BAMBOROUGH CASTLE.
During the Wars of the Roses, Bamborough played an important part. First in Yorkistpossession it was captured by Queen Margaret, who placed a garrison of three hundred men there under the Duke of Somerset. Edward IV. with ten thousand men besieged Alnwick, Bamborough, and Dunstanburgh, the Kingmaker in person conducting the operations. The Castle was surrendered, and Sir Ralph Grey was left in charge, but betrayed his trust and admitted Margaret in 1463. In 1464 he was surrounded by Warwick's army, and a fierce bombardment was maintained which did enormous damage, Grey being injured by one of the falling towers; he recovered, however, but was subsequently executed at Doncaster. In the sixteenth century the Castle fell into disrepair, but in 1757 a partial restoration occurred, and subsequently portions of it were turned into a school for girls;afterwards, however, it was purchased by the late Lord Armstrong.
There are three wards within the enceinte of the Castle which encloses about 5 acres of land, the middle ward and that to the east being at one time covered by the buildings of the ancient town. The great Keep is similar to those at Dover and London, but originally possessed only two stories. It is erected upon a solid mass of masonry, and the entrance leads by a passage in the thickness of the wall into the second story. There is no forebuilding as the Keep is of a date anterior to their introduction. The lower part of the walls is about 11 feet thick, and in the basement occurs the well over which appears a great vaulted hall.
Rochester Castle.—The two great Royal Castles in Kent were those at Canterbury and Rochester, and of these Rochester was the more important and boasts of a richer history. The Keeps are practically all that remain of each, and Rochester again asserts the pre-eminence in respect to the importance of present remains. The site had been previously occupied by the Romans and the Saxons when, immediately subsequent to the Conquest, a Motte and Bailey Castle was rearedby the Normans, followed shortly afterwards by a massive encircling wall, enclosing an area measuring about 160 yards long by 130 yards broad. A portion of this wall was erected closeto the river, and a deep ditch protected the remaining three sides.
RICHMOND CASTLE, YORKSHIRE.
It was thus, at the demise of the Conqueror, a very strong fortress, and that much-hated half-brother of the late King, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, seized it, but was besieged and captured by Rufus after a resistance of six weeks. He was sent to Tonbridge Castle and subsequently liberated. In 1126 Henry I. granted the Constableship of the Castle to Walter de Corbeuil, Archbishop of Canterbury, and permitted him to erect a tower, probably the existing Keep.
In 1215, when in the possession of William d'Albini, who was acting for the Barons, King John sat down before the Castle with a formidable array of trebuchets, and battered it for three long months. Apparently he had greater success by undermining than by missile-throwing, the tower at the south-east angle being partially brought down by a mine, together with other parts of the chief defences. This extensive damage probably helped it to fall into the handsof the Dauphin the next year. In 1264 it resisted a vigorous assault from the forces of Simon de Montfort, and during the Wat Tyler rebellion was besieged and partially captured.
Edward IV. repaired it, but subsequently it fell into a state of neglect, and has not seen any military operations since. It is now in the possession of the Corporation of Rochester, and used as a place of public recreation.
The great Keep is naturally the chief object of interest; it is 113 feet in height, and about 70 feet square. The thickness of its walls varies from 12 feet at the base to 10 feet at the top, where the angle turrets rise over a dozen feet above the main battlements. It is divided, like the Tower of London, into two portions by a transverse wall rising to the total height, and carrying in its centre the main shaft of the Castle well, which was arranged to deliver water at every floor. The usual flat pilasters appear upon the external walls, and the two lower stories are pierced by loopholes only. A forebuilding with the usual complicated contrivances protects the main entrance. The aspect of the venerable Keep, conjoined to the tower and turrets of the adjacent Cathedral, form a delightfulcombination of the military and ecclesiastical architecture of former ages.
Richmond Castle.—The Castle of Richmond is beautifully situated upon high ground overlooking the river Swale, in Yorkshire, but, although the fortunes of the Castle extend to the time of the Conquest, and many noble families are connected with its history, it has played no important part whatever in the making of history, either in its own country or that of England. It has never seen an arrow launched in anger, or received a ball from opposing ordnance. It was erected by Alan Fergeant, who in 1071 commenced operations and encircled the triangular site with a curtain wall. The Keep was erected by his brother about the year 1100; it is approximately 50 feet square and 100 feet high, with the usual Norman pilasters, but deeper than formerly, strengthening the fronts and angles, while each of the latter bears a turret of two stages upon the summit. The only entrance is by a door on the south face, from which a narrow stairway leads to the floor above. The ground floor was vaulted in the reign of Edward I., the same as that at Newcastle. A chapel was built, about 1278, adjacentto it, by John, Earl of Richmond, who was killed at Lyons in 1304, and various other domestic buildings occur near it. A circular barbican protects the main entrance to the Castle, while in the south-east angle of the enceinte wall an imposing rectangular tower has been built, containing the remains of an ancient postern.
