The Castle of Durham is now given over to the use of the Northern
University, and is in great part occupied by the students. Parts of it
only are open to visitors, and any description of its details, under
the present restrictions, would be of little value.
In a recent volume of the publications of the Surtees Society, Mr.
James Raine, the worthy son of a distinguished sire, has given to the
archæological world a very curious poem, now first printed, entitled
“Dialogi Laurentii Dunelmensis Monachi ac Prioris,” a work of the
time, and which records the intrusion of William Cumin into the see of
Durham. This was a period of extreme interest in that important see,
once including the city of Carlisle and the territory of Teviotdale,
and at the date of the poem still holding the Castles of Durham
and Norham, fortresses of the first rank, even in a district which
contained Bamborough.
The strife between Stephen and Maud, severe all over England, was
nowhere conducted with greater severity than upon the Tyne, the Tees,
and the Wear. David of Scotland, Maud’s uncle and active supporter,
unsubdued by his defeat at Northallerton, claimed the earldom of
Cumberland in his own right, and that of Northumberland in right of his
wife. Durham alone stood in his path, and its bishop, Geoffrey Rufus,
strong in his impregnable castle, steadfastly adhered to Stephen.
His death in 1140–41 enabled a certain William Cumin, an adherent of
David, to obtain by force and fraud possession of the castle and the
temporalities of the see, although he failed to secure his election
to the bishopric. The result was a severe contest between Cumin and
the lawful bishop, William de St. Barbe, in the course of which the
cathedral was occupied by soldiery, and its monks were ill-treated and
slain. It was not till 1144 that Cumin was put down, and peace restored
to the house and patrimony of St. Cuthbert.
Laurence, who was born at Waltham and brought up in its holy house,
came to Durham during the episcopate of Flambard, who probably
completed the castle, the masonry of which, at least, was begun during
the reign of the Conqueror. As an ordinary monk, he was celebrated for
his facility in metrical composition. He became first precentor, and
then a chaplain, to the bishop. The episcopal seat and church of Durham
has been described as
“Half church of God, half fortress ’gainst the Scot,”
and the bishops themselves partook largely of this double character. In
the bishop’s household, Laurence saw much of secular life. He became a
hunter of the wolf and boar, a fisherman, and a judge of horse-flesh;
and, if not actually a warrior, he certainly understood the principles
of military defences. At the death of Bishop Rufus his connexion with
the episcopal household ended, and he took an active part against the
intrusion of Cumin and in the election of St. Barbe. He was for some
time expelled from the monastery; but after his return became prior
in 1149. On St. Barbe’s death, in 1152, he led in the election of De
Puiset, Stephen’s nephew, and supported him against the Archbishop of
York, by whom he was excommunicated and sentenced to a penitential
flagellation at the door of Beverley. Nevertheless, he stood firm to
the election, and was one of those who accompanied De Puiset to Rome,
and witnessed his consecration by the Pope. He did not, however, live
to return to England, but died in France; and his bones only were laid
at Durham.
The Dialogues are but one of several of his poems. They may be referred
to the first half of the twelfth century, when their author was
probably resident within the castle with Bishop Rufus, and must have
been very familiar with that nearly completed structure.
The castle still retains many of the features and some of the buildings
described in the poem. The ditch which cut off the fortress from the
cathedral is, it is true, filled up, and the pasture ward to the east
is built over and obscured, but the south gate, though rebuilt, stands
on the old site, and is still the main entrance; and the wall on the
right on entering still extends towards the keep. The keep itself is a
late work; but the mound upon which it stands is a part of the original
fortress, and the masonry is laid on the old lines, and in outline
the tower no doubt represents pretty clearly the work of Flambard. A
strong wall still connects the keep with the lodgings of the castle,
and forms the front towards the river. The chapel also remains but
little altered, and the walls and arches of the dormitory are original.
