probably were for a time content with the Roman walls as they stood,
and with the palisaded citadel of the mound. At least, there is no
certain trace of any very early Norman masonry. Indeed, the only
masonry of Norman date at all now to be seen is a fragment of wall with
a window, the remains of a superstructure upon one of the northern
towers, and some patchwork in flints, and a few courses of stone
laid herring-bone fashion, by which the face of another of the Roman
towers has been repaired. Had the Normans of the eleventh or twelfth
centuries constructed any eastern walls, gatehouses, or mural towers
within the court, some trace of them would probably remain. The chapel,
indeed, judging from its dimensions, was Norman, and the base of the
font decidedly so; and it is possible that the shapeless fragments of
rubble masonry which encumber the top and slopes of the mound may be
of the same, that is, of late Norman, date. In truth, the castle, as
the Normans found it, was a very strong place. The walls only needed
a battlement, and even if this were surmounted, the entrenched and
palisaded mound would be perfectly defensible so long as provisions
held out.
At this time the Roman _enceinte_ contains the remains of a strong and
tolerably perfect mediæval castle. This, as usual in such cases, takes
the form of an addition to the defences of the mound, shutting it off
as a citadel from the rest of the works. Advantage was taken of the
broad and deep ditch extending from the east to the south wall, 210
yards in length, curved westwards or outwards, and which shut off the
mound, and a part of the great area, and thus formed an inner ward, of
about an acre and a quarter, containing the mound or keep. The ditch,
which was probably supplied with water from the sea at its south end,
gives off a branch northwards towards the Roman tower, called the
watch-tower, and this cuts off the north-east corner of the ground,
which thus forms a sort of small middle ward between the forks of the
ditch. Behind the ditch is a curtain wall, near the centre of which is
a gatehouse of some pretensions, and three large drum-towers, of which
two flank the gatehouse, and one is placed to the north of it.
The gatehouse points to the west, opposite to that of the Roman area,
now the outer ward, at a distance of 184 yards. In front of it are
the two solid piers of the drawbridge, 14 feet wide, and approached
from without between curved wing walls. The piers were faced with
ashlar, now stripped off. The space between them is 12 feet, and may
have been 10 feet The gatehouse is composed of two half-round towers,
produced backwards to contain the entrance passage. Outside, these
towers somewhat resemble those of the Roman or outer gate, which may
have served as their pattern. Their loops are of unusual length, one
being 15 feet long. The vents of two garderobes are seen, opening flush
with the wall. One seems to be the lower end of a loop. They contain a
basement, a ground, and an upper floor, looped towards the field, not
vaulted, and duly provided with garderobes. The north tower, faced with
sound, though rather open-jointed, ashlar, is still standing, though
mutilated. In its ground floor is a fireplace. The south tower is
quite broken down. The entrance passage is tolerably perfect, although
the gateway at each end is gone, as is the upper chamber for working
the portcullis, of which part of the grooves remain. The passage,
12 feet broad and 35 feet long, was vaulted with a segmental vault,
strengthened with plain broad chamfered ribs, now broken away, and in
the vault, a little behind the portcullis, is a large square central
hole or “meurtrière” for the defence of the passage. In either wall
is an arcade of two arches, a larger and a smaller, low pointed. The
larger are closed, the smaller pierced by doors opening into the ground
floors of the gatehouse.
Flanking the gatehouse, at a distance of 33 yards north and 54 yards
south, are two grand round towers, each capping an angle of the
curtain. The north curtain has a base or plinth slightly battering. The
wall is vertical. There is no cordon between them. The north-west tower
is 30 feet diameter, and has a basement, ground, and upper floor. The
basement, though below the inner ward level, is on the level of the
ground outside. It is arcaded, having six arches in its rounded sides,
and one in its flat end or gorge. These arches have a drip of the
double-scroll pattern, and between each pair springs a moulded rib, and
one from each of the two right angles, eight in all. They are broken
away, but their profile is seen, and the plan of the vault may be
inferred. The entrance to this chamber is by a straight staircase from
the inner ward, and at the foot of the stairs is a lobby on the left
or west side leading to a postern doorway placed at the junction of the
tower with the curtain. In the gorge wall is a fireplace, the hood of
which seems to have been of timber. It is difficult to understand what
this chamber can have been intended for, with its ornate details and a
fireplace, and yet half under ground.
