SCENERY OF THE TAFFE—STUPENDOUS RUINS OF CAERPHILLY CASTLE—THE LEANING TOWER—FINE VIEW FROM THORNHILL—CARDIFF CASTLE—ECCLESIASTICAL DECAY OF LANDAFF—THE CATHEDRAL.
From Pont-y-pridd we made another excursion toward Merthyr-tidvill; less to witness the lately-acquired importance of the town in consequence of the great iron-works established in its neighbourhood, than to trace the beauties of the Taffe through its romantic valley. At one time, a towering hill completely mantled with wood lifted its shaggy summit to the clouds; in succession, naked rocks perpendicularly descended to the water; or, through favoured hollows, a stripe of green meadow would gently slope and mix its verdure with the stream. As weadvanced, the narrow valley still further contracted, and the river, confined by the approaching bases of the mountains, assumed the character of a torrent. Our road continued on one margin of the river, and a canal, singularly abounding with locks, kept pace with us on the other; to the Cyclopean region of Merthyr-tidvill.[173]We did not enter the town, but re-measured our steps to Pont-y-pridd; and about four miles below it bade adieu to the romantic course of the Taffe, in deviating up a steep confine of its valley towards the town and castle of Caerphilly.
Caerphilly Castle
The celebrated ruin ofCaerphilly Castlesoon appeared at some distance beneath us, occupying the centre of a small plain, which, with its surrounding amphitheatre of hills, presented a display of regular fences and cultivation that strikingly contrasted with the district that we had just left. The idea formed on a first view of this stupendous pile is rather that of a ruined town than a castle:it is by much the largest ruin in Britain, although its dimensions are somewhat inferior to those of Windsor castle. The high outer rampart, with its massive abutments and frequent towers, still in a great measure entire, conveys at once a clear impression of the great extent of the fortress. In entering upon an examination of the ruin we passed the barbican,[174]now built up into habitations; and, proceeding between two dilapidated towers, entered the great area of the castle:—a range of building, beneath the rampart on our right, once formed the barracks of the garrison. We then advanced to that pile of superior building,i.e.of citadel, hall, chapel, state and other apartments, which is generally considered as the castle, in distinction from the encircling area and its wall: clambering over the fragments of another drawbridge and its defending towers, we entered the first court, which appears to have comprised the citadel: thence we passed through a large gateway, with several grooves for portcullises, to the principal court of the Castle. The area of this court is seventy yardsby forty: on the south side is that princely apartment, by some considered the hall, and by others the chapel: but, whichever it may have been, vestiges of much original beauty appear in the elegant outline of its four large windows; the grand proportions of the chimney-piece, and the light triplet pillars, with arches that go round the room. The appearance of mortice holes in the walls for the ends of beams, at the height of about the middle of the windows, led Camden to suppose that the cieling was projected from thence, and that an apartment above was lighted by the upper portion of the windows; but surely at a time when symmetry in building was so well cultivated, and where it appears to have been so successfully applied, such a ridiculous contrivance could not have taken place: more probably, as I conceive, from those mortices a support was derived for a lofty arched roof, or a gallery.[175]Eastward of the hall, is the curiosity of a leaning tower, a bulky fragment of the ruin between seventy and eighty feetin height, whose walls are of a prodigious thickness: it hangs nearly eleven feet out of the perpendicular, and is only held together by the strength of its cement. How or when this phenomenon happened no legend informs us; but it has remained in this state many centuries. As the adjoining towers, and all the standing parts of the ruin, remain perpendicular, the cause must have arisen from a local failure of the foundation: hence I am of opinion, that a solution of the phenomenon may be found in the effects of a mine, and which probably took place during the long siege which Hugh le Despenser sustained in this castle in the time of Edward the Second. Near this part of the ruin a place is shewn as the mint, with two furnaces for melting metal. From this chamber we ascended a spiral staircase to the corridor, still in very good preservation, which, lighted by small windows, and passing round the principal court, formed a communication with the different apartments. The external view of the western entrance of the ruin, with its ponderous circular towers venerably shaded with ivy, is remarkably striking; and, with the remains of its drawbridge and defending outwork, may be consideredas the most entire part of the ruin. An artificial mound some distance off, but within the works of the castle, was most likely used for exploratory purposes.
From the great plan of this castle, and there being no direct evidence to the contrary, its foundation has been attributed to the Romans; and some ingenious arguments have been adduced to prove, that it was their Bullaum Silurum. But it sufficiently appears, that no considerable part of the present fortress was built by them, as the predatory army of Rhys Tycan took and rased Caerphilly castle in 1221. The best supported opinion is that of the Hon. Daines Barrington, who attributes the present erection to Edward the First.—Caerphilly has lately increased from an obscure village to a well-built little town; and the respectable appearance of its two inns may be in a great measure dated from the great increase of the visitants of the castle.[177]
We left Caerphilly, over to hilly boundary, on the road to Cardiff; where we noticed the singular appearance of some peasants digging coals from the surface of the ground. At the extremity of this tract, Thornhill, a grand elevation, afforded us a most extensive prospect, which, illuminated by an evening sun, formed a picture of uncommon brilliancy. The wide plain of Cardiff displayed for many miles, in every direction, a gratifying extent of Nature’s bounty, in an endless variety of cultivation, chequered with numberless hedgerows, and enlivened by several villages, whose neatly whitened walls glistened through their appendant foliage: the rich verdure was in one part varied by the russet hue of an extensive warren. At the extremity of this tract appeared the expansive Severn, in which the two islands of the steep and flat Holmes were conspicuous; and afar off the bold hills of Somersetshire closed the prospect. We slowly descended from the spot commanding this range of objects, andtravelled on a good road towards Cardiff, with the episcopal ruins of Landaff at a small distance on our right.
On enteringCardiff, the capital of Glamorganshire, between the ivy-mantled walls of its castle, and the mouldering ruin of a house of White Friars, we were much pleased with the aspect of the town: nor were we less so on a closer examination of its neat well-paved streets; it appearing to us one of the cleanest and most agreeable towns in Wales. The high tower of its church, crowned with four transparent Gothic pinnacles, had long engaged our interest; but on a near view we did not find the body of the church to correspond with it; it being of an older date, a plain Norman structure. This, I believe, was the conventual church of the Franciscan Friars that are described as having occupied the eastern suburb of the town. The other parish church, for Cardiff is divided into two parishes, was undermined by the action of the river, about a century and a half since, and fell down. The house of the White Friars has been already noticed; and without the west gate stood a monastery of Black Friars. This town was formerlyencompassed by a wall, and vestiges of its four gates yet remain. Cardiff, having the benefit of a good harbour, carries on a brisk trade with Bristol, and other places, and has of late considerably increased its commercial importance: but perhaps its chief interest with tourists will be derived from its castle.