PLANS OF THE KEEP OFHEDINGHAM CASTLE.Reproduced by permission of the Architectural Association from the Sketch Book of Hedingham Castle.
THE CYLINDRICAL KEEP,c.1170-1250
The latter part of the twelfth century and the earlier portion of the thirteenth was marked by the introduction of the Cylindrical Keep, forming a transition or connecting link between the Shell and the Rectangular Keeps of the previous period, and the remarkable development of castellation which occurred in the thirteenth century. The latter, however, must not be considered in the light of a sudden revolutionary change, inasmuch as many indications occur in the castles of the twelfth century which exhibit a tendency to break through the conventionalism then prevailing, and to produce works of a more complex character, suited to the progress in military methods of attack. The introduction of the Cylindrical Keep was one of these innovations; although it did not remedy the greatfault inherent in Keeps generally, viz. that of impotence with regard to driving off the besiegers, yet it furnished a method which enabled the builder to effect a considerable economy in material and labour, while at the same time affording that strenuous passive resistance to assault which characterised the former styles. It is probable that King Henry II. was chiefly responsible for the introduction of the Cylindrical Keep, as by reason of his French birth he was acquainted with a number of foreign castles having citadels built upon this plan. These Cylindrical Keeps were likewise known as Donjons and Juliets, and attained to a degree of perfection upon the Continent which was never reached in the British Isles. The example at Coucy is probably the finest abroad.
The advantages which may be claimed for the Cylindrical Keep, apart from its lessened cost of construction, are the increased solidity, and the great difficulty in breaching it, or bringing it down by a mine. By vaulting each floor the resistance of the structure was increased; by enclosing the upper part in a similar manner also, the danger of fire from incendiary missiles launched upon the roof was practically nullified.A disadvantage, however, lay in the fact that the besieged could not concentrate a discharge of missiles against assailants at one part of the base without exposing themselves to the enemy's archery. This was to a great extent rectified by the bretasche, which, though in use previously, became established as a regular defence at this period.
These were timber galleries encircling the outer part of the tower at its summit, supported in position by strong beams of wood inserted in holes made for the purpose, and strengthened by struts resting upon corbels. Upon this foundation a wooden gallery was built, covered in by a sloping roof resting against the walls, and generally enclosing the summit of the wall. In suitable places the gallery was loopholed for archers and cross-bowmen, while through openings in the floor stones and other missiles could be dropped upon assailants at the foot of the Keep. It could be entered from the battlements behind, where stores of ammunition were placed.
At times two bretasches were in use, one above the other; the upper projected a greater distance from the walls so as to avoid injuryto the lower. The unfinished appearance of the tops of many towers can be explained by their having been covered with a bretasche in former times, although this defence was not kept in position permanently but usually built upon the approach of danger. The machicoulis and alurs of a later date were imitations in stone of the wooden bretasche. At Coucy these defences were placed about 180 feet from the ground, and the nerve displayed by the defenders working at such a giddy height excites admiration.
The introduction of machicolation proper into England occurred in the latter part of the thirteenth century and became a prominent feature at that period. The faults inherent in the bretasche were the feeble resistance which it offered to missiles launched from the mangonels of the besiegers; the destruction of one part by a well-aimed stone would naturally expose the remaining defenders to archery, besides seriously weakening the rest of the structure, which depended to a great extent upon its continuity for safety.
Another weakness was the perishable nature of the material, which required constant renovationand addition, and to this circumstance may be attributed the fact that examples of the true medieval bretasche are extremely rare at the present day. A fragment remains over one of the gates at Coucy, while the position of the main beam may be seen upon the outer gate of Leeds Castle. At Norham Castle a small doorway appears in the upper part of the square Keep, the conjectured use for which is that it gave access to the bretasche. In many castles of the twelfth century still remaining a line of small openings in the outer wall at the top is visible; they indicate the position of the former bretasche, and are caused by the removal of stones for the insertion of the projecting beams. Notwithstanding the advantages inherent in the Cylindrical Keep, which prompted their erection in many parts of France and other parts of the Continent, we do not find one example forming an integral part in aBritish Castle of the first class.