The well is still seen in the open court, and is, or was recently, in
use. Notwithstanding various repairs, rebuildings, and additions, there
can be but little doubt that the Castle of Durham resembles in its
general aspect the fortress of the Conqueror and of Flambard; nor is
there in England any more remarkable example of a Norman castle of the
shell-keep type. The publication of the description of it by Laurence
possesses, therefore, a peculiar charm; and this must be the excuse for
the following attempt at its translation. The poem is here and there
very obscure, and occasionally scratches Priscian’s head; and it may be
that I have misapprehended one or two lines in the original:—
DESCRIPTIO ARCIS DUNELMENSIS, “LAUR. DUNELM.,” I.L., 367.
Arx in eo regina sedens sublime minatur,
Quodque videt totum judicat esse suum.
Murus et a porta tumulo surgente severus
Surgit, et exsurgens arcis amœna petit.
Arx autem tenues condensa resurgit in auras,
Intus sive foris fortis et apta satis.
Intus enim cubitis tribus altius area surgit,
Area de solido facta fidelis humo.
Desuper hanc solidata domus sublimior arce
Eminet insigni tota decore nitens.
Postibus inniti bis cernitur ipsa duobus,
Postem quippe potens angulus omnis habet.
Cingitur et pulchra paries sibi quilibet ala,
Omnis et in muro desinit ala fero.
At pons emergens ad propugnacula promptos
Et scandi faciles præbet ab æde gradus.
Cumque venitur eo via lata cacumina muri
Ambit, et arcis ita sæpe meatur apex.
Arx vero formam prætendit amœna rotundam,
Arte, nitore, statu, fortis, amœna, placens.
Hinc in castellum pons despicit, atque recursus
Huc et eo faciles pons adhibere solet:
Largus enim gradibus spatiatur ubique minutis,
Nec se præcipitat sed procul ima petit.
At prope murus eum descendit ab arce reflectens
In zephyrum faciem flumen ad usque suam.
Cujus ab āēra largo sinuamine ripa
Se referens arvum grande recurvus obit.
Obditus et siccis aquilonis hiatibus arcem
Exsurgens repetit fortis ubique feram.
Nec sterilis vacat aede locus quem circinat alti
Ambitus hic muri; tecta decora tenet.
Consita porticibus duo magna palatia præfert
In quibus artifices ars satis ipsa probat,
Fulget et hic senis suffulta capella columnis,
Non spatiosa nimis, sed speciosa satis.
Hic thalami thalamis sociantur, et aedibus aedes,
Et datur officio quælibet apta suo.
Hic vestes, ibi vasa nitent, hic arma coruscant,
Hic (_sic_) æra latent, hic caro, panis ibi.
Hic fruges, ibi vina jacent, hic potus avenæ,
Hic et habet propriam munda farina domum.
Cumque sic hinc domus atque domus jungantur, et aedes
Ædibus, inde tamen pars ibi nulla vacat.
Castelli medium vacat æde, sed exhibet altum
Ille locus puteum sufficientis aquæ.
Queen-like the castle sits sublime, and frowns
O’er all she sees, and deems the whole her own.
Straight from the gate the gloomy wall ascends
The mound, and thus the stately keep attains.
A close-built citadel, piercing the clear air,
Outside and inside strong, well fitted to its use.
Its base, of heaped-up earth three cubits raised,
Solid and firm, the floor does thus support;
On which firm base the supereminent keep
Rises, unrivalled in its glittering sheen.
On twice two timbers stayed, are seen to rest
The buildings there, for each main angle one:
While round each half circumference are wings,
Each ending in a formidable wall.
Springing from these a bridge, by easy steps,
To the high battlements an access forms,
Where the broad wall all round gives ample path,
And thus the summit of the keep is gained.
Stately that keep! a circle in its form,
Splendid and strong by art, and by position fair.
Thence, downward to the castle, leads the bridge,
And offers easy access to and fro;
For broad its path with many a shallow step,
The base attaining by a gradual slope.
Hard by, the wall, thrown backwards from the keep,
Faces the west towards th’ encircling stream,
On whose high bank continued, it enfolds
With a bold sweep an ample pasture there;
From parching northern blasts protected thus,
And so curves round to the stern keep again.
Nor does the space within the wall embraced
Stand without buildings: such there are, and good.
Two porches to two palaces belong,
Of which the work to th’ artist brings no shame.
Here, too, a chapel fair six columns boasts,
Nor large, nor small, but fitted to its needs.
