, angle of the keep, each with its own defences and gates,

the buildings on the north communicating with both. The exterior portal

is in the east wall. It has no flanking towers, being protected by the

curtain. The north-east angle is capped by a square buttress, placed

diagonally. The gateway has a plain, flat segmental arch over it. Upon

a stone are the words, “This made Roger,” and above are two tiers, each

of two good Decorated windows of two lights, with trefoiled heads and a

quatrefoil in the head, and divided by a transom. Between the two upper

windows are three bold corbels, intended to support a machicolation

resembling those on each face of the keep. It is said that formerly

the arms of Vaux, “checquy,” were carved over the entrance; but it

seems probable that they were the arms of Clifford, “chequy, a fess,”

or it may have been “a bendlet.” The passage within, 11 feet broad,

is vaulted. The first defence was a portcullis, of which the square

groove, 6 inches broad by 4 inches deep, remains. Within this is the

rebate for a pair of gates, and on the right the small door of a lodge.

At the inner end of the passage was a second pair of gates, opening

towards the first pair, and beyond them the open court, with the keep

wall on the left. Above this outer gateway is a large room, 21 feet

east and west, by 32 feet long. In its west wall is a fireplace, and

a door opening into the middle chambers. In its north wall a good

Decorated window looks upon the river; in the east wall are two windows

overlooking the outer gate, and between them, over the gate, a recess

for working the portcullis.

[Illustration:

_Ground Plan of Norman Keep. Brougham Castle._

_PLAN OF_ BROUGHAM CASTLE]

Beyond the open court is the second part of the gatehouse, which

commences by a portcullis, backed by a pair of doors, within which

is a passage 20 feet long by 16 feet broad, vaulted in two bays with

transverse and diagonal ribs springing from six corbels. There are no

ridge ribs; the inner or further portal also had doors. The left-hand

lodge is a vaulted cell, 11 feet long by 3 feet 3 inches broad. On

the right the room is much larger, and leads to the north postern.

The exterior or north front of these two gatehouses forms a handsome

block, and is pierced by various openings at different levels. At its

north-east corner is an angle buttress; then follows one in section a

half square, set on diagonally; and west of this, again, is a large

square buttress, in one side of which is the north postern, a small

shoulder-headed door at the foot of a flight of stairs.

The lofty tower at the south-west angle of the court is about 35 feet

square, with an appendage on the east face. It has thick walls and

mural passages, and projects but little from the curtain. It has a

basement and three upper floors. The first floor was entered by an

exterior flight of stairs, which also communicated with the rampart

of the west curtain. At its junction with the tower is the postern,

the approach to which is guarded by a loop, while nearly over the door

discharges the shoot of a garderobe.

Along the south wall are the domestic buildings, of which the chief

was the chapel, about 35 feet by 20 feet. This was on the first floor,

with a timber floor and open roof. The chamber below was entered from

the court by a lancet door. The chapel had a large east window, of

which the jambs remain; and in its south or curtain wall are two long

trefoil-headed windows, splayed within. Towards the east end are three

sedilia, also with trefoiled heads and trefoils in the spandrels, the

whole beneath a flat top. There is also a piscina of late Decorated

aspect. Near the chapel, towards the south-east angle, the remains of a

large fireplace seem to indicate the kitchen, and along the east wall

are two windows, and traces of a fireplace between them, all which seem

to belong to the hall. At the north end, also, on the first floor,

are remains of a handsome door in the Perpendicular style, with a

four-centred arch beneath a square head. The staircase may have been

exterior. Grose shows some walls here in 1775, which are now gone.

The _Keep_, called in Countess Anne’s time “the Roman Tower,” the

only remain of the original castle, is 44 feet square, and, in its

present state, of unusual height. Its exterior plinth is confined to

the north side. The two western angles are covered by pilasters, 12

feet broad and of 6 inches projection, one on each face, meeting so

as to form a solid angle. Two other pilasters, balancing these, cover

the east end of the north and south walls, but there are none on the

east side, that having been covered by the forebuilding. The south face

is prolonged eastwards 12 feet by a wall 5 feet thick, which rises to

the third-floor level, and formed the south end of the forebuilding.

The pilasters rise to the present summit of the wall, and terminated

originally in four square turrets, of which traces remain at the two

northern angles. The keep has a basement and three upper floors, of

which the uppermost, if not an addition, has been recast. The walls

are 11 feet thick at the base, and at least 10 feet at the rampart

level. The parapet is gone. There is no external set-off. In the

centre of each face, and near the top, are three or four bold corbels,

which evidently carried a short machicolation; and in the angles, near

the top, are several cruciform loops, slightly fantailed at the top

and bottom, and with lateral arms ending in oillets, much resembling

those at Kenilworth. Some of these are the lower half of those of the

turrets, which, with the parapet, were standing in 1775. At the upper

part of the south-eastern angle the wall is corbelled out 12 inches

for a breadth of 15 feet on the southern, and rather less on the

eastern, face. This is to give a little more space to a mural oratory,

which has a loop on the south face, and a small trefoil-headed window

towards the east, clear of the forebuilding. On the north face, near

the east pilaster, a vertical line of six loops shows the presence of a

well-stair from the first floor. The four lower loops have round heads;

the two upper have square heads, and are probably later.

The basement is at the ground level. It has splayed loops to the

north, west, and south; and in the east side is a recess with parallel

sides, and a trace of a rebate of a doorway. This, if original, must

have led into a cell below the forebuilding, as at Rochester; but it

may be a Decorated insertion. It is nearly covered up with rubbish.

In the north-east angle, which has been filled up with a short wall,

is a small door opening into a bent passage, which now leads into

the open air, at where was the foot of the great entrance-staircase.

There may always have been a cell here, but the cross-wall and the

outer door are not original. In the west end of the north wall is

another recess opening into a garderobe chamber, 5 feet long by 3 feet

broad, and original. This basement floor has had a vaulted and ribbed

roof, springing from corbels at the angles, and from four others, in

the centre of each side. There was, in 1775, a central pier. As at

Richmond, this vault was an insertion replacing timber. The basement

was about 13 feet high.

The _first floor_ is 23 feet square. It has round-headed

window-openings to the north and west, in round-headed recesses, with

beaded angles. In the south wall was a fireplace, probably a garderobe,

like that below. In the north-east angle, filled up like that below by

a short cross-wall, is a door opening on a well-stair, which occupies

that angle, and ascends to the roof. The east wall has been in some

measure rebuilt, recently. In it may be seen parts of a large Decorated

doorway, evidently inserted to give a direct entrance to the chamber.

This floor has had an arcade against its walls, of which traces

remain on the south and west sides. The arcade had slender piers and

trefoiled arches. It is unusual to find so ornate a room in the first,

or, indeed, any floor in a Norman keep: it must have more resembled a

chapter-house than a private chamber. The chapel at Castle Rising was

so arcaded, and those at York, and in the curtain at Richmond. This

floor was about 15 feet high, and was covered by the joists and floor

of the room above.

The _second floor_ has round-headed recesses, beaded at the angles, for

the windows, in the north and west sides; and a flue, now laid open,

occupies the south side. In the east wall is the original entrance,—a

plain round-headed arch of 6 feet opening, with a chamfered rebate for

an exterior door. There was no grate. Close north of this is a small

door entering an oblique passage, which opened, as at Middleham and

Rochester, upon the turret over the outer entrance of the forebuilding.

The well-stair has no direct opening into this floor, whatever may have

been the case before the alterations. There seems to be, as below, a

garderobe in the north-west angle.

With this floor the original keep seems to have ended. There is now,

however, a _third floor_, which, if not altogether new, has been

remodelled. The walls are very thick, and the four angles within are

filled up with short walls, converting the chamber into an octagon,

or rather into a square with the angles taken off. One of these

fillings-up, that to the north-east, is carried down the whole way. The

other three are confined to the top floor, and rest upon brackets. This

floor had a large recess and a window in each of the four main faces,

of which that to the west is segmental and ribbed. These recesses are

now quite inaccessible; but it would appear, from the thickness of the

wall, and from certain square apertures outside, that they communicate

on the west side with mural chambers. In the north-west angle is a

very remarkable fireplace of about 9 feet opening, with a perfectly

flat platband, composed of thirteen stones joggled together. This is a

very fine example of this kind of work, and it stands quite unaltered.

In the opposite, or south-eastern angle, is a shallow-pointed recess,

and in it a square-headed doorway, which opens into the oratory.