Cardiff Castle, a seat of the Marquis of Bute, (Baron Cardiff and Earl of Windsor), was until lately a Gothic structure of considerable elegance; but having undergone a repair, without attention to the antique style of architecture, it presents a motley combination, in which the remaining Gothic but serves to excite our regret for the greater portion destroyed. The misguided direction of this work is prominently conspicuous in the enlargement of the building, wherein fashionable square windows appear throughout the lower apartments, while the original character of the edifice is imitated in the Gothic lines of the upper windows: a strange violation of common propriety, to raise an antique superstructure upon a modern foundation! The part of the castle which is kept up is a single range of building; and an elegant machicolated tower, overlooking the whole, stillfrowns defiance on the petty innovations beneath. The internal has been entirely new-planned, and a number of portraits of the present lord’s progenitors are ranged in the apartments, with the principal events of their lives, emblazoned in letters of gold; but they are for the most part indifferently executed. In front of the building is a spacious lawn, from the trim surface of which rises an artificial mound, bearing the mouldering ruin of the ancient keep,[181]carefully shorn of shrub and briar. In the tower, at the entrance, a dark damp dungeon is described to have been the prison of Robert duke of Normandy; in which he was confined near thirty years, after being deprived of his sight and inheritance by his younger brother Henry the First. But it is more probable that he had the whole range of the castle; for, independent of the improbability that any human creature could live so long in such a place, we have the authority of Odo Vitalis and William of Malmesbury, that Henry made his imprisonment as easy as possible; furnishing him with an elegant table, and buffoons to divert him.A high rampart incloses the whole; round the top of which a walk is carried, affording many pleasing views of the surrounding country.
When Robert Fitzhammon conquered and divided the lordship of Glamorgan with his twelve knights, he reserved the town of Cardiff, among other estates, for himself, and erected this castle: here he held his courts of Chancery and Exchequer; the former on the first Monday in every month, when his knights or their heirs were bound to attend, and were then entitled to apartments in the outer court of the castle; which privilege, says Sir John Price, their heirs or assigns enjoy to this day.
This castle has frequently experienced the vicissitudes of war. Soon after its erection, one Ivor Black, a little resolute Welchman, marched hither privately, with a troop of mountaineers, and surprised the castle in the night; carrying off William Earl of Gloucester (Fitzhammon’s grandson), together with his wife and son; whom he detained prisoners until he obtained satisfaction for some injuries that he had suffered. It was also taken by Maelgon and Rhys gyre anno 1282;and again by the parliamentary forces in the civil wars, after a long siege.
A pleasant walk over the fields led us to the episcopal city ofLandaff, now in extent an inconsiderable village: this deserted spot occupies a gentle eminence in the great plain of Cardiff. The west front of the cathedral is an admirable relic of Norman architecture, with two elegant towers of extraordinary height, profusely enriched with the best sculpture of that age: here all the apertures are circularly arched; but the windows of part of the nave, yet remaining, are Gothic. Upon the chancel’s falling to decay some score years since, a great sum was expended in raising the present church upon the old stock; but surely such an absence of taste and common sense was never before instanced: beneath the solemn towers has sprung up a fantastic summer-house elevation, with a Venetian window, Ionic pilasters, and flower-pot jars upon the parapet. The same sort of window is coupled with the elegant line of the ornamented Gothic in other parts of the structure; and within, a huge building upon the model of a heathen temple surrounds the altar; which, with two thrones, darken and fill upnearly half the church. From this mass of inconsistencies we turned to the inspection of several ancient monuments, which were chiefly recumbent, and from several marks of recent damage appeared to be much neglected.[184a]
The cathedral, now in ruins, was built by Bishop Urban, anno 1120, upon the site of pile founded by St. Dubritius in the commencement of the sixth century, and dedicated to more saints than I have room to enumerate. Urban also built a palace here, which was destroyed by Owen Glendower: its high outer walls and gateway, however, remain, and form an inclosure to a garden. A large mansion adjoining, occupied by Mr. Matthews, is, I understand, attached to the bishopric.[184b]
ENTRANCE OF MONMOUTHSHIRE—ANCIENT ENCAMPMENTS—CASTLETON—TREDEGAR PARK—NEWPORT; CHURCH; AND CASTLE—EXCURSION TO MACHEN PLACE—PICTURESQUE VIEW FROM CHRIST CHURCH—GOLD CLIFF—CAERLEON’S ANTIQUITIES—ENCAMPMENTS—LORD HERBERT OF CHERBURY—LANTARNAM—LANGIBBY CASTLE.
On quitting Cardiff, we soon enteredMonmouthshire[185]in crossing Rumney bridge. The church of Rumney is a large Gothicedifice, with an embattled tower. Nearly opposite to it, on the left of the road, crowning a steep bank of the river, is an old encampment of an irregular figure, with a triangular outwork; and a short distance further, at Pen-y-pile, another occurs of a polyhedrous form. As we proceeded, the elevated mansion and extensive woods ofRuperah, an elegant seat belonging to a branch of the Morgan family, appeared finely situated beneath the brow of some hills bordering the vale of Caerphilly; and on a gentle hill below it,Keven-Mable, an ancient seat of the Kemy’s family. At the rural littlevillage of St. Mellons, the old and new roads to Newport unite: we took the latter, which is the lowermost and nearest, traced on a range of gentle eminences skirting Wentloog level, an extensive fertile plain won from the sea. This wide flat, extending from the Rumney to the Usk rivers, is relieved by the intersections of hedges and drains, and has a sprinkling of white cottages; among which the towers of St. Bride’s, Marshfield, and Peterson churches rise conspicuously. Our route passed through Castleton, where there was formerly a castle; of which, however, only a small artificial mount, the site of its citadel, now inclosed in the garden of Mr. Phillips, and a chapel converted into a barn, remain. Gwern-y-cleppa park, the next object of our attention on the road, contains a ruin nearly hidden in an interwoven thicket, once the mansion of Ivor-hael (the generous), the pride of bardish song, who flourished in the commencement of the fourteenth century.
We enteredTredegar Parkin succession, a very ancient seat of the Morgan family. This park is laid out in the obsolete style of groves and avenues; but possesses great roomfor modern taste, in the variety of swell and hollow composing its surface, the remarkable size and beauty of the oaks and Spanish chesnuts with which it is decorated, and the picturesque course of the rapid Ebwy, whose red rocky banks form a striking contrast to the surrounding verdure. The turnpike road passes through the park, and within a few hundred yards of the mansion, a huge quadrangular brick building, of the date of Charles the Second’s reign, with a high shelving roof, in which are two or three tiers of windows, similar to the weighing-house at Amsterdam. Internally, the house is convenient and well arranged, with state and domestic apartments, several of which are preserved in their original character. The most remarkable is the oak room; the flooring of which, forty-two feet by twenty-seven, was furnished by a single oak; and the wainscoting, formed of the same material, is much admired for its antique carving. A large collection of pictures, chiefly family portraits, is distributed through the house; but few of them are valuable as specimens of art. Among the extensive offices are several remains of the ancient castellated mansion,described by Leland as “a very fair place of stone.”
The Morgan family being one of the most ancient and considerable in Wales, the ingenuity of the bards has been excited to trace its origin: some have venally derived it from Cam the second son of Noah; but others refute this position, and modestly carry it no further than his third son. Without noticing several intervening personages contended to be the founders of this family, Cadivor the great, lord of Dyfed, who died anno 1084, appears to be the only one well supported in the appointment of its great ancestor.