CARNARVON CASTLE. CARNARVONSHIRE.
Cylindrical Keeps were not always of a stereotyped form, and among the comparatively few erected in England there is marked diversity in detail. Launceston, for example, really consists of a triple defence; two outermost rings of walling, one of which is a dozen feet thick andnearly 30 feet in height, effectually prevent any attempt at mining the Keep proper, which stands a few feet within the second ring. It is now only a shell, but timber flooring once divided it into three stories. The walls are nearly 50 feet in height, about 10 feet thick at the base, and stand in a ring whose diameter is nearly 20 feet. The open spaces around the Keep were formerly covered by roofing.
Richard, King of the Romans and brother of Henry III., is generally credited with raising the Launceston Keep and also the companion one at Restormel. The Keep at Barnard Castle is remarkable for the huge projecting triangular spur, which, springing from the soil, rises to within a few feet of the parapet. The floors were vaulted. This circular Keep is about 50 feet in height and 40 feet wide. Pembroke Keep, on the other hand, rises without buttress or spur or concentric walling straight from a battering base at the ground-level to a height of about 70 feet to the spring of the vaulted roof. It trusted apparently to the enormous thickness of its walls, 20 feet at the base, to defy any attempts at mining.
Conisborough Castlepossesses the most remarkableKeep of the cylindrical type in the British Isles, both by reason of its extraordinary plan and rare contour. It is a gigantic cylinder nearly 70 feet in diameter, and tapering upwards to a height of over 90 feet. Upon the exterior six enormous buttresses are arranged symmetrically round the face, projecting 9 feet from the surface and being 16 feet wide where they support the cylinder. They diminish in width, however, as they recede from it. These buttresses are carried up the whole height of the Keep, and thus, combined as they are with a massive base of masonry upon which the tower stands, and forming an integral portion of the wall which is about 12 feet thick, we have what is probably the most efficient protection against the deadly mine ever devised as a protection to a British Castle. It may be compared to six enormous spurs, the blowing up of one or even two but little affecting the stability of the remainder.
GROUND PLAN OF CONISBOROUGH KEEP.
CONISBOROUGH.
The entrance to the Keep is only a small square aperture placed in the first floor and approached by a long flight of steps in which at one time a drawbridge occurred. The ground floor contains the well and is entered by means of a trap-door in the vaulted ceiling. The buttresses are excavated in places to form chambers, and in one is situated the oratory described by Scott inIvanhoe. It is beautifully vaulted in the Early English style, with carved capitals and bases to the supporting shafts. This grand relic of the feudal period was probably built in the reign of Richard I.by Hamelin Plantagenet, the natural brother of King Henry II., who had married into the de Warrenne family, the rich Earls of Surrey.
Another variety of the Cylindrical Keep was that at Orford, in Suffolk, which possessed a cylindrical shaft similar to that at Conisborough, and was supported by three minor towers symmetrically arranged and carried above the battlements. This Keep was protected at the base by a massive wall with a ditch between the wall and the Castle base, and probably suggested the Conisborough Keep and also that at Warkworth, while those at Wallingford, York and Pontefract approximated to the same ideal.
THE CONCENTRIC CASTLE,c.1250, TO THE CASTELLATED MANSION PERIOD
The inception of the concentric idea in castellation must not be ascribed to the English builders of the second half of the thirteenth century, inasmuch as the plan is essentially oriental and appeared in the Levant before 1200. Thus Château Gaillard, built by Richard I. in 1196 upon the banks of the Seine near Les Andelys, is based essentially upon the concentric type, though it does not absolutely conform to that ideal owing to the configuration of the ground. That crusading monarch was among the first to recognise the possibilities of the Saracenic form and based this castle upon it. Upon the only side where it could be attacked it offered first an outer triangular-shaped ward, with an encircling wall, having five towers upon its enceinte.Between this and the second ward was a formidable ditch, 30 feet in depth, the wall standing upon the brink of the scarp; this second ward was of large dimensions with five towers upon its walls, which were practically built upon the edge of precipices. It was roughly hexagonal in shape and contained the inner ward, partially circular in outline and surrounded by a ditch. The walls of this ward were lofty and faced with bastions segmental in plan, thus embodying the prevailing belief that angles and corners were more vulnerable than curved surfaces. Inside this ward stood the Keep, forming the fourth successive line of defence to be overcome. The Keep or Donjon is splayed outwards at the base, a device often adopted for projecting missiles among the assailants when dropped from above, and also for greater strength. Probably the earliest examples of machicoulis are found upon this Keep. This formidable fortress fell by a combination of mining, filling up of the great ditch, battering the Keep, and escalading the inner ward, after pounding the curtain walls with perriers.
