About two hundred and fifty yards south-west of the town stands the
remains of the castle, a stately edifice, erected by the Lord Treasurer
Cromwell, about the year 1440.
William of Worcester states, that the Lord Treasurer expended in building
the principal and other towers of this castle above four thousand marks;
his household there consisted of one hundred persons, and his suite, when
he rode to London, commonly of one hundred and twenty horsemen; and his
annual expenditure was about £5000. {86}
This castle was originally intended as a place of defence, and was
surrounded by two fosses, the inner one faced with brick, great part of
which is now remaining. Formerly it was of great extent, but was
dilapidated in the civil wars between the unfortunate Charles the first
and his parliament: for the damages thereby sustained, Theophilus, fourth
Earl of Lincoln, petitioned parliament in the year 1649.
The part now remaining, is a rectangular brick tower of exquisite
workmanship, about one hundred feet in height, divided into four stories,
and flanked by four octagonal turrets; and is raised on ponderous arches,
forming spacious vaults, which extend through the angles of the building,
into the bases of the turrets. {87} Under the crown of these vaults was
a deep well, which is now filled up.
[Picture: South-West View of Tattershall Castle, with a Ground Plan]
The walls are of great thickness, particularly that on the east side, in
which are several galleries and narrow rooms, arched in a curious manner,
through which communications were obtained with the principal apartments
in the several stories, from the great stairs in the south-east turret.
The east wall also contains the chimnies.
The windows are of the pointed order, well-proportioned, and contain
tracery; those on the south, west, and north sides are large, and from
them the principal apartments received light; those on the east are
smaller, being designed to give light only to the rooms and galleries in
that wall.
The main walls were carried to the top of the fourth story, where the
tower was covered by a grand platform, or flat roof, which, together with
the several floors, is entirely destroyed. Surrounding this part of the
tower are very deep machicolations, upon which, and part of the main
walls, is a parapet of great thickness, with arches, intended to protect
the persons employed over the machicolations. Upon these arches is a
second platform, enclosed with a parapet and embrasures; above which the
embattled turrets rise to a considerable height; three of them
terminating in cones covered with lead. The cone on the fourth turret is
demolished.
On the ground floor is an elegantly carved stone chimney piece,
embattled, and ornamented alternately with arms, and treasury purses with
the motto “nay je droit.”
_First Row_.