The ground floor is entered from the inner ward by a separate entrance,
in the right or east wall of which an opening passes into an oblong
mural chamber, vaulted, and contained within the curtain. This chamber
has a water drain, and above it, in the wall, three bold corbels, and
above these a small segmental-headed doorway, now blocked up. This is
a very peculiar arrangement, and it looks as though there had been a
wooden structure, perhaps a garderobe, bracketed out upon the face of
the wall, over the ditch, at about 10 feet from the ground. The upper
floor of the tower was entered from the battlements, the tower rising
above the wall. Only the basement floor was vaulted. Each stage is
lighted, or rather ventilated, by loops towards the field.
The southern flanking tower is nearly upon the pattern of that last
described, save that the basement is not arcaded, and none of the
floors vaulted.
The third tower, in the north wall, 36 yards from the north-west
flanker, is of the same pattern, with the same exceptions. The
staircase into the basement has a side door opening upon a postern
in the east wall, with a segmental head, and from the ground-floor
entrance there opens, westwards, a long mural chamber, the counterpart
of that described as attached to the north-west flanker, having
also brackets and corbels, and a small door in the wall, 10 feet
above the ground, as though for a timber garderobe. These are all
the regular towers, but in the south wall, where a tower might be
expected, is a postern, which pierces the wall at its junction with
the Roman wall, and outside and in front of it is a fragment of a
Roman tower, which has slipped forwards a few yards, and forms a sort
of bulwark concealing and protecting the postern. It is evident that
the displacement of the tower is older than the Norman period, and
was taken advantage of by the later builder. In the north wall of
this inner ward, beneath the north and north-west towers, is a large
fireplace, perhaps that of a hall. The kitchen was probably in the
north-west tower, and the large mural drain was connected with it.
The mound, which occupied the east end of the castle and carried the
keep, remains tolerably perfect, though much encumbered with ruins,
produced evidently by gunpowder. Against its east side, and supporting
the mound, is a Roman tower, which was worked into the keep, its solid
top being battlemented. The mound has a spur of earth towards the
north, probably connecting it with the north wall, but nothing definite
can at present be ascertained, though the foundations upon it, if laid
open, would probably disclose something.
As the mediæval castle is placed within the eastern end of the Roman
area, its eastern side osculated with the Roman boundary, which is
here common to both areas. About four-fifths of the enclosing wall of
the castle is mediæval, but the remainder, that towards the east, is
Roman, which is thus common to both fortresses. Commencing at the south
postern, where the two walls are in contact, to the great disadvantage
of the masonry of later date, the Roman wall extends, partially propped
up by a later buttress, until it reaches a Roman tower that connected
it with the keep mound. Beyond this, passing southward and eastward, to
where the mediæval wall springs from the Roman _enceinte_, the Roman
wall has been left to support the mound, but about 6 feet in front of
it a mediæval wall, 9 feet thick, has been built, probably to afford
more space above, and to assist in supporting the earthwork. The
castle has been attacked on this side, or else those who dismantled
it, thinking this the strongest part, have mined and blown it up, for
the glacis for many yards is covered with enormous masses of masonry,
which have evidently been displaced by gunpowder exploded in large
quantities. At one part, abutting upon the Roman tower, the two walls
are seen. About 20 feet of the mediæval wall, 9 feet thick and 10 feet
high, stands undisturbed, though above this height its superstructure
has been blown off. Behind it is the Roman wall of about the same
height, not only reduced in height by the explosion, but tilted
forward. This is what has happened in this quarter, and the history of
it is clear, even in the midst of so great a confusion.
Within the mediæval or inner ward an excavation shows the position and
plan of the chapel, with a nave 40 feet by 16 feet 8 inches broad,
and chancel of 12 feet 8 inches by 11 feet 6 inches. A fragment of
the font has been preserved. The chapel is, no doubt, of Norman date,
and older, therefore, than the castle in its present form. There is
also a rude pillar piscina, such as is now and then found in Norman
buildings. There are one or two in Glamorganshire. The free chapel in
the castle is mentioned in the grant of John of Gaunt. The well also
has been discovered at the foot of the mound. It is cylindrical, 7 feet
diameter, and lined with ashlar to a depth of 52 feet, below which it
is square and lined with timber.