The thousands of warriors returning from the many crusades were well acquainted with theConcentric Castle, having in many cases been detained before the walls of an eastern city built upon a similar design. The difficulty and danger in attacking such a place were well known to them, and we can only ascribe the question of cost as the chief reason for the non-adoption of the idea at an earlier period.
At Constantinople the crusading hosts before the city found themselves confronted by a comparatively low fortified wall, bristling with impediments; within it, at the distance of some hundreds of feet, arose another and taller wall, while beyond that again a third wall, the highest of all, appeared. These walls extended for more than three miles upon the western side, with one hundred towers; all were embattled, and they offered a stupendous scene to the wondering eyes of the Crusaders as they vanished in grand perspective into the distance. There is no castle in England which presents more than three hundred yards of continual front. The capture of the first defence of the eastern capital by no means imperilled the integrity of the second, while the prospective losses of the assailants when confined in the narrow space between the first and second lines was appalling to contemplate.The same difficulty would occur with regard to the second and third lines of defence, and it is small wonder that the leaders paused in a projected attack upon soformidable an obstacle.
CASTLE RUSHEN, ISLE OF MAN.
The essential principles underlying the construction of a castle erected upon the concentric plan were:—
1. That the natural features of the selected site should be adaptedand made part of the defences, and that no rigid plan of the ground occupied, based upon former principles of castellation, should be strictly followed.
2. That a series of defences independent and complete in themselvesshould be presented in turn to an assault, the capture of one by no means entailing that of another.
The castle-builders of the second half of the thirteenth century rigidly adhered to the principles embodied in the first clause given above; they did not produce a structure of the Motte and Bailey, or the Keep and Base-court types, with little regard to the situation and configuration of the ground, but made their plans with the utmost care, embracing every advantage which the site presented. As anecessary sequence the ground plan of one Concentric Castle differs from every other, and it is only by a general summary of the ideas prevailing that any comparison can be made.
The second clause naturally suggested a concentric plan whereby each defence was placed within the other, the strongest of all naturally being in the centre. But as most of the English castles were rendered concentric by means of additions to buildings previously existing, the pure concentric ideal is seldom reached except in those structures reared entirely at that period, the others attained it more or less by developing conditions already obtaining.
THE IDEAL CONCENTRIC CASTLE.
The ideal concentric outline may be gleaned from the accompanying plan, where the three entrances are a special feature, each being placed as far as possible from the one adjacent. By this device the assailants who had managed to capture the outer enceinte would be compelled to pass under one half of the second line of towers and curtain walls before reaching the entrance pierced through them, being all the time subjected to a plunging fire of deadly missiles. The same would occur if the second line were captured. The gates were in all casesflanked by defensive towers, and generally reached by a drawbridge which could be raised before the entrance archway; this was narrow and defended by one or more portcullises, while a strong gate, usually sheathed with iron, was placed at the entrance immediately behind the raised drawbridge. If these formidable obstacles were overcome and the first part of the passagecaptured the inner portcullis or portcullises had to be forced, but the assailants would in the meantime be subjected to a galling discharge of arrows and bolts from the narrow loopholes on either side, which were pierced in the walls of rooms whose only entrances were from the inner courtyard or from the ramparts. In the vaulted roof of the passage also circular openings were built, termed "meurtriers," or murderers, through which melted lead, hot water or oil, and other liquids could be poured upon the struggling mass of assailants below. From the formidable nature of the defence it may readily be understood that direct assaults of castles built upon the concentric ideal were limited, the besiegers contenting themselves with waiting until famine had done its work, or treachery within the walls allowed them to enter. The project of capturing three strong castles, one within the other, was a prospect sufficient to daunt any ordinary commander, and so long as the besieged could count upon a friendly army in the field outside, the loyalty of the garrison, and a plentiful supply of provisions, the fortress might be relied upon to maintain its integrity.