The window recess in the south wall differs from the rest. Its arch

was high-pointed, and moulded with deep reduplicated bands, with

half-shafts with bell capitals; no doubt Decorated, but of Early

English character. From the east jamb of this recess a second passage

opens into the oratory, and this was probably the principal entrance

to it. The oratory is seen from below to be vaulted and groined. It

occupies the south-eastern angle of the building.

[Illustration: KEEP, VERTICAL SECTION.]

The east face of the keep was covered by the _Forebuilding_, which

evidently contained a straight staircase, which rose from the

north-east corner of the keep, and ascended to the main doorway on the

second-floor level. This doorway, as at Middleham, is near the south

end of the wall, but, notwithstanding, the steps must have begun above

the ground level, to reach, without undue steepness, so considerable a

height. The wall has been so much injured, and so freely repaired, that

the marks of the stairs are no longer visible, but a toothing and some

springing stones, as for an arch, seem to show that the staircase

rose from the north-east angle, under a covered way or low tower, the

battlements of which were evidently reached by the oblique passage

still seen above in the wall, as at Middleham and Rochester. Below the

level of the original doorway are traces of a larger and more lofty

doorway, in the ornate Decorated style,—evidently an insertion. This

would give direct passage into the first floor of the keep, and was

probably inserted when the arcading was introduced, and this converted

into the main apartment. There are other toothings and roughnesses in

the wall, indicating various alterations. The forebuilding was about 12

feet broad, and contained a basement and two floors, as shown by the

openings in the south wall, which are, near the ground, a loop; above

it, a small window; and above that a garderobe, corbelled out upon

two heavy blocks upon the south wall. Above the line of roof of the

forebuilding is to be seen the east window of the oratory, and near it

a cruciform loop.

[Illustration: KEEP, FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.]

Unfortunately for the close examination of this very curious keep, the

upper part is inaccessible, and ladders of sufficient length are not

readily to be procured. The architectural history of the castle may be

inferred from its details, so far as these are visible. It is evident

that the original fortress was a late Norman keep, and it must have

been placed within an _enceinte_ pretty closely corresponding to that

now seen, and which skirts the edge of the ditch. Of this supposed

original _enceinte_ wall, as well as of the domestic buildings and

gatehouse, which must have been present in some form or other within

it, there remain no very certain traces. The keep, judging from

internal evidence, and probably the ditches were the work of Robert de

Vipont, very early in the thirteenth century.

In the Decorated period the castle underwent great alterations. The

keep was probably raised a story, and an oratory included in the new

work. The basement was vaulted, the first floor arcaded, and the

forebuilding so altered as to admit of an entrance on that floor. All

the rest of the castle, gatehouses, domestic buildings, and the whole

of the _enceinte_ wall belong to one general period, and are probably

the work of Roger de Clifford, the first of his race who held this

property, and the husband of Isabel de Vipont, its heiress, in the

reign of Edward I. Usually, when a Norman fortress was remodelled in

the Edwardian period, the keep was neglected, and left in its original

isolation; here, however, it was decided to turn the keep to account,

and to ornament its principal chambers, and connect them with the suite

of rooms in the upper floor of the gatehouse.

The drawing represents a section of the keep east and west, looking

south. Something of the various additions is here shown, and the

springings of the vault of the basement.

The exterior view of the keep is taken from the south-west quarter, and

shows, above, the projection for the oratory, and below and beyond it

the end wall of the demolished forebuilding. On the left is seen the

river gateway of the entrance.

There are some peculiarities of detail in this castle which need

further investigation. The large windows of the first and second

floors of the keep are original; but the half-piers and bell-caps in

the exterior jambs look much later, and may be a part of the Decorated

additions. It is said that the buildings against the east wall received

some alterations from another Roger de Clifford, grandson of the

former. It is curious that walls so thick as those of the keep, and

of such good material, should have been left solid, for the most part

unpierced by the chambers and passages so much affected by the Norman

architects. It is also to be observed that the curtain wall is but

scantily furnished with flanking defences. Countess Anne mentions “the

Tower of Leaguer,” and “the Pagan Tower,” and “the Greystoke State

Chamber,” in Brougham Castle.

THE CASTLE OF BUILTH, IN BRECKNOCKSHIRE.

The name of Builth, borne at this time by a considerable town, and

by a Hundred of the county of Brecknock, is very ancient. As, like

Brecon, the town is placed in an open valley, accessible without much

difficulty to an enemy from the east, it has suffered from invasion

from a very early period, and to these and similar attacks are to be

attributed various strongholds, both of earth and masonry, of which

the remains are abundant upon the marches of England and Wales, and in

such tracts of the latter territory as either Saxon or Norman, having

overrun, thought it worth while to retain.

The construction of Offa’s Dyke, in the eighth century, must have been

preceded by many years of conquest, and the establishment of many

English strongholds throughout the annexed district, and probably also

beyond it. Nothing short of a present inability to rise would have kept

the Welsh quiet during the construction of such a work, or have forced

them to accept, even passively, a limit which cut off a large part of

their fairest territory. The fortresses of Builth and Brecon, which

resemble in general character those of known English origin elsewhere,

were probably advanced posts thrown up either during the wars which

preceded the dyke, or to aid the aggressions which followed it. The

plan of construction leads rather to the latter conclusion, and points

to the ninth or early part of the tenth century.

However this may be, it is certain that when Bernard Newmarch invaded

Brecknock, towards the end of the eleventh century, he found the

earthworks of Brecon and Builth already existing, and occupied them,

as was usual, by works of a Norman character. Probably these were

at first of timber, for a structure of masonry required time and

peace, and generally tradition has imputed the oldest Norman military

buildings in Wales to the immediate successors of the conquerors,

rather than to the conquerors themselves. Where the age can be safely

inferred, either from the design of the building or from its ornament,

it is generally found to be of very late Norman, verging upon the early

English period.

Newmarch was succeeded by Milo Fitz Walter, who married his daughter.

He was created Earl of Hereford by the Empress Maud, in 1140, and

received from her the moat, or more probably the “mote” and castle of

that city. His sons died childless, Mahel, the last of them, having

been killed by the falling of a stone from Bronllys tower. Builth was

inherited by his sister Berta, who married Philip de Braose, who,

indeed, is said already to have possessed himself of that territory,

and to have afterwards married its lawful heiress, as Newmarch had

married the Welsh Nest, by way of precaution.

Their son, William de Braose, also a powerful baron in Devon,

flourished in the reigns of Henry II., Richard, and John, and died in

exile in 1210. His brother Giles, Bishop of Hereford, succeeded, and,

dying in 1215, was followed by his brother Reginald. In his time occurs

the earliest mention of the castle. In 1219, 4 Henry III., the Sheriff

of Gloucestershire is directed to give immediate aid to Reginald de

Braose “ad castrum suum de Buetto firmandum et fossatum et trencheyas

ibidem faciendas contra inimicos nostros.” Also 12 September, 1223, 7

Henry III., the king directs all the sheriffs of England, excepting

those of Stafford, Salop, Worcester, Gloucester, and Hereford, who

probably had already, being near, discharged their duty, to raise men

and march to Gloucester, the reason being the king’s sure information

that Reynold de Braose was besieged in his castle of Builth by Llewelyn

and a multitude of armed men. What the result was is unknown, but

some years later, in July, 1260, after De Braose’s death, when the

castle was in charge of Roger de Mortimer, it was besieged and taken

by Llewelyn. Roger was in London, and, as it was his duty to have been

at his post, he had a regular remission in form, stating that he was

attending Parliament by special precept. It is stated therein that

he held the castle “ex ballio” by deputation from Prince Edward. In

August, Llewelyn was still in possession, and there remains a precept

on the subject, directed to Richard de Clare and others.

Reginald de Braose, who was lord during the siege of 1223, is generally

stated to have died in 1221, which seems disproved by Rymer’s record.

He died, however, about that time, and was followed by William his son,

who, in 1229, was hanged, according to the Welsh, by Llewelyn. On his

death, leaving only daughters, the Crown took the castles, and they

were granted to Prince Edward, who held them in 1254, when his father

renewed the grant.

5 Edward I., some question arose about certain tythes held by the prior

and convent of Brecon under William, William his son, ... and Reginald

de Braose, Lords of Builth, and it appears from a later entry, 13

Edward I., that it was their duty to serve a chapel or chantry within

the castle, then called “the King’s Castle.” 25 Edward I., John Giffard

was custos, and his allowance was reduced by the treasury because it

was more than was usual.