The Roman works at Pevensey have been explored and examined, as already
stated, by Mr. Roach Smith. Unfortunately, the mediæval castle has been
less fortunate, and has not been accurately described. A short but
complete and brilliant description of Pevensey, and a notice of the
part it played in the campaign of 1066, will be found in Mr. Freeman’s
“Norman Conquest.” It also plays a conspicuous part in his recent life
of the Red King.
PICKERING CASTLE, YORKSHIRE.
The castle and town of Pickering stand upon the southern edge of the
moors of north-eastern Yorkshire, where the upland subsides into a
broad tract of meadow, which, under the names of Carr, Ing, Marisch,
and Bottom, extends southwards nearly to Malton, and east and west from
near Scarborough to a little short of Helmsley. This is the district
known as the Lythe or Vale of Pickering, of which the castle was the
chief seat.
One of the principal passes into the Lythe from the north is that now
occupied by the Malton and Whitby Railway, and down which flows the
Pickering Beck, a tributary (through the Costa Beck) of the Rye and the
Derwent. The pass is rather a ravine than a valley, and is deep, rocky,
narrow, and winding. The castle occupies a rocky knoll near where the
pass opens out into the plain, and stands a few yards east of, and 100
feet or more above, the stream, on either bank of which is built the
town, below and under the immediate protection of the castle.
The position is upon a rocky headland, about 70 feet or 80 feet above
the town, and jutting out sharply towards the north and west into the
valley. Thus two sides, covering nearly half the area, are naturally
strong. Towards the south and west the ground rises gently, attaining
to the height of 200 feet and even 300 feet, at distances of a quarter
of a mile to two miles. On these sides, therefore, the defence is
artificial, and composed of a deep and broad ditch, which opens out
upon the valley at each of its ends. It is quite dry, and from its
position and level was probably always so: a part of it, indeed,
carried the way up to the postern.
The area thus defended falls somewhat towards the west. It is
pear-shaped, the stalk being towards the south-west. Its cross
dimensions are about 500 feet by 350 feet. It is contained within a
curtain wall of considerable height and strength towards the town
front, and having upon its southern half four towers. Upon the
northern half were formerly two, both of which have disappeared. The
keep and the inner gatehouse belong to both divisions, being upon the
line common to both. Within the general area, and rather near to its
north-eastern or larger end, is a conical flat-topped mound, wholly
artificial, and surrounded by a circular ditch, of which a part towards
the east is quarried out of the rock. Upon this mound stood the keep,
and from it, on nearly opposite sides, sprung the cross curtain which
traversed the area in almost its greatest diameter, and, with the keep,
divided it into two nearly equal wards, to the north and the south.
On the outer or the southern front of this wall is a deep and wide
ditch, which extends from the ditch of the mound each way towards the
_enceinte_, the eastern limb opening into the outer ditch, and the
western upon the face of the low cliff. Each of these openings is,
however, traversed by the main curtain. Upon the southern and longer
limb of the cross-curtain is the inner gateway, leading from one ward
to the other, and opposite to the outer gate, which is on the southern
front.
The four mural towers already mentioned are all in the southern ward.
They are, Mill Tower, Rosamond’s, the Devil’s Tower, and the Gate
Tower. Devil’s Tower contains a postern. Besides the keep, Leland
mentions three towers in the north ward. Of these the inner gate was
one, and the other two probably capped the two angles of that ward. The
domestic buildings in Leland’s time were of timber, and are gone. There
remains a chapel, desecrated, and of which the existing building is of
very doubtful date.
The mound is 76 feet diameter at the flat top, about 70 feet high,
and at its base in the bottom of the surrounding ditch about 220 feet
diameter.
The keep, which is placed upon its summit, was a shell of masonry, 6
feet to 7 feet thick; within it is circular; and outside, in part at
least, polygonal; and was perhaps originally a nonagon, with sides of
24 feet. Of this shell there remain two fragments, on nearly opposite
sides of the area, one 35 feet long, and containing two loops, the
other 24 feet, and containing a loop and a half. These are at the
ground level. They are 6 feet high and of 3 inches opening, dove-tailed
at the lower end, and having a short cross member. Each is placed in
a round-headed recess of 6 feet opening, and splayed. The fragments
are about 18 feet high, and may have been 20 feet to the rampart walk.
Outside, the wall rises from a low plain plinth. The wall is of rude,
roughly-coursed rubble, with ashlar dressings and quoins at the two
angles that remain. There is a ledge or walk of about 2 feet broad
outside the wall.