Here beds lie near to beds, and halls to halls,
Each for its province suitably disposed:
Robes here, bright vessels there, here glittering arms,
Here bread, there flesh, and tempting coin concealed,
And corn and wine laid down, and barley beer,
And the clear flour here finds its proper bin.
Thus on one side house joins to house, and hall
To hall. The other too is occupied.
The court alone is free, and there is seen
The well, full deep, with water well supplied.
EATON-SOCON CASTLE, BEDFORDSHIRE.
The Ouse, rising in the shires of Northampton and Bucks, and finally
falling at King’s Lynn into the head of the Wash, flows deep and
sluggish past Bedford, St. Neots, and Huntingdon, intersecting broad
tracts of low and level land, now fertile meadow, but formerly almost
impassable swamp, opposing great difficulties to the march of an
invading force, especially if advancing from the eastern coast. At
Eaton-Socon, between Bedford and Huntingdon, and a little above the
town of St. Neots, the Ouse impinges upon the rising ground to the
west, upon which stand Eaton Church and Village, and which afforded
facilities for the construction of a large and lofty earthwork.
This earthwork, known as the Castle Hill, is placed upon the west or
left bank of the river, about 30 yards from its present brink, and a
furlong or so from the fine parish church. It is possible that when the
earthwork was first formed, the course of the stream lay at the foot of
the banks. At present there is a large mill upon the river, a few yards
above the castle, the leat of which is reunited to its parent stream
opposite to the south-eastern edge of the fortress.
The appended sketch shows the general plan of the place. It is, roughly
speaking, a triangle, the east side, of 160 yards, resting upon the
river, and the north side, of 140 yards, projecting from it at a
right angle. The third side, or hypothenuse, is convex and irregular;
measured upon the curve, it is in length about 220 yards. The area,
complete, is about 3½ acres.
The work is composed of three parts—an Inner, Northern, and Outer ward.
The inner and north wards lie side by side upon the river, separated
by a cross ditch. The two are contained within another ditch, which
communicated at each end with the river. Beyond this, covering the
south-western front, is the outer ward, and beyond this again the outer
ditch, which commences at the south-east corner in the mill leat,
covers the south-western front, and at the north-western angle sweeps
round to join the ditch already mentioned, and thus, through it, to
communicate with the river at the north-east corner of the work.
The _Inner Ward_ is about 45 yards north and south, or along the river
front, by 54 yards east and west. Its figure is a rectangle, with the
angles so rounded off that its aspect is almost as much that of a
circle as of a square. Towards the river is a steep slope of about 20
feet. On the other sides a similar slope falls towards the ditch. On
the crest of the slope on these three inland sides is a bank of earth
about 8 feet to 12 feet high, especially strong at the north-west
corner. The entrance was at the south-east corner. The inner area or
platform of the ward is about 15 feet above the level of the exterior
soil. On this platform, about 8 yards from the north-east corner, is
a low circular mound about 5 feet high and 40 feet diameter upon its
table-top. It may have been somewhat higher. It has no ditch of its
own. The ditch of this ward is from 40 feet to 50 feet broad, and still
contains water.
[Illustration: EATON SOCON, BEDS.]
North of this is the _North Ward_, above 35 yards north and south, by
80 yards east and west. This also has a ditch about 40 feet broad, on
the west and north fronts. From the inner ward it is separated by the
cross ditch common to the two, and towards the river is a steep slope
about 20 feet high. Besides these defences, the slope on the west and
north is crested by a steep bank of earth, and towards the south, or
inner ward, is one somewhat slighter.
The _Outer Ward_ is in figure long and curved. Its breadth ranges from
29 yards at the north end down to 22 yards near the south-east end,
beyond which it terminates upon the mill leat in a point. This ward
is separated from the other two by a common ditch, which communicates
with the cross ditch, and thus at three points, directly or indirectly,
with the river. The south-eastern end opens at the junction of the leat
with the river. The leat covers this end of the ward, and from the leat
springs the outer ditch, from 40 feet to 50 feet broad, which covers
the outer front of the ward, and at its northern end, sweeping round
by a sharp angle, is continued till it joins the north ditch, of which
it thus forms a part. The entrance was at the south-east corner, where
a modern causeway crosses this outer ditch. The road thence skirts the
edge of the outer ward, along the margin of the leat, and thence, by
a second causeway, crosses the inner ditch, and, ascending the slope,
gains the inner ward. No doubt these causeways represent drawbridges.