17 Edward II., 1324, a survey was taken of the castle for the Crown.

The castle yard and curtilage were worth per annum 12d., and there were

40 acres in demesne of arable at 3d. per acre, total 10s. Also 10 acres

of meadow at 12d., total 10s. Also the “communitas patriæ,” hangers on

outside the vill, paid the king every second year, for all services

and annual rents, 10 cows or 20 marcs in money at the lord’s pleasure,

that is, £1. 6s. 8d. for each cow, its money-value at that time. Rents

of assize in Lanveir 70s., probably from 75 burgesses. A ferry 4s. per

annum. The land of Talevan, in the king’s hands, 2s. The land of Tyr

Maukyn, 2s. Pannage of hogs, 20s. The king had there four mills, each

at 10s. No villenage there. All pleas and perquisites of the court

merchant in Lanveir 57s. per annum. Pleas and payments of the courts

“patriæ,” 17s. Ammobrages, 13s. 4d. No royalties, villenage, demesne,

or other outgoings. No profits accruing to the king in Builth save the

above.

Llanfair is the town of Builth, its Welsh name being

Llanfair-ym-Muallt, or St. Mary’s, Builth. Ammobrage is thought by

Spelman to be the same with Chevage, a poll-tax paid by villeins to

their lord. Jones, the Brecknock historian, gives it a Welsh etymology,

and makes it a sort of excise.

The importance of these frontier castles naturally ceased after the

settlement of Wales by 3 Edward I., and the Crown no longer cared to

retain them. 9 Edward III., Builth Castle was vested in Eubolo le

Strange and Alesia his wife, and 14 Edward III. Thomas de Bradestan,

Banneret, had “Thlanver” Castle, probably “Blaenlleveny,” and the

Lordship of Builth.

16 Edward III., 1342-3, Gilbert Talbot, Justiciary of South Wales, was

directed to raise levies in the divisions of Builth, Ewias-Lacy, and

Ewias-Harold, and similar precepts were issued in 1367.

34 Edward III., 1360-1, Roger de Mortimer held the castle and cantred

of Builth, and 5 Richard II., Edward Earl of March and Philippa his

wife held Bewolthe or Beult Castle, as did Earl Roger, their successor,

22 Richard II. On the attainder of the Mortimers the castle fell to the

Crown, and so remained till granted away by Charles II., since which it

has passed through many hands.

Regard being had to the position of the castle upon an exposed and very

dangerous frontier, it is not surprising that its walls and towers were

planned with some skill, and executed with great passive strength. But

of the works in masonry, scarce a trace now remains above ground, and

the site of a fortress which could hold Llewelyn and his armed Welshmen

in check, probably for several weeks, is now indicated by heaps of

earth of a rather remarkable character, and which, from their position

and size, make a feature in the outline of the town from whatever point

beheld.

[Illustration:

THE CASTLE OF BUILTH.

J. H. Le Keux, Durham. ]

Moreover these earthworks, which have survived the masonry that for

so many centuries crowned their summits, are, it is evident, of far

earlier date than the Norman work, and have only in these latter times

resumed much of the appearance which they originally presented.

For they resemble in their general features and in their details,

those earthworks nearer to, or within the English border, as Wigmore,

Richard’s Castle, Kilpeck, and Ewias-Harold, which again resemble those

of Warwick, Leicester, Bedford, and Towcester, the dates and authors

of which are on record, and all of which, wherever situated, are quite

unlike the grand hill-camps so common on the border, and usually

attributed to the British.

Hence a peculiar interest attaches to works such as these at Builth.

Not only as regards the English part of the community is there the

presumption, amounting almost to demonstration, that they were the

work of their proper ancestors, but, what is of interest to all, it is

possible to fix an approximate date to their construction, which is by

no means the case with the larger and probably older hill-camps.

The town of Builth stands in the north-eastern quarter of Brecknock,

in the Hundred of its name, just upon a bold curve of the Wye, which,

escaping from the deep valley in which it descends from Rhayader

Gwy, and about to plunge into that by which it reaches the more open

country near Glasbury and Hay, here traverses a broad expanse of mead

overlooked by the town, to which it not improbably gave origin.

On the eastern edge of the town, and, like it, a hundred yards above

and as many distant from the river, is placed the castle. It commands

a considerable view towards the north, and was within an easy ride of

Payn’s Castle and other fortresses upon the middle Wye and the Usk. It

stands upon a bank falling steeply towards the north of the river, and,

though higher on all sides than the adjacent ground, is approached by

an easy ascent from the south, on which side was its entrance.

The castle occupied a plot of ground nearly circular, being about

180 yards north and south, by 190 yards east and west. Its principal

feature is a conical mound, table topped, wholly artificial, 60

feet diameter at the top, 200 feet diameter from the centre of the

circumscribing ditch, and from the bottom of that ditch 60 feet high.

The ditch is carried all round from 100 to 120 feet broad, being

narrowest towards the north, the side naturally strong. For about

four-fifths of its circumference to the south, the mound is covered by

two curved platforms, convex towards the field, and concave towards

the rear. That on the south-east is the larger, and from 60 to 90

feet broad and 400 feet long. That on the west is 30 to 35 feet broad

and 200 feet long. They are separated by a deep trench about 100

feet broad, which connects the inner with the outer ditch. At their

other or northern extremities they end more gradually, but leave the

northern front of the mound uncovered. These platforms are in their

rear about 30 feet above the bottom of the ditch of which they form

the counterscarp, and consequently about 30 feet below the top of the

mound. They slope gently outwards. The western platform has along its

inner edge a narrow steep bank about 6 feet high. This could scarcely

have carried a palisade, there being no space for a walk behind it. It

looks more as though it had been thrown up during a siege, to cover

those who proposed to storm the mound.

Outside and in front of these platforms is a ditch of from 70 to 100

feet broad, and 15 to 25 feet deep. It covers the southern four-fifths

of the work, but, towards the north, where the platforms cease, it is

continued into and forms part of the inner ditch.

Finally, encircling the whole, is a bank upon the edge of the outer

ditch, of variable height and thickness, sometimes narrow and from 5 to

6 feet high, in other parts expanded into a platform of from 12 to 20

feet. This bank subsides into the natural slope of the ground, which is

very steep towards the north only.

Although but one small fragment of masonry remains above ground, there

are traces of walls where the foundations have been dug up, and here

and there are heaps which probably cover the remains of towers. There

was evidently a central tower or keep, circular or many sided, covering

the top of the mound, and probably, like Bronllys, of early English or

late Norman date. The north slope of the mound, covered only by the

ditch and bank, formed part of the _enceinte_, as at Berkhampstead, and

from the keep descended eastwards a curtain, of which a part remains,

which crossed the ditch, and evidently was carried along the platform

so as to include it. There are upon it two small mounds, which seem to

have been towers flanking the entrance. How this curtain was continued,

whether it was confined to the east platform or whether it traversed

the cross ditch, and included the west platform, is uncertain. In

either case it must have finally turned inwards, crossed the inner

ditch, and reascended the mound to abut upon the keep tower. The castle

seems to have been composed of a keep and a single ward, and probably

owed much of its strength against a sudden attack to its contracted

area. The ditches are far above any source of water from adjacent

ground. They seem, however, to have been more or less wet, probably

from the rain water. The cross ditch and adjacent parts of the ditches

are still boggy, and would form a small pool, but for a drain which has

been cut in the outer bank.

The approach seems to have lain through the town of Builth along an

existing road, and to have reached the outer barrier where the ditch is

partially filled up on the eastern side; thence crossing the platform,

where there seems to have been a causeway across the inner ditch, and

no doubt from it a flight of steps led up the mound.

CAERNARVON CASTLE.

Of the three greatest military works executed by Edward I. in Wales,

Caernarvon is undoubtedly the chief; nor, indeed, is there any castle

in Britain laid out with greater uniformity of design, or in which

the resources of the military engineer are more skilfully set forth.

Moreover, it has suffered less than any other of equal magnitude from

violence, or natural decay, or the rapacity of local builders. Its

towers, walls, and gatehouses, stand as firm and free from injury as

when they came from the hand of the mason. Floors and roofs, indeed,

have been removed, and the interior lodgings, hall, and chapel, are

wanting, but their removal, if it took place, has been effected with

so much care that it is uncertain whether they were ever erected,

and whether the toothings and roughnesses of the contiguous walls

were not left with a view to their addition. In these latest days the

Crown, always the owner of the pile, has shown unusual zeal for its

conservation. Mr. Salvin, than whom no man could more skilfully restore

an ancient castle, was consulted upon its necessary repairs, and Mr.

Turner, as deputy-constable, watches over the fabric with no common

care.