From Tredegar Park we immediately crossed the Ebwy by a long narrow bridge, and presently enteredNewport, a dirty ill-built town nearly comprized in one long street winding down a bank of the river Usk. The eminence on which its church is situated, at the upper part of the town, affords a very fine prospect of the surrounding country; at the extremity of the town appears its ruined castle, watered by the silvery Usk: an intermixture of wood and pasture clothes the surrounding hills and valleys: the wild mountains about Pont-y-pool are strongly contrastedby the fertile tract of Wentloog and Caldecot levels, and the noble expanse of the Bristol channel backed by the cultivated hills of Somersetshire. The church exhibits the architecture of several ages: its nave comprehends the original church, which is of the oldest mode of building, and may be considered as of a date prior to the settlement of the Normans: the chancel and ailes are of later architecture. The western doorway, connected with the ancient chapel of St. Mary, now converted into a burying-place, and which was formerly the grand entrance, exhibits a curious specimen of Saxon carving, in a circular archway, with hatched and indented mouldings resting on low columns with capitals of rude foliage. The church contains three ancient monuments; but its chief ornament is the high square embattled towers built by Henry the Third, in gratitude for the attachment of the townsmen to his cause during his contest with the barons. St. Wooloo, the patron of this spot, is held in high veneration by the natives. He retired from the pride and pageantry of kinghood, to lead a life of prayer and mortification: a lowly cottage was his dwelling; sackclothhis apparel; he lived by the labour of his hands; the crystal rill afforded his only beverage, and barley bread, rendered more disrelishing by a sprinkling of ashes, his constant food. He left this world for better fare in the next about the end of the fifth century.
Newport Castleis a ruin of very inconsiderable dimensions: its quadrangular area was only defended by a simple wall, except on the side next the river, where three towers still remain in a nearly intire state. There is an octagon tower at each extremity of this side; a large square one between them, with turrets at each angle, appears to have been the citadel, and contains a vaulted apartment called the state-room; at the bottom of this tower a handsome Gothic arch forms a water-gate, which has within it the groove of a portcullis: between this and the further tower was the baronial hall, the ruins of which yet remain. The pointed arches throughout this building testify it to have been a work posterior to the Norman era; though it is certain, that there was a castle at Newport in 1173, when Owen ap Caradoc, going to treat with king Henry without arms or attendants,was basely murdered by the soldiers of Newport castle. Jowerth ap Owen, his father, in revenge for this treachery, carried fire and sword to the gates of Hereford and Gloucester. Newport was formerly encompassed with a wall; but of this there are no remains; nor of the three gates mentioned by Leland, except some small vestiges of the one next the bridge. A large Gothic building near the castle, with a stone coat of arms over the door, now occupied as a warehouse, was formerly the murringer’s[192]house. In place of an inconvenient wooden bridge, a handsome stone one of five arches has been lately executed by Mr. David Edward, son of the mason of Pont-y-pridd: a canal was also just finished at the time of our visit, reaching from Pont-y-pool, by means of which its brisk and improving trade in coals and iron is much facilitated.
On the banks of the river, a short distance below the bridge, are the remains of a house of preaching friars; consisting of the spacious refectory, part of the church, and other buildings, now converted to private uses.—About a mile further southward, near the conflux of the Usk and Ebwy, are the small vestiges of Green castle, once a considerable fortress belonging to the duke of Lancaster, and described by Churchyard, who flourished in the reign of Elizabeth, as
“A goodly seate, a tower, a princely pyle.”
“A goodly seate, a tower, a princely pyle.”
We made an excursion on the road to Caerphilly, which embraces several objects not unworthy of notice. About a mile and half from Newport is the Gaer, a large encampment supposed to be Roman, occupying the brow of an eminence near the Ebwy in Tredegar park. A short distance further is the little village ofBassaleg, the approach to which is very picturesque; where the Ebwy appears struggling in its bed of red rocks, and throwing its clear stream over a weir just beneath the bridge: above it rises the church, with its embattled tower finely relieved by intervening foliage. Here, according to Tanner, was a Benedictine priory, a cell to the abbey of Glastonbury; but of this no traces are evident; unless a ruin in the deep recesses of a forest about a mile westward, called Coed-y-Monachty, or the wood ofthe monastery, are its remains. On the summit of a hill overgrown with coppice, about a mile from Bassaleg, near the road to Llanvihangel, is a circular encampment called Craeg-y-saesson.
From Bassaleg the country continues undulating and fertile, to the vale of Machen, where the Rumney emerges from among wild hills and overhanging forests, and sweeps through the plain: a sprinkling of white cottages enliven the scene, which receives an additional effect from its picturesque church, and the steep acclivity of Machen hill, studded all over with lime-kilns. At the opening of the vale isMachen-place, once a respectable seat of the Morgans, but now tottering in decay, and occupied as a farm-house: some memorials of faded grandeur may here be traced in a circular apartment, with a rich stuccoed cieling, called the hunting-room. A pair of andirons weighing two hundred weight, formerly employed in roasting an entire ox, and an immense oak table, may also convey an idea of the solid fare and plenty of days of yore. We pursued the road no further; but, returningthrough Newport[195], and crossing its bridge, took the road to Caerleon.
Our route soon became uninteresting, and continued a confined and miry avenue: until, arriving atChurch-church, and looking over a hedge opposite to it, when a prospect burst upon us with an electric suddenness, grandly extensive and delightful. From the foreground descended a succession of bold knolls or gentle swells, clothed with ornamental plantations, in a wide display of sylvan beauty, to Caldecot level, whose uniform though fruitful plain was in a great measure concealed by the intervention of contrasting heights. Beyond this, the majestic Severn’s
“—fresh current flow’dAgainst the eastern ray translucent, pure,With touch æthereal of Heaven’s fiery rod.”
“—fresh current flow’dAgainst the eastern ray translucent, pure,With touch æthereal of Heaven’s fiery rod.”
Numerous barks diversified its surface; and a large fleet of ships, anchored at King’s-road, became a striking object. The high oppositeshores of Somersetshire either descended in fertile slopes, laid out in pastures and cornfields; or, abruptly disjoined, opposed their cliffs, a naked surface of rock, to the waves. Eastward, over Gloucestershire and the neighbouring counties, such a variety of hills and valleys, verdant lawns and waving woods, embowered hamlets and handsome villas appeared, that the eye was at a loss where to rest for pre-eminent beauty. Light clouds floated in the atmosphere; and the sun, “sparing of light,” distributed its rays in partial streaks; but the varied illumination rather heightened than diminished the charms of the picture. We turned from this assemblage of nature’s wealth, this delightful landscape, with regret, and descended among the adjoining plantations of Sir Robert Salusbury, Messrs. Sykes, Kemeys, and Philips, towards Caldecot level; a large tract of land, similar to that of Wentloog, rescued from the inroads of the sea by human industry. Near the western extremity of this plain rises the peninsulated promontory ofGold Cliff, so called from a glittering yellow mica incorporated with the rock, and which is even now considered by the peasants as indicatinga gold mine. The brow of the cliff was formerly dignified with an opulent priory, founded by Robert de Chandos anno 1113: its small remains are incorporated into a barn, and other buildings of a farm-house.
