A.D.1294.—Abbas de Tynterneis summoned to a council of the clergy, to be held before theKingin person, at Westminster, on the Feast ofSt. Matthiasthe Apostle, on the twenty-first day of September, and twenty-second ofEdwardI. Again—1295.—TheAbbas de Tynterneis summoned to Parliament at Westminster, on Sunday next after the feast ofSt. Martin, thirteenth day of October, and twenty-third year of the reign ofEdwardI., prorogued to Sunday next, before the Feast ofSt. Andrewthe Apostle, the twenty-seventh of November. Thirdly—1296.—Summoned to Parliament atBury St. Edmund’s, on the morrow ofAll-Souls, November the third day, and twenty-fourth year of the reign ofEdwardI.1300.—Abbas de Tynterne—Letter of Credence addressed to him concerning the expedition against theScots—at Blith, the seventeenth day of January, and twenty-eighth year of the reign ofEdwardI. Again, the same year, theabbotwas summoned to Parliament in London, on the second Sunday inLent, being the sixth day of March.1301.—Abbas de Tynterneis summoned to Parliament atLincoln—in eight days ofSt. Hilary—the twentieth day of January, and twenty-eighth year of the reign aforesaid.1305.—Summoned to Parliament at Westminster, on Tuesday, in fifteen days of thePurification, the sixteenth of February; afterwards prorogued to Sunday next, after the Feast ofSt. Matthiasthe Apostle, the twenty-eighth day of February—but to which he was not resummoned—and thirty-third year of the reign ofEdwardI.1316.—Abbas de Tynterne, certified pursuant to writ, tested at Clipston, March the fifth, as one of the lords of the township ofAcle,[188]in the county of Norfolk, in the ninth year of the reign ofEdwardII.1316.—Johannes de Tynterne, certified in like manner, as holding part of the burgh ofLyme-Regis, in the county of Dorset, in the ninth year of the reign ofEdwardII.
A.D.1294.—Abbas de Tynterneis summoned to a council of the clergy, to be held before theKingin person, at Westminster, on the Feast ofSt. Matthiasthe Apostle, on the twenty-first day of September, and twenty-second ofEdwardI. Again—
1295.—TheAbbas de Tynterneis summoned to Parliament at Westminster, on Sunday next after the feast ofSt. Martin, thirteenth day of October, and twenty-third year of the reign ofEdwardI., prorogued to Sunday next, before the Feast ofSt. Andrewthe Apostle, the twenty-seventh of November. Thirdly—
1296.—Summoned to Parliament atBury St. Edmund’s, on the morrow ofAll-Souls, November the third day, and twenty-fourth year of the reign ofEdwardI.
1300.—Abbas de Tynterne—Letter of Credence addressed to him concerning the expedition against theScots—at Blith, the seventeenth day of January, and twenty-eighth year of the reign ofEdwardI. Again, the same year, theabbotwas summoned to Parliament in London, on the second Sunday inLent, being the sixth day of March.
1301.—Abbas de Tynterneis summoned to Parliament atLincoln—in eight days ofSt. Hilary—the twentieth day of January, and twenty-eighth year of the reign aforesaid.
1305.—Summoned to Parliament at Westminster, on Tuesday, in fifteen days of thePurification, the sixteenth of February; afterwards prorogued to Sunday next, after the Feast ofSt. Matthiasthe Apostle, the twenty-eighth day of February—but to which he was not resummoned—and thirty-third year of the reign ofEdwardI.
1316.—Abbas de Tynterne, certified pursuant to writ, tested at Clipston, March the fifth, as one of the lords of the township ofAcle,[188]in the county of Norfolk, in the ninth year of the reign ofEdwardII.
1316.—Johannes de Tynterne, certified in like manner, as holding part of the burgh ofLyme-Regis, in the county of Dorset, in the ninth year of the reign ofEdwardII.
The following is the original document referred to in various passages of the foregoing articles on Chepstow and Tinterne:—
GenealogiaFundatoris (Ex MS. Codice in Bibl. Cottoniana [sub Effigie Vitellii, F. 4], fol. 7).GunnoraComitissa Normanniæ duas habuit sorores, una Turulpho de Ponte-Adamaro conjuncta erat in matrimonio, et procreavitHumfridumde Vetulis qui fuit paterRogeride Bellomonte, ex quo comites de Warwike et Leicestriæ processerunt.Turketillusfuit frater istius Turulphi, cujus filius Hasculfus de Harecurt aliam sororem predictæ Comitissæ Gunnoræ con ... erat duos procreavit filios; scilicetWalterumde Giffard, primogenitum, qui alium Walterum procreavit, et dictus fuit Walterius Giffard secundus. Rohesia, una sororum Walteri (duas plures enim habuit) conjuncta in matrimonioRicardofilio comitisGisleberti, qui in re militari, tempore Conquestoris omnes sui temporis magnates præcessit. Prædicta Rohesia supervixit et renuptaEudoni, dapifero Regis Normanniæ qui construxit castrum Colecestriæ, cum cœnobio, in honore Sancti Johannis, ubi sepultus fuit, cum conjuge sua, temporeHenriciprimi. Margareta filia eorum nupta fuitWillielmode Mandevill, et fuit materGaufredifilii comitis Essexiæ et jure matris, Normanniæ dapifer. PrædictusRicardusapud sanctumNeotumjacet sepultus. Huic rex Willielmus concessit baroniamDe Clare, villam verò cum castello de Tunbridge, de Archiepiscopo Cantuariensi, pro aliis terris in Normannia, perquisivit in excambium.Baldwinus, frater istius Ricardi, Willielmum, Robertum, et Ricardum, cum tribus sororibus genuit. Ex prædictaRohesiahanc sobolem procreavit Ricardus,Rogerusnatu secundus terras patris sui in Normannia adeptus est;Walterus dominium Wenciæ inferioris, in Wallia, qui construxit Abbatiam de Tinterna, anno DominiMCXXXI;obiit sine prole.[189]
GenealogiaFundatoris (Ex MS. Codice in Bibl. Cottoniana [sub Effigie Vitellii, F. 4], fol. 7).