The castle and town of Caernarvon are placed upon the right or northern

bank of the Seiont, a river known to fame by the construction upon its

meadow of the Roman Segontium, at no great distance above the castle,

which, with the town, stands within the junction of the river with

the waters of the Menai Strait, so that two sides of the position are

protected, the one by the river, the other by the sea. Segontium,

or Caer Seiont, seems to have been succeeded by the Welsh camp of

Caer-yn-Arvon, so called from its position upon the shore of Arvon,

no longer “dreary Arvon,” but one of the most charming spots in North

Wales.

The town, founded, with the castle, by King Edward, is somewhat of

a parallelogram in plan. It is contained within a curtain wall,

strengthened by ten towers, of which two form the east and west

gatehouses, and three cap the principal angles of the enclosure. They

are either cylindrical or half cylinders, open at the rear.

The south end of the area is closed by the castle, of which the

principal face is thus towards and within the town. The opposite or

southern face rests upon the Seiont, as does the western, and did,

to some extent, the eastern end. Wilson’s picture, taken in the last

century, shows the walls rising almost from the water’s edge, and the

cross ditch before the Queen’s Gate still open, but at this time a

broad quay intervenes between the castle walls and the river, and of

the broad and deep ditch separating the fortress from the town only a

part remains. The ditch was, probably, deep enough to admit the tidal

waters.

The castle somewhat resembles an hourglass in plan, its outline being

governed by the rocky ridge on which it stands, and which lifts it a

few feet above the level of the town. It is in length about 100 yards,

and in breadth from 30 to 40 yards, the narrowest part being at the

centre. Its outline is polygonal, and on each angle is a tower, also

polygonal. Of these there are nine, two of which are double, and form

gatehouses. There are also two smaller towers, also polygonal, in the

centre of two of the curtains. The ground falls rather steeply from the

south-east end, but at its lowest is some feet above the water level.

The main or King’s Gatehouse, a very noble structure, is in the centre

of the town front, and occupies a re-entering angle of the wall. It

is broad and high, with an unusually lofty and ornate archway, in

the upper part of which is a statue of Edward II., who completed the

castle, and below this the recessed gateway. Two bold half-octagons

flank the entrance, the approach to which was by a drawbridge, now

superseded by a work in masonry. The portal is broad and high, vaulted

and ribbed, with the usual portcullis grooves, rebates, and bar holes

for doors, and _meurtrières_ in the vault. On either side is a lodge,

an unusually spacious chamber. Both of the flanking towers are looped,

and in that to the right is a mural gallery, with loops completing the

command of the approach. The rear of this right-hand tower is prolonged

into a square building forming the prison tower, in one angle of which

is a well staircase leading to the upper floor of the gatehouse and its

roof. At the foot of this staircase a small portcullised doorway opens

westwards upon the kitchen.

From the Prison Tower a narrow building connected the gatehouse with

the opposite or Exchequer Tower, and thus divided the castle into an

eastern or upper, and a western or lower, ward. A handsome archway

pierced this building, and opened from one ward to the other. Building

and gatehouse are gone, but the jambs of one side, with two portcullis

grooves, show that the portal was strong and was ornate.

Besides the King’s Gate the upper ward was entered by a second or

Queen’s Gate, a very remarkable structure, seeing that it is placed at

the highest part of the fortress, and that the cill of its entrance

is some 25 feet above the present ground, and must have been 12 feet

or 14 feet more above the bottom of the now filled-up ditch. How this

entrance was approached does not appear, if by a drawbridge the pier

on which it fell must have been a very lofty structure, and a sort of

viaduct must have led up to it. The portal is vaulted and ribbed, and

had a portcullis and gates, but the lateral chambers do not open from

it. The rear of the gatehouse seems not to have been completed, but

close to it, to the west, is the jamb of a small portcullised gateway,

with ornate mouldings. Into what it led is not very apparent.

The towers, though differing widely in details, are all of one general

type, and probably designed by one hand. Each has a basement at about

the exterior ground level, damp and dark, and only to be reached by

a ladder from the floor above. Possibly these basements were not

intended to be used. They were not vaulted, and have no sewers. Each

tower has a first floor at the court level, and at this level, or a

few steps above it, the wall is pierced all round by a mural gallery,

looped to the field and connected with divers mural chambers and

garderobes. The second floor has windows of a larger opening, as has

the third or uppermost. Each floor has a fireplace, usually a mere

opening in the wall, and each is reached by a well staircase, which

begins at the first-floor level and ends in a tall turret which rises

some 20 feet above the roof. From the upper floor a doorway opens out

upon the rampart of the curtain. The floor was all of timber. The roof

was almost flat, having a very slight pitch to a central ridge, and was

covered with lead.

The curtain, everywhere unusually thick and lofty, along the north side

was looped in two stages, showing that it gave support to long ranges

of buildings, probably barracks, with thick walls and very low-pitched

lead-covered roofs. These buildings are wanting, but the towers and

curtains are toothed, to give bond to their walls when built.

The most remarkable part of the castle is the arrangement for the

defence of the southern or river front. On this face the curtain is of

immense thickness, extending from the Queen’s Gate to the Eagle Tower,

and including in that distance the Prince’s and the Exchequer Towers,

and two others of smaller dimensions. This wall, from the Queen’s Gate

to the Prince’s Tower, contains, at a little above the court level, a

broad and lofty gallery, which not only pierces the curtain, but is

continued through the walls of the towers, with an occasional vaulted

chamber or lobby, as a “place d’armes.” This gallery is looped towards

the field, and has an occasional window and door towards the court. It

descends by steps so as to preserve its level as regards the court, and

in its walls are several garderobes.

Above this, of the same length and similarly constructed, is a second

gallery, also looped towards the field, but either the inner wall

and roof of this gallery have been removed, or, more probably, never

completed, for it now remains as an open platform. The thicker and

outer wall, however, is perfect, and carries what is still a broad

rampart walk, or allure, reached by occasional flights of steps in the

wall from the upper gallery. Thus was provided a triple line of loops,

and these loops are not, as was often the case, mere air-holes, but are

so contrived as to afford ample scope for the effective use of either

longbow or arblast. No body of assailants, however brave, unprotected

by armour or unsupplied with regular siege appliances, could have

withstood such a line of defence, manned, as it would be, with the

first archers in Europe, exposing those without, in front and flank, to

a shower of clothyard shafts and iron-pointed quarrells.

The curtain, from the Prince’s to the Eagle Tower, though as thick as

elsewhere, is solid below, having only the upper gallery; neither does

it communicate with the Eagle Tower, which forms a sort of keep or

citadel, being in dimensions rather larger than, and in strength fully

equal to, any of the others. This tower, also, is of rather superior

and certainly more ornate workmanship than the rest. Its mouldings are

all of the best Decorated period, and it was evidently intended for the

reception of distinguished visitors.

The Well Tower, that next west of the King’s Gate, contains a very

remarkable well. The well, with a pipe of 5 feet diameter, descends in

the thickness of the wall, in which also is the well chamber, whence

the well was worked. The whole, both well and chamber, are in excellent

order. Unlike the other towers, the basement of the Well Tower is

entered from the court by a steep direct flight of steps. The reason

of this is seen in a postern which opens from the floor of the tower

in the wall. It is 16 feet above the bottom of the ditch, serving,

probably, as an internal communication with the town. The great kitchen

does not now exist. It was of large size and rectangular plan, and

extended from the Well Tower to the King’s Gatehouse. At one end are

seen two curious stone circles, probably intended to carry large iron

cauldrons with a space below for a fire. In the side wall, or curtain,

are some mural chambers, and a trough with a stone pipe by which water

was conveyed from the well-chamber through the wall. There is also

the springing-stone of a moulded rib, showing that the kitchen had an

open roof. In this wall a straight staircase ascends to the gatehouse,

possibly to the cook’s bedchamber.

Opposite to the kitchen a line of foundations shows the position and

dimensions of the great hall, 100 feet by 60 feet. It was built against

the south curtain, and extended from the Exchequer to the Prince’s

Tower, the latter being, probably, at the dais end. From the other end

of the hall, a straight staircase led to a postern which opened upon

the quay and the river.

Caernarvon is mainly built of limestone. The stones are hammer dressed,

and roughly squared, and laid throughout in courses. Ashlar is very

freely used, and finely cut. The mouldings employed are characteristic

of the Decorated period, and the stone has preserved its surface and

arris uninjured.

The absence of the hall and kitchen, the offices and barracks, and of

the cross building separating the two wards, gives an incomplete and

unfinished appearance to the interior of the castle, but this does not

affect its military details and those of its towers, gatehouses, and

curtains; these are very perfect and very curious. With the decline of

the Decorated period in architecture military defences also began to

decline, and the works of Edward III. and his successors, though often

palatial in their grandeur, are never of a purely military type, and in

this respect are never equal to those of the earlier Edwardian period.