Returning, we took a hasty view of Christchurch, an ordinary building chiefly Gothic; but a Saxon arch reposing on low columns, which forms the entrance, indicates that the greater part of the present structure is engrafted upon an older foundation. Within, a Gothic screen of exquisite workmanship, separating the chancel from the nave, was formerly much admired; but it is now shamefully injured. A curious sepulchral monument here is deemed miraculous, on the eve of the circumcision, in curing sick children. Formerly the tomb was crowded with the little subjects of credulity, who were bound to remain in contact with the stone during the night; but, the natural agency of a warm bed being found more favourable to convalescence than the miraculous interposition, the fees of the sexton have of late considerably diminished. The public house near the church was the ancient manse.
A descent of alarming steepness led us toward the ancient town ofCaerleon, through its suburb, a long narrow village, still bearing the classical appellation of Ultra Pontem. We crossed the Usk by a narrow wooden bridge with a flooring of loose planks, and immediately entered the town, the Isca Silurum of Antoninus, the station of the second legion, and the principal Roman own in the country of the Silures, now so far diminished as scarcely to occupy one sixth of the area within are Roman walls. It was, however, in a declining state so far back as the fourteenth century, as appears from the following account given by Giraldus: “Many remains of its former magnificence are still visible. Splendid palaces, which once emulated with their gilded roofs the grandeur of Rome; for it was originally built by the Roman graces, and adorned with stately edifices. A gigantic tower; numerous baths; ruins of a temple and a theatre, the walls of which are partly standing. Here we still see, both within and without the walls, subterraneous buildings, aqueducts, and vaulted caverns, and stoves soexcellently contrived as to convey their heat through secret and imperceptible pores.” This description has been followed in a compiled Tour published not long since, and, by an unfortunate mistake, given as its present appearance. Alas! it exhibits a melancholy reverse:
The cloud-capt towers,The gorgeous palaces,The solemn temples,
The cloud-capt towers,The gorgeous palaces,The solemn temples,
are dissolved: the town is a poor straggling place; and vestiges of its former magnificence must be curiously sought after to be seen at all. Statues, altars, columns, elegant freizes, sarcophagi, coins and intaglios, have been making their appearance during several ages; but they are immediately carried away by curious persons, or more frequently applied to domestic uses. An altar with a Roman inscription had been dug up just before our arrival, and we were conducted by an obliging gentleman of the town to the garden in which it was found: where we saw the venerable monument of antiquity just finished slicing into half a dozen slabs for paving.
The Roman fortification forms an oblong square, with the corners a little rounded,[200a]and unfurnished with towers. Many fragments of the walls accompanied by the fosse are evident; deprived of the facing-stones, they appear in great masses of grout-work;i.e.of stones, broken tiles, and bricks promiscuously bedded in cement. The remains are no where more than fourteen feet high, which is much less than their original elevation, and ten or twelve in thickness. Their circumference does not exceed 1800 yards; but the adjacent fields are continually yielding up foundations, &c. which denote the suburbs to have been very extensive; tradition, indeed, reports them to have been nine miles round. The castle stood between the walls and the river, of which some small vestiges appear at the Hanbury Arms.[200b]At a little distance from this place, on the opposite side of the road, we noticed a high artificial mound about 300 yards in circumference, which isthe site of the citadel described by Giraldus as gigantic. The small remains of its walls appear to consist of solid masonry; but this part of the fortification is, no doubt, posterior to the rest, and was most likely erected by the Normans.
The house of Miss Morgan, formerly a Cistercian abbey, has been entirely new-faced with squared stones collected from the ruins of Caerleon, as have also many others in the town. This lady has collected several Roman coins, and has other curiosities in her possession that we would gladly have examined, and were offered an introduction for that purpose; but our way-worn apparel (a false shame, if the reader insist upon it) was an obstacle in our way of accepting it. Other Roman vestiges appear in the market-house of Caerleon, which is supported by four massive Tuscan pillars. Immediately without the town, and adjoining Miss Morgan’s premises, is the Roman amphitheatre, commonly called Arthur’s round table. It is an oval concavity, seventy-four yards by sixty-four, and six deep; in which are ranges of stone seats, though now covered with earth and verdure. The foundation of its encirclingwalls was met with on digging in the year 1706, when a statue of Diana and two ornamental pedestals were also discovered.
In the neighbourhood of Caerleon are several encampments that were probably used for airing the troops in summer. The most remarkable are, that of the Lodge, occupying a hill in the park of Lantarnam, about a mile north-west of Caerleon; the one of Penros, a short distance to the left of the road to Usk; that at Mayndee, near Christ-church; and a fourth in the wood of St. Julian’s, towards Newport. Near the latter spot a chapel of high antiquity, dedicated to St. Julius; is now used as a barn. But St. Julian’s is more remarkable for a Gothic mansion, once the residence of the ingenious, valiant, and vain lord Herbert of Cherbury.
Edward, first lord Herbert of Cherbury, was born anno 1581: his infancy was remarkable for mental and bodily weakness; but he soon became distinguished as a scholar and a valiant knight. Most of the living languages and every elegant accomplishment engaged his study. We learn from the history of his life; written by himself (in which he is considered to be the most chivalrous,learned, handsome, discerning, and wonderful gentleman that ever figured in story); at fifteen he took to himself a wife; and being a few years afterwards presented at court; his love-inspiring attractions excited the rusty passions of Elizabeth, then seventy years of age.—“The queen,” says the noble biographer, “looked attentively upon me, andswearing her ordinary oath, said, “It is pity he was married so young,” and thereupon have me her hand to kiss twice; both times gently clapping me on the cheek.” The consorts of Lewis the Thirteenth and James the First were still more fascinated by this mighty conqueror of hearts, who excited jealousy even in the breast of royalty! Many enamoured dames of the court wearing his picture in their bosoms brought him in hourly danger of assassination from their enraged husbands: yet his miraculous courage and address ensured victory in every encounter. Among numerous excellencies that distinguished his clay from the common material of mortality, the noble lord declares, “it is well known to them that wait in my chamber, that the shirts, waistcoats, and other garments I wear nextmy body, are sweet beyond what either can be believed or hath been observed in any body else; which sweetness was also found to be in my breath before I used to take tobacco.” With all this extravagance, which may be set to the account of old age, often vain and garrulous, Lord Herbert may be justly considered one of the first characters of the age and country in which he lived.
Lantarnamhouse and park, situated about a mile and a half from Caerleon, near the road from Newport to Pont-y-pool, occupy the site of a rich Cistercian abbey. The mansion is a neglected gloomy structure, which appears to have been erected about the reign of Elizabeth, and chiefly out of the materials of the abbey. A large Gothic gateway and the monks cells, now converted into stabling, are vestiges of the parent building.