From opposite sides of the mound spring the cross curtains, at a very
obtuse angle, so that a trifle more of the base of the mound belongs
to the south than to the north ward. These curtains are 7 feet thick,
and are built upon the slope and across the ditch of the mound, being
at the deepest about 70 feet high. At present they cease at the top
edge of the mound, and do not seem to have been any higher, save by
a parapet, or to have abutted against the keep. This is what appears
at Tickhill and Tamworth. No doubt the parapet was continued against
the keep wall, and there may have been a postern, as at Hawarden,
where, however, the wall itself abuts upon the keep. The eastern limb
is tolerably perfect as far as the counterscarp of the ditch. It is
then broken down for some feet, but finally is seen to have abutted
upon the outer curtain, close to the Devil’s Tower. The other, or
western limb, extends to the inner gate tower. Towards the junction the
curtain is somewhat thickened and very lofty. Here a straight flight of
steps ascends from the rampart walk to a second rampart higher up, so
that there are two rows of loops, the upper being in the battlement.
Possibly there was a wooden gallery here to give breadth to the upper
rampart.
The gate tower, at which the curtain ends, was not a gatehouse, but a
tower by the side of the gateway, but having no communication with it,
as at Cardiff and Ogmore. This tower is 21 feet broad by 16 feet deep,
and had a basement and two stories. The gateway, of which it formed
the eastern side, was probably a mere opening in the curtain. The
further side is gone, but the tower side shows no marks of vaulting or
portcullis, and has but one rebate for the doors. Here was a drawbridge
of 6 feet span, of which the counter-pier remains. From the gateway
the cross curtain was continued until it abutted on the west curtain.
All this part is gone, or nearly so. In front of the cross curtain is
a ditch, crossed by the outer curtain at each end, and running into
the ditch of the mound, as has already been mentioned. It is from this
ditch that opens internally the postern of the Devil’s Tower. This
cross curtain is of rough masonry, and at the least its lower part may
very well be Norman work.
Of the towers in the outer ward, the first to be noted is the Mill
Tower. This caps the eastern angle of the castle. It is 31 feet 6
inches square, with walls 10 feet thick. It has a basement and two
upper stories, all once floored with timber. It is built of excellent
ashlar. The basement chamber is at the ward level, but 20 feet or
more above the ditch. It is 11 feet 6 inches square, and entered by
an acutely-pointed doorway from the inner face. In its outer face is
rather a singular loop. A shoulder-headed recess, 4 feet 3 inches
broad, and 5 feet deep, converges upon a loop of 4 inches opening,
the sides of which are parallel for 5 feet. On the splay of the loop,
in the scanty light of it, some prisoner has carved a circle with
figures. Outside, in the west wall, is the mouth of a small drain from
this chamber, which was evidently a prison. The first floor is at the
level of the rampart walk of the outer curtain, and is entered thence
by means of an external stone stair, sheltered by a parapet, 6 feet 6
inches high. The doorway has an equilateral head, with deep mouldings,
beaded angles, and a passage ribbed transversely. The chamber is 15
feet 6 inches square. In the west wall is a garderobe chamber, 2 feet
6 inches broad by 10 feet long, looped, and with an external shoot,
flush with the wall. In the south wall is an equilateral arched
recess, with a ribbed barrel-vault and stone seats, and in it a
two-light flat-topped window, trefoiled. In the east wall is a plain,
square-headed fireplace, and a door, also square-headed, opening into a
well-stair, which ascends hence to the battlements and the upper floor.
This stair is contained within a triangular projection from the tower.
It ends above under a ribbed and domed covering.
Rosamond’s Tower caps the south-west angle of the curtain. It is of
ashlar, 22 feet broad by 24 feet deep, and has no internal projection.
The floors were of timber. It has a basement about 5 feet above the
court level, and a first and second floor. The basement, entered from
the ward, is 10 feet by 8 feet, and has a single loop. The gorge wall,
at the rampart level, is pierced by a gallery to carry the rampart
walk. The gallery descends and rises again 4 feet, the first floor,
being so much below the rampart level. This floor seems also to have
been entered by an exterior stair built over the lower doorway.