GunnoraComitissa Normanniæ duas habuit sorores, una Turulpho de Ponte-Adamaro conjuncta erat in matrimonio, et procreavitHumfridumde Vetulis qui fuit paterRogeride Bellomonte, ex quo comites de Warwike et Leicestriæ processerunt.
Turketillusfuit frater istius Turulphi, cujus filius Hasculfus de Harecurt aliam sororem predictæ Comitissæ Gunnoræ con ... erat duos procreavit filios; scilicetWalterumde Giffard, primogenitum, qui alium Walterum procreavit, et dictus fuit Walterius Giffard secundus. Rohesia, una sororum Walteri (duas plures enim habuit) conjuncta in matrimonioRicardofilio comitisGisleberti, qui in re militari, tempore Conquestoris omnes sui temporis magnates præcessit. Prædicta Rohesia supervixit et renuptaEudoni, dapifero Regis Normanniæ qui construxit castrum Colecestriæ, cum cœnobio, in honore Sancti Johannis, ubi sepultus fuit, cum conjuge sua, temporeHenriciprimi. Margareta filia eorum nupta fuitWillielmode Mandevill, et fuit materGaufredifilii comitis Essexiæ et jure matris, Normanniæ dapifer. PrædictusRicardusapud sanctumNeotumjacet sepultus. Huic rex Willielmus concessit baroniamDe Clare, villam verò cum castello de Tunbridge, de Archiepiscopo Cantuariensi, pro aliis terris in Normannia, perquisivit in excambium.Baldwinus, frater istius Ricardi, Willielmum, Robertum, et Ricardum, cum tribus sororibus genuit. Ex prædictaRohesiahanc sobolem procreavit Ricardus,Rogerusnatu secundus terras patris sui in Normannia adeptus est;Walterus dominium Wenciæ inferioris, in Wallia, qui construxit Abbatiam de Tinterna, anno DominiMCXXXI;obiit sine prole.[189]
TheDeed, by which the privileges originally granted by the founders were confirmed and completed by Roger Bigod, after the lapse of a hundred and seven years, is expressed in the following terms:—
Rogerus le Bygod Comes Norfolciæ, et Mareschallus Angliæ, Salutem inDomino. Noverit universitas vestra me intuitu Dei et pro salute animæ nostræ, et animarum antecessorum nostrorum, et hæredum nostrorum, concessisse et confirmasse Deo et ecclesiæ beatæMariæ de Tinterna, Abbati et monachis et eorum successoribus ibidem Deo servientibus, in liberam puram et perpetuam elemosynam, omnes terras et possessiones, libertates, et liberas consuetudines subscriptas quas habent ex donis antecessorum nostrorum et aliorum fundatorum seu donatorum, sive ex dono nostro—videlicet: Totam hayam dePorcassek, et ex altera parte co opertorium nemoris c̃ omnibus pertinentiis suis in bosco et plano, et quicquid habet in Pentirk de tenementis terris redditibus boscis et planis c̃ aliis libertatibus suis et totam terram deModisgatc̃ omnibus suis pertinentiis—videlicet: cum pastura ovium et aliorum animalium suorum ubique inchacianostra deTudenham, et de Subbosco in dictu chacia quicquid eis necessarium fuerit ad ardendum et adhayasclaudendas, etc. His testibus domino Joanne le Bÿgod fratre meo: Dom. Joanne le BÿgodStocton: Nicholao deKingeston, militibus: Elya de Aylbreton, tunc Seneschallo meo deStrugull: Philippe deMora: Rogero deSancto Mauro: Willielmo deDynam: Andreæ deBellocampo, et aliis.
Datum apudModesgat, quarto die Augusti,anno DominiM.CCCI.
Authoritiesquoted or referred to in the preceding article on Tinterne Abbey and its vicinity:—Dugdale’s Monasticon and Baronage—Thomas’s Tinterne—Camden—Giraldus Cambrensis—Robert of Gloucester—Matthew Paris—William of Worcester—Fosbroke’s British Monachism—Dallaway’s Arts—Reed—Barber—Mores Catholici—Life of St. Bernard—French Monastic Writers—Annales et Usus Cistercienses—Morton’s Monastic Annals—Nicolson’s History—West’s Furness—Wonders and Traditions of Wales—Bp. Godwin—Burnet—Pictorial Hist. of Engl.—Sir H. Ellis’s Original Letters—Wilkins’s Concilia—Macaulay’s History—Blunt’s Sketch of the Reformation—Latimer’s Sermons—Madden’s Penalties—Warton—Taylor’s Index Monast.—Heraldic Enquiries—Henniker—Cowel—Chronicles of England—Local historians and poets—Gilpin—Heath—Barber—Thomas, whose work on “Tinterne and its Environs” is the best hand-book that has yet appeared on this locality—Notes taken by the Editor during a Tour on the Wye—Hints and Suggestions from Correspondents, etc.