The accounts that we had collected of Pont-y-pool did not incline us to abandon the line of our tour to visit it. The town, sufficiently large and populous, yet blackened by neighbouring coal and iron works, and situated in a dreary region only rich in mineral treasure, would hardly prove interesting butto those concerned in its traffic. Its first consequence arose from a manufacture of japanned ware invented in the time of Charles the Second, which remained a long time peculiar to the town, but is now generally understood. In its immediate vicinity Pont-y-pool Park, the seat of Hanbury Leigh, Esq. forms a conspicuous ornament, and is described by Mr. Coxe as possessing a good collection of pictures.
Our road from Caerleon to Usk, leaving the house and encampment of Penros on the left, led up an ascent from which we had an interesting view of the surrounding district: A narrow valley winds round the base of the eminence watered by the Usk. The opposite boundary of the valley sustained the woods of Kemey’s and Bertholly; and in the contrary direction the eye ranges over the venerable groves of Lantarnam, and a wavy intervening country to the distant mountains near Abergavenny. Within two miles of Usk we enteredLangibby, a small village, only to be noticed for an ancient mansion of the Williams’s family near it. This structure, attributed to the erection of Inigo Jones, contains no distinguishing pointsof architecture; but the house and grounds command delightful views, which receive no inconsiderable interest from the local possession of a majestic ruin.Langibby Castlerears its mouldering battlements on the brow of a bold hill, completely overspread with wood. We have no certain accounts when this castle was built; but the pointed arches that occur throughout the ruin denote its erection to have been posterior to the first settlement of the Normans in these parts. It formerly belonged to the Clares Earls of Gloucester; but has been upwards of two centuries in the family of the present possessor. Of this line was Sir Trevor Williams, a zealous supporter of the parliamentary cause in the civil wars, when Langibby castle was spoken of by Cromwell as a fortress of strength and importance.
Our approach to Usk was traced through its vale on a bank of the river, and beneath a high hill entirely shaded with wood: close to our left appeared the whitened Gothic church of Lanbadock: but the handsome bridge of Usk, the antique town and ivy-mantled castle, formed more interesting objects in successive distances; while, afar off,the varied line of the mountains near Abergavenny, the craggy summit of the Skyridd, and the abrupt cone of the Sugar-loaf, contrasting the lofty even swell of the Blorenge, presented a terminating line of the most picturesque description. This distance alone was illumined by the sun; for the evening drew to a close, and all our home view was wrapt in one grand shadow.
USK CASTLE AND CHURCH—EXCURSION TO RAGLAN—ELEGANT RUINS OF RAGLAN CASTLE—VIEWS FROM THE DEVAUDON—ROMAN ANTIQUITIES AT CAERWENT—TESSELATED PAVEMENT.
Usk, supposed to be the Burrium of the Romans, occupies a flat situation on the banks of its river. Though now a small place, in great part untenanted and falling to ruin,[208]it was formerly of very considerable extent. The form and dimensions of its ancient boundary may be traced in an imperfect rampart among the adjoining fields and orchards. The figure is not oblong, as most Roman works of the kind were, but irregularly rectilinear. On a gentle eminence in the northernprecinct of the town is the castle, famous in history for withstanding many a fierce assault; but the ruin has little picturesque attraction: such parts as are not converted to the domestic purposes of a farm-yard are so enveloped in ivy, as scarcely to afford a characterizing form externally. We entered the castle through a Gothic gateway: vestiges of the baronial hall appear on the east side; and some of the towers, with round arched apertures, seem of the earliest construction: but we have no certain accounts when the castle was founded.
Not far from the castle is the church, still a large structure, though much contracted from its original extent. The tower, in which circular arches are introduced, is the oldest part of the edifice; the body of the church is Gothic. This church belonged to a Benedictine priory of five nuns; and part of the priory-house is now standing, a little southward of the Church, in the occupation of a farmer. The common prison, a Gothic building near the bridge, was formerly a Roman Catholic chapel.[209]
There are several ancient encampments in the neighbourhood of Usk. That of Craeg-y-garcyd, crowning a woody precipice on the west side of the river, about a mile above the town, is supposed by Harris to be Roman. Its figure is very irregular, and remarkable for seven very large tumuli within the rampart. About two miles from Usk, in our way to Raglan, we passed Campwood on our left,another encampment, of art oval figure, entirely covered with wood, but not remarkable either in its situation or construction.
Our ride to Raglan traversed a bold undulating country of uncommon richness, where the luxuriance of the soil was alike conspicuous in impervious woods or teeming orchards sweeping over the hills, and verdant meadows sweetly carpeting the vallies.
“When morn, her rosy steps in th’ eastern climeAdvancing, sow’d the earth with orient pearl,”
“When morn, her rosy steps in th’ eastern climeAdvancing, sow’d the earth with orient pearl,”
we began our journey; and this range of fertility but disclosed itself in partial gleams through the exhaling dew, as we ascended a hill from Usk. Advancing, the mists disappeared, and we quickly found ourselves in a sequestered valley, whose high encircling hills were variously decorated with a profusion of wood: the morning sun brilliantly shone on the dewy verdure; and we were admiring the charming scenery, while our spirits partook of its cheerfulness, when a huntsman’s horn resounded from a neighbouring thicket, and echoed through the hills: a deep-mouthed pack, joining in full chorus, announced athrowing-off. The concert continued,though the performers remained unseen as we anxiously skirted the dale; but our road soon took an ascent, in the precise direction of the hunt; and, gaining an eminence, a new vale and its accompanyments opened to us, yet without the hunting party. However, we had not long gazed in disappointment when, from the dark umbrage of a thick wood, the hounds rushed forward like a wave over the meadows; the men and horses were not far behind; but, scouring a descent that would have scared a lowland sportsman, pursued the game, which continued out of sight. But at length we saw Reynard skulk from a ditchy fence in a field before us, and dash across the meadows: the hounds and hunters were close at his heels. A loud shout from the party, a superior yell in the dogs, and the strained exertions of the animal, proclaimed a general view: we heartily joined in the halloo; and even our sorry jades displayed unusual spirit; for they pricked up their ears, and absolutely began a gallop to join in the chase; but a gate near a yard high opposed an insurmountable obstacle to that intention, and obliged us to remain inactive spectators whilethe party veered up a woody hill and finally disappeared from us.
Reluctantly parting from this animating scene, we entered the little village ofRaglan; where an old woman, knitting at the door of her cottage, proffered her service to take care of our horses while we walked over a fallow field to the superb ruins ofRaglan Castle.