MACHICOULIS SUPPORTING AN ALUR.
It was during this period that machicoulis andalurs reached their highest efficiency and development, and in every castle built after 1250 they may be found wherever extra strengthening of the defence was desirable. In some illustrated medieval romances of the second part of the thirteenth century the castle is depicted with these additions, although at times the perspective indulged in by the artist is somewhat disconcerting. Where machicolation was not adopted, probably by reason of the expense, the walls were generally corbelled outwards at the upper parts of towers and walls, thus giving a more effective control over the bases of these structures where mining or battering might be attempted. Battlementing was almost universal, and the system of piercing the merlons with arbalestraria may be assigned to this early date, although not reaching the full development it subsequently met with in the Edwardian Castles of Wales. It may be seen in illustrated manuscripts in the form of simple circular openings in the merlons. Theprotection of loopholes and windows by a hanging shield is likewise illustrated; it prevented the admission of arrows and bolts discharged with a high trajectory.
The maximum development of the art of castle-building in the British Isles occurred in the reign of Edward I. and is exhibited in its best form in those magnificent buildings which he erected in Wales to consolidate the conquest of that country. With the great Snowdonian range as the centre he placed a ring of fortresses at those strategic points, chosen with remarkable military perspicacity, where they would be of the utmost advantage in commanding the widest stretch of country. Criccieth and Harlech, standing upon the sites of previous strongholds, and Conway and Carnarvon upon entirely new ground, are the most prominent and famous of this encircling ring. The term "Edwardian," however, for a Concentric Castle so frequently used, is a misnomer, because some of the grandest examples of the style date from the time of Henry III.; the outer ward of the Tower of London, for example, rendered it concentric in 1240 to 1258.
TheCastle of Harlechapproaches the concentricform so far as its position will permit, but the bold rocky promontory upon which it stands was too irregular for the complete ideal, and consequently the Castle was adapted to the site. It is practically an oblong with massive circular buttress towers at the four angles; two others defend the gateway and two smaller ones are on either side of the barbican entrance. Small watch-towers, corbelled at the summits upon false machicolations, are adjacent to the larger. The barbican lies upon the eastern side of the fortress, and was only accessible by a steep and narrow entrance after a dry ditch had been crossed. Harlech and Kidwelly are similar in not being purely concentric; each have short fronts of wall and the defences of two of the baileys are united, thus only two lines of resistance are interposed. Neither possess a donjon, the two inner wards being the last resort of the garrison.
The inaccessibility of this massive pile, perched 200 feet above the adjacent sea and producing a strangely impressive effect by reason of its grim vastness, has been repeatedly tested since its walls were first raised. Owen Glendower beat in vain against its impregnable strength and lost Mortimer, his son-in-law, before its walls. In theWars of the Roses, when the soul-stirring "March of the Men of Harlech" was penned, the Castle was summoned to surrender by the Yorkists, but the Constable of the time, a doughty Welshman, held out for the Lancastrian cause and made a most protracted resistance in the campaign of 1474, Harlech being the last fortress to surrender in that great struggle. In the Civil War it maintained its reputation, but was finally delivered up to Cromwell's brother-in-law.
Conway Castle, one of the most impressive and majestic of medieval fortresses in Britain, is situated in a romantic and picturesque spot at the mouth of the river Conway. It presents a perfect ideal of a fortress and a fortified town, the massive accompanying walls of the latter forming an integral portion of the defence as a whole. The town walls are over a mile in length and are in a singularly good state of preservation; there are twenty-one towers, arranged at regular intervals along this enceinte, and four gates, over one of which is a row of machicoulis, twelve in number, projecting from the upper part of the wall. It was also protected by a dry ditch and with drawbridges placed beforethe gateways.
LEEDS CASTLE, KENT.
The Castle occupies an irregular oblong area divided into a larger and smaller ward by a transverse wall, which is carried across at one of the narrowest parts; thus where breadth is unobtainable, as at Conway and Carnarvon, ward is set behind ward. Eight lofty circular towers are arranged at intervals around the massive curtain wall, four of them being provided with small look-out turrets upon their summits. In the larger bailey the banqueting hall and domestic apartments were placed.