Authoritiesquoted or referred to in the preceding article on Tinterne Abbey and its vicinity:—Dugdale’s Monasticon and Baronage—Thomas’s Tinterne—Camden—Giraldus Cambrensis—Robert of Gloucester—Matthew Paris—William of Worcester—Fosbroke’s British Monachism—Dallaway’s Arts—Reed—Barber—Mores Catholici—Life of St. Bernard—French Monastic Writers—Annales et Usus Cistercienses—Morton’s Monastic Annals—Nicolson’s History—West’s Furness—Wonders and Traditions of Wales—Bp. Godwin—Burnet—Pictorial Hist. of Engl.—Sir H. Ellis’s Original Letters—Wilkins’s Concilia—Macaulay’s History—Blunt’s Sketch of the Reformation—Latimer’s Sermons—Madden’s Penalties—Warton—Taylor’s Index Monast.—Heraldic Enquiries—Henniker—Cowel—Chronicles of England—Local historians and poets—Gilpin—Heath—Barber—Thomas, whose work on “Tinterne and its Environs” is the best hand-book that has yet appeared on this locality—Notes taken by the Editor during a Tour on the Wye—Hints and Suggestions from Correspondents, etc.
On taking leave of Tinterne, we shall here introduce a short notice of—
Goodrich Castle, once a stronghold of the Marshalls, whose names have been so often recorded in connection with the abbey. It stands on a finely wooded promontory, round which the river Wye flows in a semicircular direction. By whom it was originally founded is unknown, though the near affinity of its name to that of ‘Godricus Dux,’ who occurs as a witness to two charters granted by KingCanuteto the abbey ofHulm, has given birth to a not improbable conjecture that he was the founder. TheKeepis evidently of a date antecedent to the Conquest; but the surrounding works are principally Norman, though various additions and alterations may be distinguished as the workmanship of different periods, even down to the time of Henry VI.
In its general outline, this castle forms a parallelogram, with a round tower at each angle, and a square ‘keep’ standing in the south-west part of the enclosed area. The common thickness of the exterior walls is somewhat more than seven feet; the length of the longest sides—that is, those towards the south-east and north-west, including the projections of the towers—is about 176 feet; and that of the south-west and north-east sides about 152 feet.
The keepstands somewhat in the same manner as those of Porchester, Pevensey, and Castleton, close to the outward wall of the castle; and, like them, it has no window on the outside next the country. It had evidently three rooms or floors, one above the other; all of them, however, were very small,being only fourteen feet and a half square; and the room on the first floor had no sort of internal communication with the dungeon beneath—which had not even a single loophole for light and air, but was connected by a very narrow passage to a still smaller dungeon, strongly secured under the platform belonging to the steps of the entrance, and having a very small air-hole on the same side. “The original windows are Saxon; that in the middle of the upper story seems to have remained just as it was from the very first, without any alteration; and the manner in which the two large side columns stand, somewhatwithinthe arch, is consistent with the fashion adopted by the Saxons, and continued even to the time of Edward the Confessor. The large zigzag ornament on each side, between the columns, is in the rude form in which it was generally used by the early Saxons; and so also is that of the zigzag moulding, or band, that is carried by way of ornament quite across the tower, just under the window; and it is very remarkable, that the middle projecting buttress is carried no higher than this ornament.”[190]—See the preceding wood-cut.
The window in the apartment beneath is similar in its general construction; but the columns which support the arch are somewhat higher, and a semicircular moulding of zigzag is carried beneath the arch; the middle part of the window, however, has been altered—a stone frame for glass having been inserted, of the style and age of Henry the Sixth, and probably in the time of the celebrated Earl Talbot, whom tradition represents as having hisown chamberin this tower. In the second apartment is a fire-hearth, and, in an angle of the wall, a circular staircase leads to the upper story. “To this staircase is a most remarkable doorway; it has one large transom stone, as if to aid the arch to support the wall above, and in this respect it resembles several other Saxon structures, in which this singular fashion seems to have been uniformly adopted, until it became gradually altered by the introduction of a flattishunder-arch, substituted in the room of the transom stone.”[191]
The principal entrancewas by a flight of steps on one side, distinct from the main building, and ascending to a platform before the doorway leading to the second chamber. The entrance to the dungeon, or lower apartment, was under “a very remarkable sort of pointed arch, formed of flat sides, which seems, from the appearance of the wall around it, and from its peculiar style, to have been inserted many ages after the tower was built, and in the time ofEdwardIII.; a suspicion that appears to be most strongly confirmed, by the circumstance, that about the twenty-second year of Edward the Third, Richard Talbot, its then lord, obtained the royal license[192]for having in his castle a prison for male-factors, having also the cognizance of pleas of the crown, &c., within his lordship of Irchinfield. The bottom of the keep-tower would undoubtedly, as usual, be the place where such a prison would be established; and on that occasion it should seem that this new and strong door-frame was first constructed, whilst the very annexation of the lordship of Irchinfield, or Urchenfield, to the possession of this keep-tower, both of which his lordship appears to have been possessed of before this license was granted, shows the exceedingly high antiquity of this castle, since Urchenfield was, indeed, the very place where St. Dubricius founded his college of Religious, aboutA.D.512, to live, like the original Eastern recluses, by the work of their own hands.”[193]The body of the keep is an exact square of twenty-nine feet.