[Illustration: _Caernarvon Castle._]

Caernarvon was begun in 1283, immediately upon the execution of David,

the last Welsh prince. The first work was that of quarrying the cross

ditch, and collecting materials and workmen, the latter being drafted

from the English counties. Caernarvon, Conway, Criccaeth, and

Harlech, were in progress together, and nothing short of the hope of

consolidating his kingdom could have induced so economical a sovereign

as Edward to incur expenses which, in one year, for Caernarvon alone,

amounted to above £3,000. The king was here for the first time in 1284,

in which year, April 25th, Edward of Caernarvon was born, probably in

the town. By 1295 so little progress had been made that the Welsh,

rising in local insurrection, succeeded in burning the town, and taking

what was then executed of the castle. How much was then built, or how

much they left standing is unknown, but from that time quicker progress

was made, and at Edward’s death the castle was certainly in a forward

state. The work was continued and completed by his son. The Eagle

Tower was covered in in 1316, and the king’s statue set up over the

great gate in 1320, and by 1322 the castle was completed for defensive

purposes. The chamberlain of North Wales seems to have resided here,

and the Exchequer Tower was so called because here were deposited the

financial returns for the northern counties, but it may be doubted

whether the grand accommodations designed by the original architect for

the visits of the sovereign were ever actually executed.

[Illustration: _BATTLEMENTS—EAGLE-TOWER, CAERNARVON._]

The castle fell into the hands of Owain Glendwr, and was held

alternately by king and parliament during the Great Rebellion.

One of the many valuable papers contributed by the late Mr. Hartshorne

to the _Journal of the Archæological Institute_ contains an excellent

history of this castle; had that gentleman bent himself also to the

easier task of its description, this account would have been uncalled

for.

The larger of the accompanying illustrations gives a bird’s-eye view of

the castle from the north-west. In the front and centre is the King’s

Gatehouse, and next, on the spectator’s right, is the Well Tower, and

beyond it, the Eagle Tower. On the extreme left is the interior of the

Queen’s Gatehouse, placed between the Granary Tower on the left and

the Black Tower. Opposite to the King’s Gate is the Exchequer Tower,

and between it and the Eagle is the Prince’s Tower. In the lower or

right-hand court are seen the foundations of the hall; next on the left

of the King’s Gate is the Dungeon Tower.

The smaller illustration shows the allure or rampart-walk of the

Eagle Tower. The rear wall, if it ever existed, has been removed. The

cut shows the merlon, with its contained loop, the plain flat-sided

embrasure, and the figures placed upon the ridge of the coping, one

of which gives name to the tower. The small, shoulder-headed doorway

opening from the tower upon the rampart is also seen.

CAERPHILLY CASTLE, GLAMORGAN.

Caerphilly is by very much the most extensive castle in Wales, and is

reputed to cover, with its outworks and earthworks, about thirty acres.

The castle owes its celebrity to its great extent, and to the

peculiar manner in which one of its towers has been thrown out of the

perpendicular by the forces employed for its destruction. Its real

merits are of a less obvious but much higher character, and rest upon

the great military skill exhibited in its design and construction. It

possesses few associations with historical events. But one, and he a

falling, sovereign is certainly known to have visited it. It is not,

like Kidwelly or Cardiff, the head of a feudal honour or lordship, nor

is it surrounded by any franchise or barony. It has not even received

the barren dignity of conferring a title of honour upon any of its

numerous possessors. It has been celebrated by no bard, and even

mentioned only by one.

Neither does Caerphilly possess many of the ordinary sources of

interest. It boasts not the architectural decorations of Caernarvon,

the commanding position of Conway, nor the picturesque beauty of

Raglan. It is simply a ruin of great extent, and possessing that sort

of rugged sublimity which is inseparable from an assemblage of lofty

walls and massive and partially overthrown towers, though neither

bosomed in woods, nor mantled, to any extent, with ivy.

It is remarkable that this castle should have remained altogether

neglected, or very superficially noted by the historians of Wales. The

earlier authorities, Caradoc of Llancarvan and Giraldus Cambrensis,

flourished before the erection of the present edifice, but it is

singular that silence concerning so immense a structure should have

been preserved by Lloyd, and his commentator Powel, and transmitted

almost unbroken by the indefatigable, though credulous, author of the

“Munimenta.”

It is not, however, difficult to divine the causes of the obscurity in

which the early history of Caerphilly is involved, and the absence of

any historical associations may perhaps be permitted to account for the

continued silence of modern writers.

A castle of considerable magnitude had been erected soon after the

Norman invasion of Wales, at Cardiff; a position which, from its

proximity to the estuary of the Severn, and the mouth of the Taff,

from the fertility of its subjacent meadows, from the protection which

it reciprocally afforded to, and received from, the people of the

town, and from its greater distance from the mountains, and consequent

diminished liability to be surprised by their crafty and warlike

inhabitants, was invariably the chief residence of the feudal Lords of

Glamorgan; and from hence it followed, as a necessary consequence, that

Caerphilly, which, from its dangerous proximity, they were obliged to

retain in their immediate possession, fell into comparative neglect,

and, although very superior in magnitude to Cardiff, was considered

only as its dependency in importance.

It was to the Lord of Cardiff that the feudatories of Glamorgan owed

suit and service, and it was to the castle court of that place that

they were bound annually to repair.

The castle of Cardiff is mentioned as the residence of great Norman

barons; it was more than once honoured by a royal guest, and, even at

the far later period of the Parliamentary wars, its acquisition was

considered of great importance. Caerphilly, on the contrary, is rarely

mentioned by the chroniclers, and as a military post ceased to be of

importance upon the death of Llewelyn and the reduction and settlement

of the Principality by Edward. These considerations will explain the

little notice taken by contemporaries of this magnificent fortress, and

the consequent dearth of information respecting its fortunes.

Caerphilly stands upon that wide tract of debateable ground between

England and Wales, which was so long contested by both nations under

the title of “The Marches,” and which, beneath the Normans, had its own

customs and its governors, known as the Lords Marchers.

The castle, though in the Marches, is within the Welsh border, being

about a mile from the river Rhymny, the boundary between Monmouth and

Glamorgan, and, since the reign of Henry VIII., between England and the

Principality, in this direction.

The Lordship of Senghenydd, within which the castle is placed, was

granted at the conquest of Glamorgan to Einon of Collwyn, a Welsh lord,

whose granddaughter, Nest, “verch Madoc ap Cradoc ap Einon,” married

Cadivor ap Cydrich, a grandson of Gwaethvoed, and the father of Ivor

Bach, who is described as [mesne] Lord of Senghenydd. Griffith, the

son of Ivor, married a sister of Rhys, Prince of South Wales, before

1174, when he did homage to Henry II., at Gloucester. By this match

the influence of the family, already great, with the Welsh, was much

increased and became very great. They dwelt too near Cardiff actually

to organise insurrections, but they were always ready to promote them

at any favourable opportunity. Many such opportunities occurred during

the reign of Henry III., when the Earls of Pembroke wielded the power

of the infant lord of Glamorgan, and were continually at war with

Henry. Llewelyn, then Prince of Wales, was sometimes in alliance with

the earl, and sometimes harassed his rear, descending from the uplands

of Caermarthen and Cardiff, and bursting into Monmouthshire across the

unguarded pass of Senghenydd. It became the business of Gilbert de

Clare, on coming into his lordship, to bar this passage, and this he

effectually completed by the construction of Caerphilly. The name of

his architect or engineer is unknown to fame, but he was a deacon in

his craft, and the earl gave full play to his abilities.

The castle is placed in the midst of a deep and broad hollow, open on

the east towards the Rhymny, and divided on the west from the valley of

the Taff by the mountain ridge of Mynydd Mayo. North and north-west,

at a greater distance, is the concave crest of Mynydd Eglwisilan, and

on the south, the long and well-known elevation which separates the

hill-country of Glamorgan from the plain, and is intersected by the

ravines of the Taff, the Rhymny, and the Ebbw. This ridge is locally

known as Cefn Carnau, and, on the road from the castle to the sea, is

crowned by the ancient stronghold of Môr-graig. The traveller, who

wishes to see Caerphilly to advantage, should descend upon it soon

after sunrise in autumn, from one of the surrounding heights, when the

grey towers of the castle will be seen rising out of an immense sea of

mist.