The Castle and also the town fortifications were erected by King Edward I., with Henry de Elfreton as the architect; they were completed in 1284, and occupied by the King and Court in 1290, upon the occasion of a Welsh rising. The monarch, however, was nearly starved out in his fortress through an unusual flood whereby provisions were unable to be sent across the river. Previously, however, he had passed a Christmas there and the assertion that Conway was really a combination of a castle, a palace, and a pleasant residence is perfectly legitimate. Richard II. assembled his forces at Conway to resist the invasion of Bolingbroke, but was induced to leave it, and his betrayal andlodgment in Flint Castle followed. The edifice suffered but little during the Wars of the Roses; Henry VII. repaired it where decay had taken place, and it practically remained intact until the Great Rebellion, when it suffered from two sieges, and shortly afterwards, in 1665, was despoiled of its timber, lead, and iron, and reduced to its present condition. The excellence of the masonry which characterises the Edwardian castles in Wales is perhaps in no way better exemplified than at Conway, where a portion of the base of a tower on the south side fell out bodily in recent times through being undermined, and gave much trouble before it could be broken up. It has since been restored. The protection of the Castle is now in the hands of the town authorities of Conway.
Beaumaris Castlewas erected by King Edward I. about 1295, and approximates more to the concentric ideal than perhaps any other castle in Britain. The outer enceinte is an almost regular octagon, strengthened by towers at each of the angles and in the centre of each curtain, excepting the one in which the entrance gateway is placed. The inner enceinte is square in shape and of very great height, thus commandingthe ramparts of the outer; it has the usual towers, of immense strength, and is finished with a grand array of battlements. Its position probably detracts from impressiveness, for it was designed to have the moat surrounding it filled with water at every tide from the Menai Strait, and this necessitated the selection of low ground for a site. By the arrangement of the walls two baileys are formed, the inner and outer, and the Castle affords an example of a fortress built upon the concentric ideal where the ground does not modify the detail in any way.
Carnarvon Castlemay be confidently claimed as the finest example of its type in Europe. It stands upon a site previously unoccupied and was commenced by King Edward I., who raised the walls sufficiently high to cover the garrison, and completed by his son, Edward II., who carried the walls and towers to their present altitude. It is built of limestone blocks with string-course bands of dark-brown sandstone, the mouldings, doorways, and other ornamental portions also being of the same material. The plan of the Castle approaches that of a kidney form, the whole of the space enclosed formingone ward in contradistinction to that at Conway, which is subdivided; as the ancient town of Carnarvon was surrounded by massive walls, large portions of which still remain, the area so enclosed may be looked upon as the outer bailey.
MERLON PIERCED WITH OILLET.
Although the enceinte of the Castle is plentifully supplied with towers which undoubtedly form the chief feature of its picturesque appearance, yet it is to be questioned if the latter added very materially to its powers of resistance when compared with the walls, which are in places over 15 feet in thickness, and of very great height, often over 100 feet. These walls contain, at the points most vulnerable to an attack, a double line of galleries traversing the thickness and leading easily into each other for mutual support. The outer walls of these passages are plentifully supplied with loopholes, and as the merlons upon the battlements are also pierced with oillets, a triple discharge of quarrelsand arrows could be brought to bear upon assailants by a garrison securely protected from injury. Against such a hail of missiles any attack would probably prove futile.
The moat is of great width and depth and formed no inconsiderable portion of the original defences. The main idea of the architect when planning Carnarvon Castle appears to have been to render attacks upon the general line of the enceinte impossible of success, by reason of the galleries and the thickly-set mural towers, and thus to lead the assailants to concentrate upon the chief entrance. This, however, was protected primarily by the town walls, then by a formidable moat, two massive towers, a narrow entrance furnished with no less than four portcullises, with two inner obstructions of a similar nature to be overcome ere the entrance was forced. Such an elaborate concentration of effective resistance is seldom encountered in medieval fortresses, and the fact that Carnarvon Castle has never been taken by assault, but only subdued by starvation, is amply accounted for.
This magnificent structure has always been a Crown possession, and at the present time is preserved with a care deserving of all praise.It narrowly escaped demolition at that period which proved so fatal to all castles in Britain, but, although the order was issued, the carrying out was delayed, and the accession of Charles II. in 1660 nullified it. The chief architectural beauty is perhaps the Eagle Tower, crowned with its three graceful turrets and boasting of the birth within its walls of the first Prince of Wales, but the traditional apartment is still problematical.