Indescribing the additions made to this fortress in the Norman times, and during the successive reigns to the time of Henry the Sixth, we shall follow Mr. King, and begin with the strongly-fortifiedentrance, which, commencing between two semicircular towers of equal dimensions, near the east angle, was continued under a dark vaulted passage, to an extent of fifty feet. “Immediately before the entrance, and within the space enclosed by the fosse, was a very deep pit, hewn out of the solid rock, formerly crossed by a drawbridge, which is now gone, but which evidently appears to have exactly fitted, and to have closed, when drawn up, the whole front of the gateway between the towers. About eleven feet within the passage was a massive gate, the strong iron hinges of which still remain: this gate and the drawbridge were defended on each side by loopholes, and overhead by rows of machicolations in the vaulting. Six feet and a half beyond this was a portcullis, and about seven feet further a second portcullis; the space between these was again protected by loopholes and machicolations. About two feet more inward was another strong gate, and five feet and a half beyond this, on the right, a small door leading to a long narrow gallery, only three feet wide, formed in the thickness of the wall, and which was the means of access to the loopholes in the eastern tower, as well as to some others that commanded the brow of the steep precipice towards the north-east.” These works appear to have been thought sufficient for general defence; but a resource was ingeniously contrived for greater security, in case they had all been forced: “for a little further on are many stone projections in the wall on each side, like pilasters, manifestly designed for inserting great beams of timber within them, like bars, from one side of the passage, which was about nine feet ten inches wide, to the other, so as to form a strong barricade, with earth or stones between the rows of timber, which would in a short time, and with rapidity,form a strong massy wall.” Beyond these the passage opened into the great inner court of the Castle.
Chapel.—The ruins of the chapel run parallel with the entrance on the left; the style of the broken ornaments, and particularly of those about its great window, show this to have been repaired and adorned even so late as the reign of Henry the Seventh. In one part is a very remarkable niche, and near it a smaller one, for holy water. On the opposite side is also another niche for the same purpose. Beneath the chapel was a deep vault, and over it a chamber, with a fireplace, which still appears projecting from the wall. Adjoining the chapel, and near the entrance, is a small octagonal watch-tower, which rises above the other buildings, and commands a fine view over the surrounding country.
The buildings between the chapel and the south or garrison tower, to the upper part of which a passage, or covered-way, led along the top of the outer wall, are mostly in ruins. Here appear to have been the stables. The garrison tower adjoins the entrance to the keep; its foundation is a square of about thirty-six feet; but the three outward angles diminish as they ascend, and form triangular buttresses, so that the upper part of the tower is circular. The walls are at least eight feet in thickness. The entrances to this tower were so continued, that there was access to it from every part of the walls. It contained three floors, and in each of them a fire-hearth. The interior forms an irregular octagon, about twenty feet in diameter from the angles, and about seventeen from side to side.
Great Tower.—The wall that extended between the keep and the west tower is in ruins. This tower, which is also greatly dilapidated, appears of more modern construction than the former, and is probably of the time of the Edwards. Its outward form is circular; but the interior is somewhat of an octangular figure, but very irregular, its general dimensions being thirty-three feet long, and twenty-five feet broad. In this appears to have been the greatkitchen; the fireplace is still distinguishable, with a recess and loophole on each side. Here was a small doorway, or sally-port, communicating with a sort of outerballium, which runs on the north-west side, and was enclosed by an outer wall. On this side also, and ranging between the west tower and the north or Ladies’ tower, were the state apartments.
The Hallwas a magnificent room of the time of Edward the First, as clearly appears from the style and architecture of its remains, and particularly from its long, slender, and narrow windows. This apartment was sixty-five feet long, and twenty-eight feet broad. Some years ago it contained a single beam of oak, “without knot or knarle,” sixty-six feet long, and nearly two feet square throughout its whole length. On the north-west side is the greatfireplace; and behind it, projecting into the outerballium, a vast mass of solid stonework, or buttress, which, in its upper part, appears to have had some little apartment, or guard-chamber. The hall communicated towards the north with a kind of withdrawing or retiring room, about twenty-nine feet by seventeen and a half, in which appears to have been a window looking into the hall. From this second apartment, a passage led into what seems to have been the great
State-room, which was fifty-five feet and a half long by twenty broad. At the upper end, or towards the north, are two beautiful pointed arches, springing from a well-wrought octagon pillar in the middle of the apartment, and resting on corbels at the sides. Here seem to have been two large windows; but the walls are so much broken, or closely mantled with ivy, that this cannot with certainty be affirmed. The architecture of this part of the building is of the time ofHenrythe Fifth or Sixth. At the north angle of this room is an opening leading into the north orLadies’ tower, which is so situated on the brow of a high and steep precipice, as to be the most defensible part of the castle. From the apartment within, which is a neat octagon, about fifteen feet in diameter, is a most beautiful view over the adjacent country. From the common appellation of this tower, there can be little doubt of its having been appropriated as a “Ladies’ bower.” Beyond the state-room, in the north-east wall, is a square recess and loophole, supposed to have been formed for the lodging and seat of the warden.
Suchwas the original construction of Goodrich Castle; but almost every part has yielded to the iron tooth of age, and to the more speedy demolition of war. The ruins, however, are extremely grand; the massive towers are finely mantled with ivy; and even the great moat is embellished with the luxuriant foliage of tall forest-trees. From the adjoining woods the crumbling turrets have a very striking and interesting effect; and seen from the water, the view has been truly characterized as “one of the grandest upon the Wye.”