The whole basin is a part of the Glamorganshire coalfield. The mineral

has long been worked on Caerphilly mountain, where it appears on the

surface, and the castle is chiefly constructed of the fissile sandstone

of the neighbourhood, which appears to have been quarried from a large

excavation by the roadside, near Chapel-Martin.

Along the base of the mountains, and extending some way up their

skirts, here, as in all the valleys in the neighbourhood, lie vast

deposits of gravel and sand, composed in part of the _débris_ of the

neighbouring rocks, but chiefly of rolled pebbles, brought down from

the northern hills by diluvial agency.

Near the centre of the basin is a bed of gravel, of considerable extent

and thickness, the surface of which has been deeply wrought, by some

natural process, into a series of furrows and eminences.

A narrow tongue of slightly elevated ground, the termination of a

low peninsula of gravel, projects eastwards, and, by its projection,

divides a swampy flat of considerable breadth into two portions.

These are contained within irregular gravel banks, similar to, though

somewhat higher than, the central peninsula. The southern is shorter,

and almost parallel to it; the northern is prolonged, and curves

around its point, until it is separated from the southern only by an

inconsiderable gorge. The swamp thus assumes something of the figure of

a horse-shoe.

South of the peninsula, the Nant-y-Gledyr, a large rivulet, flows from

the south-west, across the swamp, through the gorge, to join the Rhymny.

North-east of the peninsula a smaller spring, partly fed by the

Nant-y-Gledyr, flows across a part of the northern swamp; and, north of

this again, another spring contributes to the same. Naturally, these

waters seem to have found their way, by a depression or gorge, to the

north-eastward, into the lower part of the Nant-y-Gledyr, outside of

and below the upper gorge already mentioned.

The tongue of land thus guarded was well suited for the purposes

of defence, supposing the peninsula to have been converted, by a

cross-trench, into an island. Water was abundant, pasturage at hand,

and the morass would form a secure front. There is, however, no

evidence that the spot was occupied by the Welsh, though it has been

supposed that the stronghold of Senghenydd was here situated.

When the castle was constructed the surface of the ground underwent

considerable alteration. The first business of the Norman engineer was

to provide for the protection of his fortress by a large expanse of

water. To effect this, the bed of the Nant-y-Gledyr was dammed up at

one gorge, and the northern waters at the other, and the two divisions

of the swamp thus formed into lakes, the southern of about 13 acres,

the northern of about one or two.

Advantage was taken of a narrow and curved ridge, which proceeded from

the root of the peninsula, to divide the northern water into two parts,

of which the one formed the middle, and the other the inner, moat.

The inner moat communicated with the southern lake by two cross cuts;

one, the old natural termination of the peninsula eastwards, the other,

an artificial cut across it on the west; and thus the circuit of the

inner moat was completed.

The island which was thus formed, and encircled by this moat, was

scarped into curtains and bastions, and faced with stone; and the

single cross-cut westward, not being deemed a sufficient defence, the

peninsula was divided by a second cross-cut further westward, and

the second island, thus formed, was converted into a sort of large

horn-work or demi-lune, covering the western approach. This also was

scarped and revetted.

Thus, then, the principal features of the ground plan are—the end of

the peninsula converted into an _island_, and defended on the north by

the _inner north moat_, on the south by the _lake_, on the east by the

_inner east moat_, and on the west by the _inner cross-cut_—the whole

making up the _inner moat_.

Proceeding outwards, we have, as the boundaries of this moat—on the

west, the _horn-work_, prolonged on the north into the _curved ridge_

forming the counterscarp of the inner moat; on the east, the natural

bank occupied by the _southern half of the grand front_; and on the

south, the acclivity of the _bank of the lake_, rising rather steeply.

All these form the outer boundaries of the inner moat. The second,

or middle, line of defence is less complete, and is confined to the

west and northern sides. It begins with the outer _cross-cut_, west

of the horn-work, which communicates at one end with the lake, and at

the other with the _middle moat_. Beyond this middle line of defence

is, upon the north-west, a high knoll, the summit of which has been

carved into a _redoubt_; towards the north the _northern bank_, which

is protected westwards by the _northern brook_, and thickened eastwards

into a dam wall; and towards the north-east, east, and south-east, by

the continuation of this bank, and the _northern half of the grand

front_, built upon it.

These defences are again strengthened—on the north by one division of

the _outer moat_, formed by the passage of the north brook, and on the

east by the other division extending in advance of the grand front,

and connected with the Nant-y-Gledyr, near the great drawbridge. These

moats are divided by a sort of _causeway_ at the north-east angle of

the outworks, reserved for the passage of cavalry from a sally-port. A

part of the earth excavated from these outer moats seems to have been

thrown up outside, so as to form banks, one of which is occupied by the

main street of Caerphilly, the other by the Nant-Garw road.

It is hoped that reference to the plan, and to the bird’s-eye view of

the lake, will suffice to render the above description intelligible.

For the purpose of the description of the castle itself, the whole may

be considered as composed of five parts, each of which will be further

subdivided. These parts are:—

I.—The GRAND FRONT. II.—The HORN-WORK. III.—The REDOUBT. IV.—The MIDDLE

WARD. V.—The INNER WARD.

I.—The eastern or GRAND FRONT of Caerphilly is a very fine and complete

specimen of a mediæval line of defence. It is composed of a long

curtain wall of considerable height and thickness, strengthened on the

exterior by buttresses and buttress-towers, rising in the centre into

a broad and lofty gatehouse, and terminated, at either extremity, by

clusters of towers that protect its sally-ports, and prevent it from

being out-flanked. Before it is a broad and deep moat, supplied with

water, and crossed by a double drawbridge. In its rear is a second

moat, also crossed by a drawbridge. The length of the façade is about

250 yards, the height varies from 20 to 60 feet.

It is divided into the great gatehouse, the northern curtain and

postern, and the southern curtain and postern.

The _Great Gatehouse_ stands a little on the north side of the centre.

Its line of front is not exactly parallel to those of the curtains, the

plan being irregular.

The _Gatehouse proper_ is a lofty oblong building, 50 feet broad by

35 feet deep, and about 60 feet high. It is perforated below by the

portal, but rises above as a broad tower. Its lateral portions project

6 feet beyond the portal, and form porters’ lodges.

[Illustration: CAERPHILLY.]

The portal, 10 feet wide by 20 feet high, was defended by gates,

portcullis, and stockade. It is guarded by loops on each side from the

lodges. Those opening from the portal, measure 20 feet by 10 feet,

have fireplaces, and were floored with timber. The walls are 9 feet

thick, and are looped in various directions for defence.

[Illustration:

Caerphilly Castle.

_Face p. 320, Vol. I._ ]

Passing through the gatehouse, behind it is a broad platform, which

extends behind the southern curtain, and is scarped and revetted

towards the inner moat; on the right of this is a prolongation of the

gatehouse westwards, into the _gatehouse tower_. One of two doorways

leads up this tower by a hexagonal well-stair, 9 feet in mean diameter;

this opens upon seven apartments in two stories, and terminates in a

lofty quadrangular turret. In the first story are devices for working

the portcullis, and a small fireplace and oven, probably intended to

serve the purpose of a cooking-place for the porter and his assistants.

These rooms are vaulted. From this story a passage opens upon the

rampart of the northern curtain, and led, probably by a temporary plank

bridge, across an abyss in the thickness of the wall, about 29 feet

deep and 5 feet wide, and opening below between the grates of a water

gate. A passage, at the ground level, leads from the platform through

the gatehouse tower, across the ditch or canal from the water gate,

to the northern curtain, and was defended by gates, portcullis, and

drawbridge.

From the gatehouse a _dividing wall_, 20 feet high and 6 feet thick,

extends westward 80 feet to the edge of the inner moat, and thus cuts

off the platform and the whole of the southern from the northern

curtain. Each face has been embattled, so that should either curtain be

taken, the other could still be defended.

At the union of the gatehouse with the _northern curtain_, in the

latter, at the level of the water’s edge, is a low-browed archway,

which could only have been accessible by a boat, and is a water gate.

It is defended by two grates, and a cavity open above between them,

and thence a _covered way_, once probably a sort of canal, leads close

under, and north of, the dividing wall, to the edge of the inner moat.

This curtain runs northward for 130 yards, and is strengthened

exteriorly by three _buttress towers_, quadrangular and solid below,

but hexagonal and chambered above. Each has a projection of 20 feet;

they are of unequal breadth. The chambers have each a loop in front,

and one at the junction of the tower with the wall on either side. They

were accessible only from the rampart.

In the curtain itself are six loops, opening in pairs between the

buttress towers. The curtain ends, northward, in a pair of towers,

connected by the vault of a portal, the _north postern_, regularly

defended, and opening upon a plot of ground and causeway separating the

two parts of the outer moat.