Raglan Castle
The approach led up a gentle eminence; but a screen of high elms and thick underwood, issuing from the moat, intervened between us and the castle, which remained concealed, until, penetrating the thicket, a display of the ruin burst upon us, elegantly beautiful! Sweetly picturesque! No theatrical scene was ever designed in a happier taste, or unfolded itself to admiring beholders with a more sudden and impressive effect. In thiscoup d’œil, the Gothic portal and two elegant embattled towers immediately arrested the eye. Of the polygonal towers that formerly defended the entrance, one is completely hidden in a majestic mantle of ivy, which descends in a profuse festoon over the gateway. The other, admirably contrasting, and in a most perfect state of preservation,rears its beautiful machicolated summit with scarcely any leafy incumbrance: yet a few tasteful tufts of ivy sparingly issue from the windows and oillets of the tower, and wave their elegant tendrils over the glistening polish of the walls.[214]Another tower of similar beauty, but superior dimensions, appears a little further, at the eastern angle of the structure. On the other side of the porch, the ruins are concealed by a profuse pile of ivy; but some lofty portions of the ruin start from the verdure with considerable elegance; and two windows, standing one over the other, exhibit an effect of ornamental relief in their freizes and mouldings that would not discredit any age.
From this assemblage of beautiful objects we fixed our attention on the massive citadel, placed rather obliquely in front of the ornamented ruins. One half of this structure was blown up by order of Cromwell, upon thetaking of the castle by Fairfax: from the remaining section it appears to have been a hexagonal building of five stories, whose sides were flanked by semicircular bastions covering each angle. The citadel is surrounded by a moat and terrace, with a wall, in which appear niches, once adorned with statues of the Roman emperors. The rough and threatening aspect of these broken walls, and the ponderous bulk of disjointed fragments, falling in the same point of view with the gentle and decorative parts just described, strongly contrast each other, and heighten the varied character of the picture.
This charmingmorçeauwas illumined by a morning sun, which shone direct on the marble-like surface of the towers, bringing forward all their elegance of form and enrichment with decisive superiority. The secondary objects of the ruin, overhung with ivy, and denied the direct light of the sun, retired in a low tint; but at the left extremity of the picture, the craggy and advancing citadel caught some of the strongest lights and shades, forming an admirable bit of foreground to the piece. Although I am of opinion, that by a morning light this subject isseen by far to the greatest advantage, yet treated with an afternoon effect, by the judicious pencil of Sir Richard Hoare, it has formed a charming picture. This View the engraver has ably transmitted to the publick in Mr. Coxe’s Survey of Monmouthshire.
Delighted with this first view, we traversed the porch defended by two portcullisses, and entered the principal court of the castle. The interior wore the same style of magnificence that we so much admired without. In superior grandeur projected the great window of the hall, majestically canopied with ivy; a variegated verdure covered the once-paved area, and climbed the lofty sides of the ruin. In some places the fondling ivy ran through the forsaken chambers, and embowered the apertures of the windows; while in many shadowy recesses, where the early sun had not penetrated, the dewy spangles of morning still decorated the dwarfy ash, or tremulously bedecked the waving thistle. So admirably were the different parts disposed, so picturesquely relieved, that the whole seemed rather a fairy creation, than the fortuitous combination of undirected nature.
After enjoying these general effects, we proceeded to examine the apartments of the castle. These do not in any part seem of very remote erection, but appear to have been constructed at different periods between the ages of Henry the Fifth and Elizabeth; yet, though a disunion of style be visible to the Antiquary, no discordance of effect arises in any instance. Of the first court, the principal entrance, and a range of once elegant rooms, occupy the south side; the baronial hall, and some other noble apartments, fill up the western part of the court; the culinary and other domestic offices, with the servants habitations, appear to have occupied the north and east sides: at the angle of their junction, a pentagonal tower contained the kitchen, and a small projection on the past side was the oven. A broken flight of steps afforded us the means of ascent to the superior apartments, where we admired the works of our fore-fathers in some lightly-ornamented chimney-pieces and Gothic mouldings. The baronial hall has suffered less from time than from the pilfering attempts of the neighbourhood: some traces of its former grandeur may be seen in its statelydimensions; a prodigious fire-place; and a few remnants of ornament, including the stone-sculptured arms of the Marquis of Worcester, at one end of the hall: this place, once the scene of banqueting and splendour, is now used as a fives-court. Here a fresh instance might be collected of the fleeting state of sublunary greatness; but so many have been brought forward by the great geniusses of all ages, while every little one feels the truth without benefiting by the knowledge, that we will not stop to enlarge on so hopeless a subject; but proceed, where barons bold have often trod, through the western portal of the hall to the chapel. Few vestiges remain of this structure; but some of its springing arches, rising from grotesque heads, are imperfectly visible; and two whole-length figures, coarsely executed, appear through the thick-woven ivy. From this place we entered the area of the second court, once adorned with a marble fountain and an equestrian statue; but now planted with fruit-trees: this court is surrounded by a range of secondary yet capital apartments.
The subterraneous appendages of the castle are uncommonly extensive, according withthe great plan of the building; eastward of which is the grange and out-houses, now converted into a farming habitation.—Raglan Castle was one of the latest that held out for the royal cause against Cromwell; and the intrenchments raised for its defence, and against it, may be readily traced in the adjoining fields.[219]
Returning from this interesting ruin, we passed Raglan church, a small Gothic building, containing a few mutilated monuments of the Beaufort and Worcester families; and proceeded on the turnpike-road to Chepstow.
Our route soon took a long and laborious ascent,from the summit of which we obtained an extensive view over the middle parts of Monmouthshire, an undulating tract of uncommon fertility and high cultivation. The line of distant mountains that we admired in the approach to Usk, here appeared strongly diversified and singularly picturesque, with the continuous ridge of the Black mountains to the west. Another considerable height about three miles further commanded a similar view; from which a short ride led us to the summit of theDevaudon; a remarkable elevation, whence a prodigious view is ordinarily obtained, not only over the country northward, but in the opposite direction, over the Bristol channel and its opposing shores. A severe shower, however, obliged us to relinquish this view, and seek shelter beneath the boughs of Chepstow park, as we branched off on the turnpike towards Caerwent.
Upon the storm abating, we wound down the Devaudon, and descended into an agreeable valley, whose opposite hills were clothed with wild forest-trees: the decayed town of Share Newton occupied the summit of a high hill bordering the vale in the direction of our route. We passed throughthis town (a mere collection of cottages), and about half way towards the village of Crick turned off the road to visit Wrunston, an ecclesiastical ruin concealed in a sequestered thicket. The picturesque remnant of a small chapel is the only part standing; but extensive foundations and broad causeways declare the place to have been once considerable.—From Crick, a genteel village, we proceeded over an old Roman causeway[222]to Caerwent, the Venta Silurum of the Romans.
Caerwentoccupies a gently-inclining plane in a low situation. A few small dwellings mark the site of the ancient town; the fortifications of which form an oblong paralellogram, whose width is equal to two-ninths of its length, with the corners a little rounded; a frequent figure in Roman military works, calledTerriata castra. The cornersof the walls nearly correspond with the four cardinal points. On the south-west side are three pentagonal bastions; from which circumstance some authors have conjectured the erection of the town to have taken place under the lower empire, as flanking projections were not in use before that period; but it is justly supposed to be equally probable, that they were added after the general embattlement. The circuit of the rampart, near a mile in extent, may still be traced, in most places surrounded by a deep moat; the wall is constructed of grout-work faced with squared lime-stone; but the facings have been for the most part removed for private uses. From the present ruinous state of the walls, we cannot speak with certainty of their former height; but it appears to have varied considerably; perhaps eighteen feet may be a good medium: they are about twelve feet in thickness at their base, and nine at top. A fragment of the wall, nearly twenty feet in length and twelve high, has fallen near the southern angle; and, although the ponderous ruin revolved in its fall, the mass remains unshattered and impenetrable. Such is the boundary of a spot once crowded with palacesand temples: at present, the church and parsonage, a farm-house, a public-house, and a few scattered cottages, chiefly built with squared stones of the Roman town, are the only buildings on the area, which is generally laid out in fields and orchards. But ancient foundations, projecting above the level, and concealed under green hillocks, rise in many places; and elegant columns, tesselated pavements, and coins, are continually met with in ploughing and digging.