Whoever was the original founder of this Castle, “whether Godricus Dux, who witnessed KingCanute’scharters, or any chieftain prior to him,” it is certain that the earliest authenticated record yet discovered, is ofA.D.1204, when it was given by “King John to William Strigul, EarlMarshall, to hold by the service of two knights’ fees.” His son Walter, Earl of Pembroke—as noticed in a former page of this volume—died here in December, 1245. It was afterwards conveyed by a female to William deValentia, Earl of Pembroke, whose third son, Aymer de Valence, became his heir, and was murdered in France in 1323. From him it passed to the Talbots, by the marriage of Elizabeth Comyn, daughter of Joan, his second sister, with Sir Richard, afterwards Lord Talbot, who procured the license from Edward the Third to have aprison here. This Richard was a renowned soldier and statesman; and is thought to have expended a considerable part of the ransoms, obtained from his prisoners taken in the French wars, on the reparation and improvement of Goodrich Castle. His descendant, John Talbot, the great Earl of Shrewsbury, who was killed at the battle of Castillon, in the year 1453, was first buried at Rouen; and in enumeration of his titles on the monument raised to his memory, he is styled “Lord of Goderich and Orchenfield.” His successors were equally distinguished for bravery, and were frequently employed in offices of great trust. George,[194]the sixth earl, had the custody of Mary, Queen of Scots, committed to his charge. That these places were really alienated is improbable, as Gilbert, seventh Earl of Shrewsbury, was in possession of this castle and manor at the period of his death in the 14th of James the First. Elizabeth, his second daughter and co-heiress, conveyed them in marriage to Henry de Grey, Earl of Kent, in whose family they continued till the year 1740, when, on the death of Henry, Duke of Kent, they were sold to Admiral Griffin.
In the civil wars between Charles I. and his Parliament, Goodrich Castle was alternately possessed by both parties. It was first seized by the Parliamentary army; but afterwards fell into the hands of the Royalists, who sustained a siege of nearly six weeks against Colonel Birch. The colonel began the siege on the 22nd of June, 1646. On the third of August, as appears from Whitelocke, “Colonel Birch entered some of the works of Gotherich Castle, whereupon the garrison hung out a white flag for parley, which Birch refused, and went on storming, until they all submitted to mercy. In the castle, besides the governor, were 50 gentlemen and 120 soldiers, with arms, ammunition, and provisions.” On the twenty-fifth the Parliament gave orders that the Countess of Kent should be informed that there was anecessityfor demolishing the castle; and that “on the demolishing thereof, satisfaction should be made to her. On the first of March following, they finally resolved that the castle should be totally disgarrisoned, andslighted. The breaches of the Ladies’ tower, which is the most effectually ruined, were said to have been chiefly occasioned by the battering of the cannon during the siege.”[195]
“Stranger! ponder here awhile;Pause inRaglan’sruined pile;All that wealth and power, combined,With skill to plan, and taste refined,To rear a structure fit to beThe home of England’sChivalry,Was lavished here!—where, met in hall,MailedBaronskept their festival;The night in lordly wassail spent—The day in tilt and tournament:Yet still, when England’s woes began,Were first to arm and lead the van;To shield theMonarchin his need,In Freedom’s glorious cause to bleed;To Loyalty surrendering all—Then, with their fallingKingto fall!”
“Stranger! ponder here awhile;Pause inRaglan’sruined pile;All that wealth and power, combined,With skill to plan, and taste refined,To rear a structure fit to beThe home of England’sChivalry,Was lavished here!—where, met in hall,MailedBaronskept their festival;The night in lordly wassail spent—The day in tilt and tournament:Yet still, when England’s woes began,Were first to arm and lead the van;To shield theMonarchin his need,In Freedom’s glorious cause to bleed;To Loyalty surrendering all—Then, with their fallingKingto fall!”
“Stranger! ponder here awhile;Pause inRaglan’sruined pile;All that wealth and power, combined,With skill to plan, and taste refined,To rear a structure fit to beThe home of England’sChivalry,Was lavished here!—where, met in hall,MailedBaronskept their festival;The night in lordly wassail spent—The day in tilt and tournament:Yet still, when England’s woes began,Were first to arm and lead the van;To shield theMonarchin his need,In Freedom’s glorious cause to bleed;To Loyalty surrendering all—Then, with their fallingKingto fall!”
The Castle of Raglanis one of the most picturesque ruins in the kingdom, and closely associated with a momentous period of our national annals. Though roofless, tenantless, and dismantled, it still presents a majestic and venerable aspect. No visitor of taste or sensibility will ever traverse its spacious but long-deserted halls, without feeling a deep interest in its eventful history.
It was on a bright autumnal evening that we quitted the comfortable little inn, the “Beaufort Arms,” at Raglan, to make our first survey of this baronial stronghold; and at that hour, and season of the year, it was seen through its embowering trees in all its glory. Ascending the gentle eminence on which it stands, we came to the outer gate, or barbican, portions of which still remain, and crossing theballium, now covered with rich verdant pasture, we were received by the intelligent Warden, who conducted us to the majestic gateway, and pointed out to us, as we proceeded, the more imposing features of the Castle, as they alternately met and receded from the eye.
The Avenue.Raglan Castle.
The Avenue.Raglan Castle.
The Avenue.
Raglan Castle.