Behind, and parallel to this curtain, at a distance of 19 feet, was a

slight wall, 4 feet thick, which formed the back wall of a _postern

gallery_, leading from the gatehouse to the north postern, and forming

above a broad flat walk for the defence of the ramparts. This gallery

is said to have been fitted up as a stable.

_Southern Curtain._—The general plan of this curtain is irregular; it

passes south-eastward from the gatehouse, forms a large semicircle,

and, passing off in a long straight wall, crosses the Nant-y-Gledyr,

and terminates in a _tête-du-pont_ and a postern. This wall contains a

large mural garderobe tower at its angle, and is supported exteriorly

by seven quadrangular solid buttresses. In one place it is perforated

for the discharge of the waste waters of the mill, and in another for

the passage of the Nant-y-Gledyr, being, at that part, where subjected

to great pressure, 15 feet thick. This curtain is accessible from the

_tête-du-pont_; and upon it, through the garderobe tower is a mural

chamber, serving as a “place d’armes.” The face of the wall, between

the buttresses, is wrought into a concavity, increasing towards

the summit, so that any missile dropped from it would be projected

outwards. The soil of the platform behind this curtain is 25 feet above

the exterior level.

The _Platform_ is a large surface of sward behind the southern curtain,

between it and the counterscarp of the inner moat; upon it stood the

_mill_, and from it dropped the inner drawbridge. It increases in

breadth from the dam to the dividing wall, where it measures 94 feet.

The _Tête-du-pont_ terminates the southern curtain. It consists of

a curve of the wall, westward, into a semicircle, with towers and a

postern gate, protected by a bifurcated wall, intended to prevent the

curtain from being outflanked. It rests upon the outer edge of the lake.

In front of this great line of defence is a moat, about 60 feet wide,

and crossed by a double drawbridge of two spans of 18 feet each at

the great gateway, connected with a large pier in the centre of the

moat, capable of being converted into a sort of barbican. This moat

communicates with, and admitted of being filled from, the Nant-y-Gledyr.

Such is the principal front and eastern line of defence, not only

calculated to withstand attacks from the front, flanks, or rear, but

also capable of being held out, the southern against the northern part.

From the northern extremity of this front, at the northern postern, a

bank of earth, lined inwards, or on its southern face, by a wall, and

at one part thickened into a dam, divides the middle from the outer

moat, at present skirted by the Nant-Garw road. This is the _north

bank_.

From the same front, from the end of the covered way, close to the

dividing wall, a second bank of earth is given off, and, passing

westwards to unite with the horn-work, divides the inner from the

middle moat, and forms a part of the northern defences of the

castle. Its inner face is partially lined by a wall, in which is a

sluice-tunnel. This is the _curved ridge_.

II.—The HORN-WORK covering the western front of the castle, and

placed between the middle and outer gates, is an irregular polygon of

about three acres, revetted all round with a wall of 15 feet high,

above which is a talus of about 8 feet more. From its south-western

face issues one of the feeding springs of the lake. On the eastern,

or longest face, is a semi-pier, to receive the drawbridge, of 20

feet span, from the opposite gatehouse of the middle ward. On the

north-western face a similar semi-pier, between half-round bastions,

seems to have supported the drawbridge, also of 20 feet span, giving

access to the castle in this direction. Possibly each bridge was of two

pieces, one dropping from each bank upon a central tressel or timber

structure in the ditch.

III.—The REDOUBT has already been mentioned as being formed by scraping

down a knoll of gravel on the north-west quarter of the castle.

The body of this earthwork is quadrangular, capped at the three outer

angles by three bastions, and excavated in the centre into a sort

of casemate. The curtain, towards the castle, is intersected by two

trenches, separated by a mound or cavalier, and leading into the centre

of the work.

Outside the redoubt, and following the curve of its bastions, is a

ditch, upon the outer three sides broad and deep, on the fourth side

but slightly marked.

The ramparts of the redoubt are unprovided with either parapets for

canon or banquettes for musquetry, and the scarp is continued unbroken

to the rampart. Neither scarp nor counterscarp, though steep, has any

retaining wall.

Beyond its main ditch is a spacious _glacis_, terminating in three low

bastions and a shallow ditch. Both ditches were probably dry.

The whole work resembles much those thrown up in haste during the wars

between Charles I. and the Parliament, and has either been partially

destroyed, or, which seems more probable, has never been entirely

completed. No doubt it was stockaded.

The inner and middle wards of the castle occupy the island, which has

already been described as formed out of the end of the peninsula.

This island is scarped into a parallelogram, 111 yards east and west,

by 96 north and south. The four angles are capped by large bastions,

parts of circles. The intervening straight lines are termed, in

fortification, curtains.

The sides or scarps of these bastions and curtains are faced with a

stone wall 30 feet high, and surmounted by a parapet of from 5 feet to

12 feet more; and within this enclosure are contained the middle and

inner ward.

The inner ward is formed by placing a second parallelogram, smaller

than the last, within it. This forms the inner, and the concentric

space between the two, the middle, ward.

IV.—The _Middle Ward_ thus presents four divisions, towards the

cardinal points, all forming terraces of from 16 to 20 yards broad,

and the opposite sides being of nearly equal length. Upon the east and

west are the gatehouses; on the south, offices, and a water gate; and,

on the north, an open terrace, overlooking the outer defences of the

castle on that side.

The _Eastern Gatehouse_ is formed of two low towers, with half-round

projections towards the moat, and a portal between the two. The walls

are thick, and there is a lodge on each side, lighted by three loops.

Above these lodges was the battlement. On the north side is a square

building, the use of which is unknown. This gatehouse was connected

with that of the inner ward, and between the two there seem to have

been side doors.

One of these, on the south, led to the _Water-tank_, lined with

masonry, 50 feet long by 20 wide, probably a fish-preserve connected

with the kitchen.

In front of this gatehouse, and dividing it from the platform of the

grand gate, the moat is about 45 feet wide. As there are no traces of a

central pier for the drawbridge which must have crossed this space, it

seems probable that it rested on an intermediate tressel of timber, as

at Raby and Holt, which admitted of being removed or destroyed in the

event of a siege.

The _Western Gatehouse_ is placed opposite to the horn-work, and

between them is a moat 60 feet wide. The portal is loftier, and the

front broader, than in the eastern gatehouse. There are two chambers

on either side of the portal, and above them a first story, with

fireplaces and chimneys.

Between this gate and the north-west tower of the inner ward are some

later buildings, and a wall, which seems to have been intended to cut

off the communication between the gatehouse and the north terrace. On

the south side is a similar wall, shutting off the south terrace.

The offices and water-gate passage occupy a part of the south terrace

of this ward.

The _Water-gate Gallery_ leads from the hall to the lake, and is big

enough to contain a boat. It is vaulted by a succession of narrow

arches, in steps, instead of by one sloping vault. Above it are

chambers, probably for cooks and attendants in the kitchens.

Against this passage, upon its eastern side, is the _Kitchen Tower_—a

low tower of great strength, having the ground floor vaulted, and

recesses, apparently for boiling and stewing, on a large scale. The

fireplace is in the upper story.

The kitchen communicated with the hall, and with a sort of yard

occupying the eastern end of the south terrace. A well-stair leads down

to the lower, and up to the upper, kitchen.

In the yard is the oven, and a passage leading to the tank. Here, also,

against the south curtain of the inner ward is a low oblong building,

with one or two bows to the south, which seems to have been connected

with the kitchen, and, in modern days, would have been the still-room.

V.—The INNER WARD is a quadrangle, measuring 200 feet east and west, by

160 feet north and south. It is contained within four curtain walls,

capped at the angles by four round towers, and broken on the east and

west sides by two lofty and magnificent gatehouses. The south side of

the court thus formed is occupied by the hall and state apartments.

Of the _Curtains_, those on the north and east, are about 30 feet

high, including the battlement. That on the south is higher by a

story, and the rampart walk is continued along it—below, as a vaulted

_triforial gallery_ in the thickness of the wall, above, as an open

walk. The triforial passage in the southern curtain is called the

Braose Gallery, why, it is difficult to say, since the barons of that

name, though lords of Gower, had no property east of the Nedd, in

Glamorgan.

The four _Bastion Towers_ which cap the angles of this ward are

very marked features in the appearance of the castle. They have a

projection, outside the wall, of three-fourths of a circle; are of

three stages, with timber roofs and floors; and measure, in exterior

diameter, 36 feet, and within, 18 feet; the walls being 9 feet thick.