It does not appear how the inner and north wards communicated. The
bridge between the latter and the outer ward was probably at the
south-west corner of the northern. The ditches are in parts reduced
in depth, and evidently were originally fed from the river. There is
not a trace of masonry, but depressions in the bank of the north ward
seem to indicate towers at its north-east and north-west angles. It is
convenient to use the term angle, but the lines are more or less curved
and irregular, and are largely rounded where they meet. The plan has,
in fact, nothing of the squareness of a Roman work, and the rounding
of the angles is quite different. It is probable that the tendency to
sharpness in its outline is due to the walls and towers of the work in
masonry, which, though now gone, is reported to have been at one time
present.
Eaton, or Eiton, appears in Domesday as held _in capite_ by the Bishop
of Bayeux, but there is no mention of a castle either then or at any
later time. The Beauchamps, its later lords, do not there appear as
Bedfordshire landowners. In the “Liber Niger,” however, about 1165,
Simon de Beauchamp held a barony, under which Hugh de Beauchamp held
one knight’s fee.
This Hugh was of Eaton. He was the eldest son of Oliver, a cadet of
Milo de Beauchamp, of Bedford. Oliver and Hugh were founders of Bismead
Priory, in Eaton parish. Hugh was a considerable baron. He was Custos
of Rhuddlan Castle 3 Henry II., and, 22 Henry II., one of those who
conveyed Henry’s daughter to Palermo, on her marriage with the King
of Sicily. He was slain in Palestine, 33 Henry II., and succeeded by
Roger, his brother, and he by a third brother, William, whose son John
inherited, and, 6 Henry III., was seized of the family manors of Eaton
and Sandy. His son was William, living 42 Henry III., father of Ralph,
summoned as Lord Beauchamp of Eaton, and who died 21 Edward I., holding
one fee in Sandy and Eaton, no doubt that held by Hugh, his ancestor.
He held Eaton _in capite_, “per baroniam.” His son, Roger de Beauchamp,
of Eaton, was the last summoned. He was aged 21 at his father’s death,
and his descendants have not been followed up.
44 Edward III., John de Goldington and Jocosa his wife, John
Hemmyngford and others, were seized of a third part of Eaton juxta St.
Neots, and half of Sandy. 1 Henry IV., Sandy was held by Katherine,
wife of Sir Thomas Engayne; and 1 Edward IV., Lord Zouch had Eaton.
Long after the extinction of the barons, the barony remained, and
Wyboldeston Manor was held of it by Sir John de Greystock. In the
reigns of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, Eaton was held by the Lords
Vaux of Harrowden, who sold it in 1624. They were cadets of Vaux of
Gillsland, and are said to have inherited Eaton from the Beauchamps.
Although the manor of Eaton is not unfrequently mentioned in the
records, we never hear of the Castle, nor is the addition of “Socon”
ever used. Leland writes of “Eiton a good village in interiore ripa”
[of the Ouse] ... “where be seen vestigia castelli between the church
and the ripe, and almost hard on the ripe.... The ruins of Eiton
Castle long to Lord Vaux.” In Leland’s loose language these terms may
apply to the earthworks only. It is, however, probable, from present
appearances, and from the place having for six descents been the
chief, if not the only seat, of barons of the realm, that there was a
castle, and Speed, writing a little later, names Woodhill, Tempsford,
Eaton, and Ampthill, as the castles of Bedfordshire. It is possible
that a very moderate excavation would lay bare the foundations, though
no doubt, building materials being scarce in these parts, those who
dismantled the castle would make a clean sweep of the masonry.
The position is a very strong one, and the earthworks much resemble
those of Huntingdon, and are probably of the same age. The mill is
no doubt a very old one, though this does not apply to the present
structure.
THE CASTLE OF EWIAS HAROLD, HEREFORDSHIRE.