The vista through the Gateway, taking in the Great Court—once adorned with statues and fountains, but now, like everything around it, abandoned to the weather, is very striking; while the absolute silence which pervades the scene, contrasts forcibly with its ancient stir and splendour, and compels us, while fancy is peopling it with troops of chivalry and their retainers, to exclaim, “Where are they?” A long wooden table with benches, the last symbols of that hospitality for which its noble owners were once conspicuous, stood on the grassy floor. But these were no relics of the ancient banquet-hall, but of a modern festive meeting, when the tenants upon the estates had met to express their attachment to the noble Marquess and his family. The manner in which the kitchen had been refitted for their entertainment, showed that it must have been ‘got up’ in a style not unworthy of its feudal renown; and, “as for the venison,”—
“Finer or fatterNe’er ranged in a forest, or smoked on a platter.”
“Finer or fatterNe’er ranged in a forest, or smoked on a platter.”
“Finer or fatterNe’er ranged in a forest, or smoked on a platter.”
Wearrived, however, too late for the feast, though another, a much simpler, and palatable treat awaited us—that which Nature, luxuriating amidst the ruins of Art, had lavishly spread before us. Such piles of masonry, such masses of ivy, were never before brought together! Here and there, indeed, the sturdy ramparts looked through their leafy screen with a sort of ghastly whiteness, like Hobbes’ spectre from behind the yew-tree, or the bones of some enormous skeleton, upon which the kindly hand of Nature had suspended her own green mantle. Nothing could be more strikingly novel and picturesque. Along the vast framework of the castle, on which the wealth and taste of centuries had been employed, until its strength and beauty could receive no farther additions from the hand of man, a straggling forest of vegetation expanded its mingling branches. Under the same leafy covert, from the timid wren to the ill-omened raven, birds of every feather had found a congenial roost. From the sepulchral yew the moping owl looked out upon everything around her as her own domain and cherished inheritance. Over our heads bats performed their swift circles in the still twilight sky; while daws chattered from the ancient keep, as if they had never heard a musket-shot, nor felt the slightest apprehension of being disturbed in their possession. On a lofty spray that overtopped every other tree, a loving thrush serenaded his mate in the fragrant thicket below. Numerous smaller birds, that seemed puzzled from the very abundance of the accommodation where to fix their roost, kept up a constant fluttering amongst the branches; while here and there was heard a bickering of wings and twittering of bills, as if contending for possession of some favourite branch for the night. Surely, we thought, there is room enough here for all; and yet even there—among those spacious green arbours, place and position were aseagerly sought and coveted by the feathered tribes, as by the equally volatile and jealous retainers of a court.
At length all was seemingly adjusted; the stillness of night pervaded the scene; the last shadows of twilight had faded into one common pall; and night, attended by a host of sparkling satellites, took quiet possession of the long line of courts that once swarmed with life and enjoyment.
And now, between the western sky—that still retained some warm lingering traces of sunset—and the donjon tower, mousing owls were seen enjoying their solemn pastime, here swimming lazily through the arched court, then along the battlements, or the margin of the clear glassy moat; then soaring aloft, and settling for a minute or two among the dark ivy; but still returning to make another circle and finding no wings abroad but their own.
The contemplation of this Castle, at any period of the day, is calculated to make a lasting impression; but when the rising moon shot her mellow light through its old shattered casements, and the breeze seemed to waken at the same instant and set all the ivy in motion, the scene became still more impressive. Among the deep shadows that invested the spacious courts, every prominent object was now brought suddenly into view; and, with a little aid from fancy, the waving of plumes, and the flashing of steel armour, seemed distinctly visible on the battlements; while the fragments of crumbling masonry that lay scattered below, as if struck by an enchanter’s wand, presented the semblance of animated groups, that waited only the word of command to start into life and motion. The stillness, too, which but half an hour before had pervaded every court and tower, was succeeded by a soft rustling among the leaves, that now flickered like quicksilver as the moonlight fell upon them, and then lost itself in their massive branches; whilst the shrubs and flowers that grew wild and vigorous in every court, or clambered up the walls and archways, seemed to give forth their mingled odours to the night wind, as it passed wooingly through their leaves, and filled the air with incense.
“We seemed to tread on faëry land;For, in every thing around us,We felt the touch of a viewless hand,And we heard the notes of a seraph band,Whose magic spell had bound us;While bright yclad, as in days of yore,The Knight of Raglanstrode before.”
“We seemed to tread on faëry land;For, in every thing around us,We felt the touch of a viewless hand,And we heard the notes of a seraph band,Whose magic spell had bound us;While bright yclad, as in days of yore,The Knight of Raglanstrode before.”
“We seemed to tread on faëry land;For, in every thing around us,We felt the touch of a viewless hand,And we heard the notes of a seraph band,Whose magic spell had bound us;While bright yclad, as in days of yore,The Knight of Raglanstrode before.”
The Pitched-court; the hall of state, with its magnificent bay-window; the chapel; the fountain-court, with the grand staircase on the south side opening upon it; then the elegant portal leading to the grand terrace that overlooksRaglan church, were all traversed in succession, with nothing to distract attention, or disturb the solitude, but the whistle of a night-hawk, or the soundof our own footsteps on the grassy carpet, that now forms the universal ‘pavement’ of these once sumptuous apartments. For over the once tesselated floor, and the tapestried walls, weeds have thrown an oblivious mantle, while—
“Ha, ha!” laughs the Ivy, “old Time to meHath given the glory and mastery!So poets may sing, if it like them well,From early matins till vesper bell;And others may list to their minstrelsie—I’ve a song of my own—so what care I?Yourcastles, though stately, and strong, and tall,Iconquer them all—I conquer them all!”