Although as we have seen the Concentric Castle is usually associated with the reign of Edward I., and the formidable strongholds in North Wales are generally cited as the perfection of the type, yet earlier attempts at the ideal had been made in Britain, and in no greater perfection than at the well-known Castle of Caerphilly in Glamorganshire, completed a year before the King came to the throne. From a military point of view it is the grandest example of the concentric ideal in our islands, and it is perhaps to be deplored that this embodiment of a medieval fortress has never been subjected to the stern arbitrament of war, and that no great military renown is associated with its history. It was only assailed once, in 1648, when theParliamentarians wreaked their traditional destructive tendencies upon it.
CAERPHILLY CASTLE. (From an old print.)
It was erected and completed in 1271 by Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and stands upon a mound of gravel in the middle of an artificial lake, produced by damming up two water-courses and turning the contents of a marsh into the catchment basin thus formed. The curtain of the middle ward is of no great height, that of the inner ward being thus able to dominate it. The outer ward is essentially divided into two, each forming atête-du-pont.
The eastern portion, and the smaller, has acurtain 15 feet in height and a moat of its own, the island thus formed being approached through two gatehouses from the land side, and joined to the inner ward by drawbridges. The western and outer ward is much more important than the eastern. It acts as atête-du-pontthe same as its companion, but contains also the chief approach to the Castle, two conspicuous towers standing on either side of a narrow entrance, thus forming a strong gatehouse. From it curtain walls of great height branch off on either side, washed by the waters of the lake, and sundry half-drum towers, and other buildings have been built abutting upon the defensive wall. Thus any assailants would have most formidable obstacles to encounter on attacking either the eastern or western faces, two moats and three successive lines of walling being opposed to their efforts.
The immediate object of its erection was to overawe the Welsh Marches, but these had been reduced to order almost at the same time it was built; subsequently itbut served to consolidate the peace thus secured.
TOWER OF LONDON: THE MIDDLE TOWER
A still earlier example, though not perhaps embodying all the conditions of the type, isto be found in the neighbouring county of Carmarthen. Kidwelly Castle occupies a commanding position upon Carmarthen Bay near the estuary of the river Gwendraeth. The stream here is of considerable width and the eastern side of the castle is built upon the edge of the steep slope leading down to it; consequently no fear of an assault was to be apprehended from that quarter, and a curtain wall of no great height was deemed sufficient for the defence. This wall formed the string of a bow as it were, and the semicircular portion defending the land side had to rely upon other obstacles, such as a deep moat and a curtain set with towers. Theentrance gateway is at the southern termination of the wall and consists of two towers with a building between containing the passage; it affords rooms for soldiers on duty with two stories above, all the masonry being of the most solid description. This entrance gave upon the outer ward. The inner ward consisted of a square enclosure abutting upon the centre of the river line: it is protected by high curtains strengthened by the usual towers. It will be perceived that the deviation from the concentric consists in the coincidence of the east wall of the inner bailey with a portion of that of the outer. Its foundation dates from 1250, when Payn de Chaworth reared it.
KIDWELLY CASTLE, CARMARTHENSHIRE.
Not far from Llandeilo, a village near Carmarthen, stand the remains of a Concentric Castle around which local tradition has woven a web of romance, asserting that all history is lost in remote antiquity and leading the imagination to run riot in conjuring up the identity of its former inmates. Upon the south side the walls stand upon a precipice with a sheer drop of probably 500 feet, while a climb of over 200 feet is necessary to reach the northern face. It is called Carreg Cennen and occupies the summitof a height springing up from a ring of encircling hills. It stands upon an acre of ground and is of the rectangular shape; within the outer curtain stands a small inner bailey with one side coincident with that of the outer curtain overlooking the precipice, and as such is comparable to Kidwelly. There is one round tower, but the others are angular like those of Carnarvon. It was built by Rhys of Wales in the thirteenth century.
It must not be imagined that the castle-building energies of Edward I. were entirely expended upon the grand examples of his work found in North Wales, on the contrary there are many buildings to be discovered where his handiwork, or that of contemporary barons, is a prominent feature. A tendency appears to have manifested itself at that period to alter existing castles of a previous type so that they conformed in some way to the concentric ideal, and Pevensey, Chepstow, and Corfe are cases in point. In addition to Caerphilly in Glamorganshire there are many other structures in South Wales showing a very high ideal of castellation, indeed that portion of the Principality has been termed the "Land of Castles," and the appellation isby no means undeserved. There is hardly a prominent position upon the coast, or a suitable site inland, but what has been seized upon at some period to erect a position of defence.