We saw a tesselated or mosaic pavement, that was formerly much admired, in an orchard behind the farm-house; which is thus described by Mr. Wyndham in his tour, performed between thirty and forty years since: “The pavement is in length twenty-one feet six inches, and in breadth eighteen feet. A border, edged with the Greek scroll and fret, surrounds the whole; but on the north side, the border, being upwards of three feet, is much broader than the other side. This was designed in order to reduce the circles within a square. These circles are about three feet in diameter, and are encircled with a variety of elegant ornaments, and separated from each other byregular and equal distances. I think there are thirteen of these circles. The pieces of which the pavement is composed are nearly square, the breadth of them being about the size of a common die. These are of various colours, blue, white, yellow, and red; the first and second are of stone, and the yellow and red are of terra cotta. By a judicious mixture of these colours, the whole pattern is as strongly described as it would have been in oil colours. The original level is perfectly preserved; and the whole composition is so elegant and well executed, that I think it has not been surpassed by any mosaic pavement that has been discovered on this, or even on the other side of the Alps. In my opinion, it is equal to those beautiful pavements which are preserved in the palace of the king of Naples at Portice. I am strongly inclined to think that it is of the same age of Agricola.” On this pavement being discovered, a building was erected to shelter it from the weather, by order of the proprietor, Mr. Lewis, of St. Pierre; but the brewhouse wanted a roof, and this, being found of similar dimensions, was transferredto the brewhouse; the farmer holding his ale in much greater veneration than relics of antiquity. In consequence of neglect, this curiosity is no longer an object of beauty; exposed to the weather, the surface became broken up; every one being allowed to take away as many of thetesseræas he pleased; but a small portion remains; and that is so overgrown with grass as to be with difficulty distinguished. In this orchard, and near the southern extremity of the wall, is a mound, which is most probably the site of the exploratory, or watch-tower.
WENTWOOD FOREST—EXCURSION TO THE CASTLES OF DINHAM; LANVAIR; STRIGUIL; PENCOED; AND PENHOW—COMPRISING EXTENSIVE VIEWS FROM THE PENCAMAWR, &C.—CALDECOT CASTLE—A TALE OF OTHER TIMES—NEW PASSAGE—SUDBROOK ENCAMPMENT—AND CHAPEL—ST. PIERRE—MATHERN PALACE—MOINSCOURT.
Having satisfied ourselves with the antiquities of Caerwent, we planned an excursion, to comprise the six castles mentioned by the author of “Secret Memoirs of Monmouthshire” as surrounding the forest ofWentwood. These were erected soon after the Normans established themselves in Monmouthshire, in order to keep the natives in check, who were wont to sally from theirimpenetrable fastnesses in the woods, and take a severe revenge on their conquerors and oppressors. Great part of this forest still exists in its original wildness, although it has been considerably curtailed by late enclosures. The castles enumerated are, Dinham, Penhow, Pencoed, Lanvasches, Lanvair, and Castrogy or Striguil. On a bridle-road, extending to Share Newton, we proceeded to the village ofDinham, a poor place consisting of a few farm-houses and cottages: we had some difficulty in discovering the ruins of its castle, which consist of some low walls obscured by trees; merely pointing out its site on a gentle eminence near the borders of the forest. The ruin is called in the neighbourhood the old chapel. There being nothing here to fix our attention, we made the best of our way toLanvair Castle, situated on a small rise about two miles from Caerwent, near the road to Usk. In our approach to the ruin, an effect caught through intervening trees was pleasing and picturesque; but the ruin aspires not to grandeur, and is in a great degree concealed by embowering verdure: a nearer inspection of the castle increased our opinion of its formerextent and prowess; large foundations are evident; and the walls are nowhere less than seven feet in thickness: a square and two round towers are the most conspicuous features of the ruin, which is in part moulded into a farm-house: the area of the principal court is employed as a kitchen-garden. Beneath the castellated eminence is the village-church, a simple rustic building; passing which, and proceeding on the road to Usk, we quickly entered the forest of Wentwood. In this tract a dreary ride among dark woods, and russet heaths, laboriously ascending, brought us to thePencamawrsummit; a remarkable eminence in the long ridge of hills crossing the midland parts of Monmouthshire, from the vicinity of Caerleon to the banks of the Wye near Landago.
Here a prospect greatly extensive opened to us. Beyond the wild region prevailing about our eminence, broken into a rapid succession of high hills and deep valleys, the winding Usk, with its emeraldic valley, accompanied with numerous villas and rich hanging woods, appeared in all its beauty. The bold character of the foreground, soon melting into a gentle undulation, displayed ascene of cultivation and productiveness of great extent; while, afar off, the line of distant mountains about Abergavenny, which we had before admired, again presented itself; somewhat varied, but not diminished in excellence. Nor was the view southward less extensive, comprehending a great part of the Bristol channel, with its receding coast.
Slowly proceeding down a steep declivity, and admiring the prospect before us, we soon reachedStriguil, orTroggy Castle, as it is generally called, standing in a marshy field at the bottom of the hill. The small remains of this fortress are so profusely overspread with ivy, and the pendent foliage of wide-branching trees, that an accurate judgement can scarcely be formed of its architecture: but where the structure can be seen, pointed arches with neat facings appear throughout; from which circumstance the accuracy of Iceland and Camden may be questioned, who date the erection of this castle prior to the Conquest: certainly the parts now standing were not constructed within a century subsequent to that event. An octagon tower and some broken walls are the only standing parts of the ruin; but theform of its area may be traced, which is oblong, with towers defending each angle, and a broad moat surrounding the whole.
Reascending the Pencamawr, a ride of four or five miles, upon the site of a British way that led from Cardiff to Monmouth, brought us into the turnpike-road between Newport and Caerwent. In this interesting progress, on the ridgy summit of the high hills bordering the Usk, our prospects were delightful. Occasionally excluded by the close thickets of the forest, and re-appearing under different circumstances, new scenes were continually creating; and that satiety in consequence avoided which would possibly have resulted from the long possession of one species of scene, however excellent. Not far distant from the Pencamawr, appear the antiquated mansion, the hanging groves, and dark mantling woods of Bertholly, impendent near the limpid Usk, which here makes one of its boldest curves, forming nearly a complete circle in its romantic meander. About two miles further, in a field on the right of the road, is a building called Kemys Folly; from the summit of which, a range of prospect is obtained, scarcely to be equalledfor extent and diversity. The views described from the Pencamawr here appear, with all the added charms of the scenery of the Usk, in this part eminently beautiful: from this spot also the Bristol channel displays its silvery surface with uncommon effect; while the distant shores of Somerset and Devon follow its course in bay and promontory, until the receding confine, too remote for the distinction of sight, appears dissolved in the blue ethereal.