“Ha, ha!” laughs the Ivy, “old Time to meHath given the glory and mastery!So poets may sing, if it like them well,From early matins till vesper bell;And others may list to their minstrelsie—I’ve a song of my own—so what care I?Yourcastles, though stately, and strong, and tall,Iconquer them all—I conquer them all!”
“Ha, ha!” laughs the Ivy, “old Time to meHath given the glory and mastery!So poets may sing, if it like them well,From early matins till vesper bell;And others may list to their minstrelsie—I’ve a song of my own—so what care I?Yourcastles, though stately, and strong, and tall,Iconquer them all—I conquer them all!”
But as the faint outline here sketched will be filled up when we take the architectural features of theCastlein detail, we pass on to a few preliminary remarks.
Ancient armour.[196]
Ancient armour.[196]
Ancient armour.[196]
Grose, in his ‘Antiquities,’ observes that this castle is of no great antiquity, having been founded, as he conjectures, about the close of the fifteenth century, although many important additions were subsequently added. In the time of Henry VIII., as Leland informs us, Raglan, “yn Middle Venceland [Wentland], was a fair and pleasant castel, with to goodlye parkes adjacent;” and “the laste Lord Herbertes,” as Morgan told him, “builded all the best coffes of the Castle of Raglan.” Camden, in his account of the Silures, or Monmouthshire, notices it very briefly, as “a fair house of the Earl of Worcester’s, built castel-like.”[197]
It is not stated by Grose on what authority he places Raglan Castle among the strongholds erected in the time of Henry VII. His observations can apply only to those portions of it which are comparatively modern. The Citadel, or Yellow Tower of Gwent, is of unquestionable antiquity. In the family history we are told that Sir John Morley, a military knight, who lived in the time of Richard II., resided here as ‘lord of Raglan Castle.’ But postponing this question at present, as one that will be considered more fully when we come to examine the Castle in detail, we shall merely observe that although, as it now appears, the Castle does not indicate any more distant origin than the reign of Henry V., yet traces may be discovered in various portions of towers built, or reconstructed, during every subsequent reign, down to that ofCharlesI.—with whose fate it is so painfully associated. Owing to the circumstance named, the learned antiquary may discover ‘a disunion of styles;’ but taken as a whole, the Castle of Raglan presents a remarkable harmony of proportions that hides every minute discrepancy, heightens the general effect, and leaves the spectator under a pleasing conviction that, in design and execution, it is the work, not of many, but of one master mind. But to this subject we shall return; and, in the meantime, we proceed to give a brief sketch of
The Founders of Raglan.—By Mr. Jones the name of the founder is traced to that of Sir William ap Thomas.[198]This date, however, is too modern, and only a repetition of the conjecture thrown out by Grose. There is every reason to believe that the Clares, as early as the thirteenth century, had a castle at Raglan, the site, of which is now occupied by the Citadel, or Tower of Gwent, erected probably in the reign of Henry V. The above-named Sir William ap Thomas resided at Raglan Castle during the reign of Henry V., who knighted him for his valour in the wars of France. He married Gladys, daughter of Sir Richard Gam, and widow of Sir Roger Vaughan,[199]by whom he had three sons and a daughter. Of his eldest son, William, first Earl of Pembroke, we shall speak hereafter. But of the old military Lords of Raglan, little of historical interest has descended to modern times. From RichardStrongbow, of whom a notice has been given in the preceding sketches of Chepstow and Tinterne, Raglan descended to Walter Bloet, “in consideration of soldiers, money, and arms,” furnished by him for the expedition to Ireland, of which Strongbow was the leader. By the marriage of the daughter and heiress of Bloet with Sir James Berkeley, it passed into and remained in that ancient family until the reign of Henry V., when it became vested in Sir William apThomas, already mentioned; whose eldest son was created by Edward IV. Lord of Raglan, Chepstow, and Gower, and commanded to assume the surname of Herbert, in honour of his ancestor Hubert Fitz-Henry, chamberlain to King Henry I. To this nobleman was entrusted the care of the Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII., who was for some time a prisoner in Raglan Castle. Sir Hubert was created, in 1469, Earl of Pembroke, in acknowledgment of his zeal to the house of York; but his career was brief and disastrous, for having the same year raised a corps of Welshmen, he marched against the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick, and being taken prisoner at Dane’s Moor, was beheaded at Banbury on the 27th of July.[200]Of these calamitous events, the following account, abridged from the oldChronicle, may not be unacceptable to the reader:—
“King Edwardhearing of these Northerne proceedings, and that his brother and Warwicke were preparing against him, sent for the Lord Herbert, whom he had created Earl of Pembroke, to be his general in the North; and therefore accompanied with Sir Richard Herbert his brother, and eighteen thousand well-furnished Welshmen, marched towards the enemy; and after him was sent Humfrey Lord Stafford, with sixe thousand archers, to second him in his warres. These lords meeting together had notice by espials that the Northerne made towards Northampton; to intercept whom, the Lord Stafford, lately made Earl of Devonshire, was employed; and Sir Richard Herbert, who with two thousand horse layd themselves covertly by the side of a wood, and suddenly set upon the rereward, the rest having passed; but the Northerne very nimbly turned about and bad the Welshmen such welcome, as few of them returned to tell of their entertainment. The king understanding of this hard beginning, mustered his subjects on every side, intending to cope with the Northerne himself. And EarleWarwicke, as forward to advance his fortunes, gathered his friends, with purpose