The “Castellaria Aluredi Ewias” of Domesday was a tract, the
particulars of which are not known, but which no doubt lay among those
lines of hill and valley which converge like the fingers of a hand
upon the Worm and the Monnow, between the Golden Valley and the Black
Mountain, and form the south-western portion of the county of Hereford.
The actual castle, “Castellum Ewias,” stands about six miles within
the border, and about three miles outside or west of the presumed line
of Offa’s Dyke at this point. The country is hilly, but fertile, well
worth the defence, for which it affords many natural advantages. The
immediate position is chosen with great skill, though it required an
immense application of human labour to make it an almost impregnable
fortress against the fierce and active hordes of Welshmen whose
alienated patrimony it was intended to grasp. While the Mound of Builth
remains an evidence of English rule, that of Ewias can scarcely be
regarded as the advanced post, the “Castle Dangerous” upon the British
territory; but it must nevertheless at all times have been a post of
very great danger, and have borne, with Kilpeck, the brunt of the
ordinary and frequent attacks of the men of South and West Wales upon
Hereford.
In selecting the position advantage was taken of a tongue of high land,
broad towards the west and north, but which came rapidly to a narrow
and almost abrupt termination in a point about 300 feet above and
within the junction of the two adjacent streams. Of these the larger
flows along the northern front of the position, and the smaller down a
deep valley along its southern front. The two meet a few score yards
below the high ground; and upon the left or further bank of the larger
stream, and a short distance above the junction, is the church, and
attached to it the village, to which the castle and its English lord
have given the distinguishing name.
It was decided to convert the point or eastern end of the high ground
into the proposed strong place, and to form thus, in the northern
fashion, an isolated mound. With this intent a broad and deep ditch was
cut across the ridge, curved so as to embrace about one-half of the
future elevation. At its north end the ditch was carried straight down
the hill-side towards the brook. At its south end it came to rather
a sharp conclusion, running out upon a natural bank and slope. Here,
however, it was in some sort resumed at a lower level, and ended in a
shallow ditch at the southern or principal entrance to the castle. The
part thus isolated by the ditch formed the circular base of a mound
of about 120 yards diameter and about 30 feet high. This the addition
of the soil from the ditch raised to about 70 feet, and thus gave
it, in the military sense, a command over the adjacent part of the
original ridge. On its opposite, or eastern side, the mound does not
descend at once towards the junction of the waters, but at its foot is
a broad semicircular platform, which covers its east, north-east, and
south-east fronts, and from the outer or convex edge of which descends
a steep slope towards the water, which slope is again succeeded by
inclinations of a far more gentle character, not included in the
military works.
A fair general idea of this stronghold may be given by supposing a
circular platform of 200 yards diameter to be bordered on the east and
adjacent sides by a steep natural slope falling from its edge, and on
the west and adjacent sides by a steep artificial slope falling to
its edge. Then on the western margin is placed a conical table mound,
60 feet or 70 feet high, and about 120 yards diameter at the base,
which necessarily converts the western slope into the further side
or counterscarp of a ditch, and reduces the eastern side to an open
crescent-shaped platform. Such is the original plan of the Castle of
Ewias, and such its present appearance after the complete removal
of the masonry which for about 600 years adorned or encumbered its
earthworks.
The top of the mound is oval, about 34 yards north and south by 40
yards east and west. Upon it has stood a shell-keep, either circular or
many-sided, about 30 yards diameter. Although no masonry remains, the
outline of the keep is plainly indicated by the trench which has been
dug while the foundations were being grubbed up. The keep seems from
this to have stood, not in the centre, but nearer the eastern margin
of the mound, probably to allow room for a couple of exterior towers,
or perhaps a gatehouse, which seems to have stood where now are some
circular pits. Towers would be well placed on this the weakest side,
so as to give a still greater command over the approach along the high
ground. There is no trace of any regular ascent to the keep,—no mark of
an original winding path up the mound, that now in use being evidently
very modern. The side is so steep that no wheeled carriage could ascend
it, and scarcely any heavily-laden horse. Probably the way up lay by a
direct flight of steps, as at Hawarden and Carisbrook.
There is no trace of a well. The material of the keep was evidently a
hard schistose bed of the old red sandstone, fragments of which are
seen in the excavations.