Each story is lighted by loopholes, very large within, but appearing

exteriorly as a line. A well-stair leads to the summit of each. These

towers open into the court, and upon the battlements. Their type is

best seen in the north-west tower.

The _Eastern Gatehouse_ is a superb pile. It is oblong, and has

two half-round bows on its eastern side, and two round turrets, of

three-quarter circle projection, at the north-west and south-west

angles, within the court. The building is traversed by a portal,

entered between the bow towers. The arch is “drop,” and the entrance

is defended by gates, palisade, and portcullis. Above the opening into

the court is a shoot for dropping missiles upon those below. On each

side of the portal are lodges, and the second story is a spacious

hall or council-chamber, with a large fireplace, and two large and

handsome windows looking towards the court. Above this chamber is

the battlement. On the north and south sides of this gatehouse are a

number of small apartments, mostly vaulted, and some of them used as

portcullis rooms. Over the door leading to the ramparts, on the south,

is a small oratory or chapel, with a ribbed and vaulted roof, and two

Decorated windows.

The _Western Gatehouse_ is on the same plan, but rather smaller, and

without turrets towards the court, its staircases being contained

within the thickness of the wall. The lodges on each side of the portal

are vaulted and ribbed, with ornamental corbels. They open direct into

the court. The state chamber above is not so large as in the eastern

gatehouse. It rests upon a vaulted floor.

The _Hall_ is built against the south curtain. It measures 73 feet by

35 feet, and was about 30 feet high. It is lighted by four large and

lofty windows towards the court, with ogee arches and reduplicated

bands of the ball-flower moulding; within are crocketed canopies, in a

somewhat stiff, but excellent, style. Between the windows is a broad

fireplace, and to the east of them a door, which was the principal

entrance on the south side. A door in the curtain leads down a long

vaulted passage to the water gate of the lake, and another door leads

to the kitchen and bakehouse, in the middle ward. A plain door at the

west end opens into some state apartments, and other doors, and a large

window at the east end, communicate with a cellar and the chapel.

The roof, of timber, sprung from fourteen short clustered pilasters,

resting upon heads as corbels, placed against the north and south

walls. The north wall is of dressed stone, and carried a stringcourse

with ball flowers, about 3 feet above the ground. On the east wall is

a stringcourse connected with the drip-stone of the chapel window. The

east, south, and western sides were plastered, and probably painted, or

hung with tapestry.

The _Chapel_, east of the hall—evident from its position and large east

window—presents nothing remarkable. There are four _state apartments_

west of the hall, two on the ground and two on the first floor. They

are lighted from the north, and one of the windows is of great length

and cinquefoiled, with a quatrefoil in the head. A staircase in the

thickness of the curtain wall leads into the Braose Gallery, as well as

to the upper rooms, and to some appendages connected with the sewage,

and which seem to have been added.

In the grand court, a little to the north of the eastern entrance, is

the well, about 4 feet diameter.

PRESENT CONDITION.

The castle, in its present condition, assumes a very different

appearance from that described as its original state, although enough

remains to bear out the description.

The eastern, or main front, is in good preservation. The masonry of the

three northern buttresses is but little injured, although between them

and the curtain are deep fissures, evidently the work of gunpowder,

aided by the presence of a long window on either side. The mine was

evidently sprung at the gorge of these buttresses, but the quantity of

powder introduced has not been sufficient to overthrow them.

Most of the smaller buttresses on the southern flank are unhurt, but

the two at the southern extremity are laid prostrate, with their

connecting curtain, 15 feet in thickness, forming a chasm, through

which the Nant-y-Gledyr takes its undisturbed course. The object of

this destruction, which was permanently to empty the lake, has been

gained. It is now a meadow.

The lower story of the grand gatehouse, and the piers of its bridge,

are in tolerable order; but the upper chambers of the former are

much battered, and the staircases rendered inaccessible, above a

certain height, by the absence of the newels, and the fracture of the

stone steps. The great pier stands alone, but the outer semi-pier

is encumbered with cottages. The outer and eastern moat, now of no

great depth, is still marshy. At its northern end the sides are

cultivated; towards the southern, cottages are built in it. Between

these two portions, north of the pier, is the modern entrance, passing

through the water gate, now a battered hole 11 feet wide: near it a

door has been opened into a sort of cavity below the lower story of

the gatehouse, used as a cart hovel. The foundations of the southern

curtain, being in the moat, are tolerably perfect. Those of the

northern, elevated upon a bank of earth, are much battered.

The _tête-du-pont_, in which the southern curtain terminates, has

suffered considerably. The curvilinear wall between the towers is

levelled to a breastwork, and the side of the portal towards the lake

has been blown quite away, as has been also the entrance and part of

the floor of the neighbouring D-shaped tower.

The northern limb of the bifurcated wall, proceeding from the postern,

has been blown out of the perpendicular; and, although there is no

great danger of its fall, the loose stones adjoining its fissure are a

source of danger to the antiquary who may attempt to scale it. Cottages

are clustered against the outside of this wall, and its re-entering

angle is occupied by a pigstye.

South of the castle, west of the _tête-du-pont_, the land on the back

of the lake is partly in tillage, and partly occupied by cottages; on

the north, to the west of the sally-port, the wall between the outer

and second moat is reduced to a line of foundation. The peculiar

thickness of this wall, where it has served the purpose of a dam, is

well seen. The outer moat has, in this direction, been encroached upon

by the Nant-Garw road, which tops its counterscarp for about 100 yards.

The mill is levelled to the ground. A dry watercourse, and the tunnel

enlarged into a breach, still mark the ancient exit of its waters. The

drainage of the lake was, of course, fatal to the mill. The modern

miller of Caerphilly has removed to the outside of the great southern

breach, where he takes advantage of the Nant-y-Gledyr.

The horn-work covering the western entrance remains in excellent

preservation, and its revetment, except where in part quarried, is

nearly as sound as ever, although its gatehouse and western pier, if

ever they existed, have been destroyed. They were probably of timber.

The moat, to the west of the horn-work, being still in wet weather the

channel of a rivulet, is overgrown with reeds and aquatic plants; to

the east or castle side it is swampy in wet weather; and on the south

is the bed of the ancient inundation, now a plain of sward, across

which a path leads to a spring.

Along the exterior line of defence to the north-west, the redoubt,

fosses, and adjacent earthworks are obscured by young trees and

brushwood, by the effects of tillage, and by the buildings of the

castle farm.

Entering the castle by the east water gate, the wall parallel to the

curtain which formed the back of the northern or stable gallery is seen

on the right, levelled nearly with the soil, and, consequently, all

regular access to the buttress chambers is thus cut off.

The counterscarp of the inner moat is in ruins, choking up the moat.

All vestiges of the eastern drawbridge between the grand front and the

middle ward have disappeared.

The flanking towers of the eastern gatehouse of the middle ward are

destroyed, that on the south completely, and that on the north very

nearly so, the ruins of the singular building attached to it having

prevented its entire destruction.

At the opposite or western extremity of this ward, the gatehouse is in

rather better condition. The portal has been broken away below, but the

hollow semi-piers connecting it with the horn-work remain. The front of

this gatehouse, of great thickness, is perfect, and is garnished with a

pair of chimneys; its inner part has been destroyed. The windows in the

front are the only vestiges of the upper story.

On the north front of this ward the curtain is much shattered by the

fall of the inner towers, and, as all the bastions have been ruined and

blown up, their exact line of boundary is scarcely traceable.

Upon the southern side, the wide lake and the strength of the

outbuildings have, in some degree, preserved the curtain, but the

doorway of the water gate, which opens in it, is much injured. A few

feet below its sill, a long black stain marks the height of the water

in former times, and gives about 9 feet as the average depth of the

lake.

The gallery, kitchens, &c., which occupy this side, are much injured;

but in front of the great oven a portion of the parapet remains, here

about 12 feet high, and furnished with a loop.

The tank remains, though nearly choked up with stones and brambles.

Since the fall of the adjacent wall of the bastion, its position has

been insecure. Recently its wall has cracked, and, unless repaired, it

may be expected soon to fall into the moat.

Ascending from the eastern gatehouse, across a mass of almost

untraceable ruins, the central ward of the castle is entered.

With the exception of a partial breach on the northern side, the

curtains of this inner ward have suffered but little, and the height of

the parapet and rerewall may still be inferred, by the projections at

its junction with the towers.

The eastern gatehouse has been separated by a blast into two portions;

of which the inner, towering to a prodigious height, still remains

tolerably perfect; while the outer, broken into fragments, has crushed

the lower gatehouse beneath its weight, and still encumbers it with its

ruins.