to encounter withPembrokeand his Welsh. But before any supplies came to either of them, it chanced the armies to meete unawares upon a fair plaine calledDane’s Moor, neere to the towne of Hedgecot, three miles from Banbury, and presently fell to a bickering, wherein Sir HenryNevill, knight, son of the Lord Latimer, upon a lusty courage venturing somewhat too farre, was taken prisoner; and notwithstanding he yielded himselfe to his takers, was cruelly slaine; which unmartiall act rested not long unrepaied, with the loss of most of the Welsh next day. For the field withdrawne, the LordStaffordrepaired to Banbury, and there took his lodging, where his affections were much enamoured vpon a faire damsell in the inne. But the Earl of Pembroke comingto the same towne, tooke into the same inne, and commanded the Lord Stafford to provide himself elsewhere, contrary to their agreements made before. Whereat Stafford was displeased, and departing thence with his whole band, left theEarlnaked of men in the towne, and disabled the field of the archers, whereby the day was lost upon the king’s part, for which he shortly lost his owne head. The Northerne, inflamed for the death of youngNevill, the next morning most valiantly set upon the Welshmen, and by the force of archers drave them from their ground of advantage, which Pembroke wanting supplied with his own prowess; andSir Richard, his brother, with his poll-axe twice made way through the battell of the Northerne without any mortal or deadly wound; so that by their valours it was verily supposed the field had been wonne, had not John Clapham, an esquire and servant to Warwicke, displayed his lorde’s colours with his white beare, and from an eminent place cried, ‘A Warwicke! A Warwicke!’ Whereat the Welsh were so terrified as they turned and fled, leaving their general and his brother alone in the field, who, valiantly fighting, were encompassed and taken, with the death of five thousand of their men. The Earl with his brother, Sir RichardHerbert, were brought to Banbury, where, with ten other gentlemen, they lost their heads, Conyers and Clapham being their judges.
“This second victory thus got, and the Northerne men now fleshed under the leadinge of Robbin of Riddesdale,[201]hasted to the king’s manor of Grafton, where the EarleRivers, father to the queen, then lay, whom, with his sonne John, they suddenly surprised, and in Northampton strucke off their heads without any judgment. The death of these lords the king greatly lamented, and sought to revenge: first, therefore, writing his commissions for the apprehension ofHumfrey, Lord Stafford of Southwicke, who, by diligent search, was found at Brentmarsh, and beheaded at Bridgewater, as he worthily deserved. Next hee prepared a mighty army, and with the same marched towards Warwicke, his company encreasing ever as he went.”[202]In another Chronicle the same disastrous events are thus related:—
“The Welshmengot first the West hill, hoping to have recovered the East hill; which if they had obteyned the victorye had been theirs, as their unwise prophesyers promised them before. The Northern men encamped themselves on the South hill. The Erle of Pembroke and the Lord Stafforde of Southwike were lodged at Banbery yᵉ day before yᵉ field, which wasSt. James’s Day; and there the Erie of Pembroke put the Lord Stafforde out of an innewherein he delighted much to be, for the love of a damosel that dwelled in the house, contrarie to their mutuall agreement by them taken; which was, that whosoever obtained first a lodging, should not be deceyved nor removed. After many great wordes and crakes had betweyne these two captaynes, the LordStaffordein great despite departed with his whole companye and band of archers, leaving the Erle ofPembrokealmost desolate in the towne, which with all diligence returned to his hoste lying in the field unpurvoyed of archers, abiding such fortune as God would sende and provyde.” In the mean time, “Sir Henry Nevil, son to the Lord Latimer, tooke with him certaine light horsemen, and skirmished with the Welshmen in the evening, even before their campe, where he did divers valyaunt feates of armes; but, a little too hardy, he went so farre forward that he was taken and yeelded, and cruell slaine; which unmerciful acte the Welshmen sore rued the next day or night. For the Northern men being inflamed, and not a little discontented with the death of thys nobleman, in the mornyng valyauntly set on the Welshmen, and by force of archers caused them quickly to descende the hill into the valey, where both the hostes fought.”
In this hot encounter, “the Erle ofPembrokebehaved himselfe like a hardy knight, and an expert capitaine; but hys brother, Syr Richard Herbert, so valyauntly acquited himselfe, that with his poll-axe in his hand, as his enemies did afterwards report, he twice by fair force passed thorough the battaile of his adversaries, and without any mortal wound returned. If everye one of his felowes and companions in arms had done but halfe the actes which he that daye by his noble prowess achieved, the Northerne men had obteyned neither safetie nor victorie.”
The chronicler then relates the circumstance which threw the Welshmen into a panic, by which they lost five thousand men, and then records the result with touching simplicity:—
“The Erle of Pembroke,Sir Richard Herbert,[203]his brother, and divers were taken, and brought to Banbery to be behedded. Much lamentacion and no lesse entreatie was made to save the lyfe of Syr Richard, both for hys goodlye personage, which excelled all men there, and also for the noble chivalrie that he had shewed in the fielde the day of the battaile; insomuch that his brother, the Erle, when he should lay downe his head on the blocke to suffer, says to Sir John Conyers and Clapham—‘Maisters, let me die! for I amold; but save my brother, which is yung, lustie, and hardie, mete and fit to serve the greatest prince of Christendome.’
“But Coniers and Clapham remembering the death of the yung knight, Syr HenryNevill, cosyn to the Erle of Warwicke, could not hear on that syde; but caused the Erle and his brother, with divers other gentlemen to the number often, to be there behedded.”[204]