The Devil’s, or Postern Tower, that north-east of the keep, is
rectangular and of ashlar, and has exterior projection only. It is 22
feet broad by 27 feet deep. The basement is vaulted, and pierced by a
postern passage. The inner door, pointed, opens in the bottom of the
ditch of the cross curtain; it is now nearly buried. The outer door
is walled up. It is pointed, of 3 feet 6 inches opening, and placed
in a square-headed recess, 6 inches deep, 5 feet broad by 10 feet
high, intended to lodge the bridge when up. At the foot of this door,
outside, in two large stones, are two holes, 6 inches diameter and 18
inches deep, which contained the wooden axle of the drawbridge. Above
is a central chain-hole for working the bridge. The chain must have
carried a yoke, or sort of splinter-bar, 4 feet or 5 feet long, with
lateral chains fastened to the sides of the platform, such as was used
at Raglan and is still in use at the castle of Verona. This bridge must
have had a special pit, since the way to it, inside and outside, lay
along the bottom of the regular ditches. Above the door is a cruciform
loop, and above that a plain one. The approach to this postern lay from
the meadow north of the castle, up the mouth of the ditch of the place.
The first floor of this tower is entered by a round-headed, Decorated
door, with exterior steps, through a mural passage, 3 feet broad and
20 feet long, at one end of which is a garderobe. The front floor is
8 feet by 12 feet, with a cruciform loop. The second floor is entered
from the rampart. The gorge wall coincides with the curtain, and is
pierced to carry the rampart walk. Projecting from the curtain, close
south of the tower, is a very handsome chamfered bracket, pierced as
the shaft of a garderobe, and worthy of more noble service.
About 12 feet north of the tower, at the junction of the cross and main
curtain, is a rectangular turret, about 12 feet square, and pierced
for the passage of the rampart walk. Its use seems to be to break the
communication between the ramparts of the cross and main curtains.
The outer Gateway Tower, which stands on the south or town front,
between Rosamond’s and the Mill Tower, in general construction seems of
the date of the inner gate. Strictly speaking, it is not a gatehouse.
The curtain is broken and turns outwards, forming two parallel walls, 7
feet thick and 20 feet projection. They are 12 feet apart, and between
them lies the entrance. In the line of the curtain this passage is
crossed by an acute arch, 2 feet thick, the springing 15 feet high,
and above this the curtain rises to 50 feet, forming a sort of screen,
giving the appearance of a tower over the gate. The flanking walls,
about 20 feet high, form a sort of barbican, and no doubt protected
the drawbridge. A door above opened upon these battlements. The work
is poor; there is no portcullis or portal vault. The entrance is quite
unworthy of the castle.
Returning to the inner ward, no doubt the three towers mentioned by
Leland were the inner gate tower, and two upon the two angles of the
ward; but these are gone; though probably, if the turf and brambles
were removed, the foundations would be seen.
The Norman doorway may have opened into one of these towers. At present
it fronts a recess in the curtain 6 feet broad, barrel vaulted; and
6 feet high to the _abacus_ or string which marks the springing. The
doorway was flanked by two nook shafts, now gone, standing upon square
plinths, and with fluted capitals. The architrave is highly ornate,
having a beaded angle with a moulding of pointed arches repeated.
This looks like rather late Norman, and is the only bit of work in
the castle distinctly referable to that period. The drip, if ever
there was one, is gone. There is no rebate or trace of a door. The
adjacent curtain is low and ruinous. Here are several corbels, as
though to support a lean-to range of buildings. Near this door is a
small building, which looks modern, with four old lancets inserted,
and a door which seems copied from an older one. This is said to be
the chapel of the castle which Leland saw, and which was served by one
chantry priest. Grose calls it a small, mean building, with some old
pews in it. It is now a potato store.
Pickering Castle represents one great type of Anglo-Norman
fortress—that is, a castle of Norman masonry upon an English earthwork,
for the present walls, if not Norman, are unquestionably laid upon
Norman lines. Here the mound does not, as is more usual, form a part of
the _enceinte_, but is concentric, though placed out of centre, like
the earthwork at Barwick in Elmete.
No doubt the earthworks were taken possession of and walled, either
late in the eleventh or early in the twelfth century, in the Norman
period, and the mass of the curtains, with the keep and the Norman
door, are probably remains of this work. But the whole fortress was
rebuilt in the Decorated period, the mural towers added, the curtains
raised, and the place rendered stronger. It is difficult to decide on
the age of the gateways. They may be Norman or they may be of the time
of Richard II., probably the former.