Pembroke Castle, with the town walls supporting it, is perhaps the most important pile to be found in this district; it embodies additions of varying dates in its massive walls and towers. The great gatehouse and circular Norman Keep are undoubtedly its chief attractions at the present day when, although shattered by powder after Cromwell's capture by means of starvation, and much subsequent spoliation, it presents one of the most imposing aspects to be found in the kingdom.
Carew Castleis deservedly celebrated for picturesqueness and affords an illustration of the use of the angle-spur at the foot of drum towers as a preventive against mining.
Cilgerran Castleoccupies a position which is probably unparalleled in South Wales. It approaches very closely to the Edwardian type, but the area chosen has not entirely dominated the plan; it once possessed an inner and outer bailey with a great portcullised gatehouse and massive cylindrical towers, two of which stillstand. Pembrokeshire is essentially the centre of the castle-land of Wales, for besides those mentioned there are Manorbier, Lamphey, Narberth, Haverfordwest, Llawhaddon, Roche and many others, most of them exhibiting traces of Edwardian influence based upon Norman work.
In the upper valley of the Wye the efficiency of castles was of great importance, inasmuch as they guarded one of the great lines of incursion from the heart of Wales into the Marches; here Edwardian additions may be seen at Builth where a donjon was placed upon a motte which had already been encircled by a Shell Keep, while a circular rampart surrounding the whole bailey made a very presentable representation of the concentric ideal. At Bronllys, farther to the south, a cylindrical tower was the chief addition, while at Tretower, still farther south near Crickhowell, a Shell Keep appears to have been inserted within the remains of a previous Rectangular Keep defending the motte.
The Tower of London.—This great fortress, palace, and prison, unique among the castles of England, dates from the time of William the Conqueror. The site occupied a position upon the river Thames immediately to the east of RomanLondon; the latter was surrounded by massive walls with mural towers which had subsequently been repaired by Alfred the Great. A portion of this walling undoubtedly furnished part of the western defence of the Norman citadel, inasmuch as remains have been found adjacent to the present Wakefield Tower. The wall thus adapted extended between two bastions, and possibly the first enclosure was merely stockaded.
It was, however, necessary to erect a more substantial fortress in order to overawe as well as protect London, and in 1078, William entrusted Gundulf, the architect-bishop of Rochester, with the commission. The great Keeps at Rochester and West Malling were also designed by him, and possibly he had much to do with those at Norwich, Colchester, and other places in England. To this period may also be ascribed some of the towers and part of the massive curtain wall lying to the west of the inner ward or ballium which at that period contained the royal palace, apartments for the court, and dwellings for the garrison. Possibly a narrow ditch encircled the walls on the inner line of the present spacious moat.
In 1155, the buildings were repaired byThomas à Becket; but to Richard I. must be ascribed the carrying out of works which materially added to the general strength. Henry III. caused additions to be made, chiefly upon the river front, which give it the characteristic appearance it presents at the present day. The well-known Traitors' Gate dates from this period, and is one of the finest examples of medieval masonry in existence. About the year 1270 the Tower began to acquire those features which subsequently rendered it an excellent example of the concentric fortress; an outer wall of circumvallation was carried completely round, with a deep and broad moat washing its face. The outer ward was formed lying between the two lines of walls, thus producing three lines of defence, the innermost being the great Keep. A small barbican, which has now disappeared, stood upon the outer edge of the moat. In the early part of the reign of Edward III. some towers were added, the chief being the Beauchamp and Bowyer. Since the period of the Commonwealth the Tower has ceased to be inhabited by royalty, the removal of the palace, which stood against the south-eastern corner of the inner ward, being probably responsible for it.As the Tower of London has been inextricably involved in the major portion of events forming the history of England, it is obviously impossible to deal even in a cursory manner with them within the confines of this work. A few facts, however, relating to the Keep may be of interest, as it is undoubtedly the most ancient portion of the structure. It is rectangular in shape, 118 feet long by 107 feet broad; it rises to a height of 90 feet at the battlements and contains three stories. The usual Norman pilaster buttresses occur, those at the angles being continued upwards into three of the square turrets, while the remaining corner supports a large projecting circular turret containing the main staircase. The walls are of enormous thickness, ranging from 12 to 15 feet, and as usual the building is divided into two portions by a wall10 feet thick, rising to the maximum height of the building.