From these charming scenes we descended, and in a short time left the British way, in joining the Newport turnpike near a public-house called Cat’s Ash. This road is for the most part constructed on the Julia strata of the Romans. Where it leaves the absolute site of the ancient road it closely follows its course, and the foundation of the causeway may be traced in the adjoining fields; particularly in a meadow near the spot, where a lane from Lanvair to Caldecot level crosses the turnpike. Proceeding on this road somewhat more than a mile, we turned off into a bridle-road on our right, to inspect the remains ofPencoed castleand manor-house. These ruins are situated on the extreme boundary of that hilly tract bordering Caldecot level, overwhich and the Bristol channel it commands a comprehensive view. Of the castle very inconsiderable vestiges appear, in a gateway with a circular arch and two small pentagonal turrets, a round embattled tower, and some dilapidated walls; yet, decorated with a profusion of verdure, the ruin, though small, is picturesque and pleasing. The architecture of these fragments is of a more distant date than most of the small castles in Monmouthshire, and may be considered coëval with the first establishment of the Normans in Gwent,i.e.Monmouthshire. The mansion, occupying the site of the baronial fortress, built with its materials and engrafted on its foundation, is of an architectural date between Henry the Eighth’s reign and that of Elizabeth. This neglected edifice is now partly occupied as a farm-house; but indications of its former importance appear in the grand dimensions of the apartments, and the great general extent of the building.
Upon regaining the high road, we soon approachedPenhow Castle, seated on an eminence, and commanding the pass of a wild hollow beneath: a square embattled tower is the leading feature of this ruin,which is very inconsiderable, and chiefly converted into a small farming habitation:
“There in the ruin, heedless of the dead,The shelter-seeking peasant builds his shed;And, wond’ring man could want the larger pile,Exults, and owns his cottage with a smile.”
“There in the ruin, heedless of the dead,The shelter-seeking peasant builds his shed;And, wond’ring man could want the larger pile,Exults, and owns his cottage with a smile.”
Thus having surveyed five out of the six castles that formerly surrounded the forest of Wentwood, and learning that no traces remained of the fortress at Lanvasches, we returned to Caerwent from a circuit of about twenty miles.
At an early hour in the morning we set out from our lowly quarters at Caerwent, and traversed a fruitful country, pleasingly varied with wood and pastures, in our way toCaldecot Castle. The situation of this ruin in an undiversified swampy plain, is not calculated to set off its importance: viewed from a superior elevation in the approach, the towers and citadel, in themselves sufficiently high, appear sunk, and undistinguished from the curtain wall of the fortification; but on a nearer inspection the ruin rises in consequence; and the aspect of its chief entrance, a large Gothic gateway guarded by two massive projecting towers, is truly noble. The light greymasonry of this entrance is agreeably relieved by a profusion of ivy, overspreading nearly the whole of one tower, and throwing the broad shadow of its pendent foliage upon part of the other. Within the portal the grooves of two portcullisses are apparent; and a further means of defence is visible in holes through the arch, down which boiling lead might be poured on the heads of the besiegers. On entering the court some remains of the baronial hall, and the foundations of other buildings, appear within the area of the walls. A small artificial mount at the north-east angle of the ruin sustains the citadel, a lofty round tower; to whichdernier resortof the garrison a ready communication seems to have been conducted on the walls, from the different towers and other parts of the fortress; the whole of which is surrounded by a broad and deep moat.
The early history of this castle is uncertain: some have conjectured that part of it was built by Harold; and indeed a round tower on the south-west side of the castle, with a circularly arched entrance, has a Saxon character; but the general architecture of the building is Gothic. Caldecot castle,in the different accounts of Monmouthshire, has been attached to the lord high constableship of England, upon the authority of Camden;[236]but it appears very satisfactorily, from Mr. Coxe’s illustration, that it was theprivateproperty of the great Bohun family possessing the earldom of Hereford, who were hereditary constables of England. Caldecot church is an extensive and highly-ornamented Gothic structure, which may appear somewhat disproportioned to the scanty flock that it has to fold.
Leaving the little village of Caldecot, we passed the Nevern brook, and soon after the small hamlet of Portswit, formerly washed by the sea, though it has since receded upwards of a mile. This place brought to our recollection a tale of outrage and cruelty that strongly characterizes the state of society at the time, and may serve as a buoy to mark the lawless violence of military dominion. It is related in Powell’s translation of Caradoc’s history, that Harold, after wresting part of Prince Gryffith’s possessions from him, built a magnificent palace at Portascyth (Portswit)in Monmouthshire; “and, stowing it with a great quantity of provision, splendidly entertained the king, who honoured him with a visit. This was by no means pleasing to Tosty, to see his younger brother in greater esteem and favour with the king than himself; and, having concealed his displeasure for a time, he could not forbear at length but discover his grievance; for one day at Windsor, while Harold reached the cup to King Edward, Tosty, ready to burst with envy that his brother was so much respected beyond himself, could not refrain to run furiously upon him, and, pulling him by the hair, dragged him to the ground; for which unmannerly action the king forbade him the court. But he, with continued rancour and malice, rides to Hereford, where Harold had many servants preparing an entertainment for the king; and, setting upon them with his followers, lopped off the hands and legs of some, the arms and heads of others, and then threw them into the butts of wine and other liquors which were put in for the king’s drinking; and at his departure charged the servants to acquainthim, ‘that of other fresh meat he might carry with him what he pleased; but for sauce he should find plenty provided for him.’ For which barbarous offence the king pronounced perpetual banishment upon him. But Caradoc ap Gryffydth gave a finishing stroke to Harold’s house, and the king’s entertainment at Portascyth; for, coming thither shortly after Tosty’s departure, to be revenged upon Harold, he killed all the workmen and labourers, with all the servants he could find; and, utterly defacing the building, carried away all the costly materials, which, with great charges and expence, had been brought thither to beautify and adorn the structure.”
Proceeding through an agreeable undulating tract towards the sea-shore, we soon arrived at theNew Passage, the principal entrance into Monmouthshire from the south-western counties.[238]The breadth of water from this place to the Bristol coast is three milesand a half, while the ferry of Aust, or the Old passage, four or five miles higher up the Severn, is only two miles across; but this advantage is considered to be overbalanced by the more commodious landing at the former. Both these concerns, being monopolies, are, like all other monopolies, hostile to the interest of the publick; for there being no competition for preference between the boatmen, they are extremely rude in their manners, indifferent to the accommodation of the publick, and by no means unpractised in various arts of extortion. But these exclusive privileges have existed from time immemorial. The title of the New Passage arose from its renewal in the year 1718, after an abolition in consequence of the following remarkable incident.