Chapter XII: Of the Edwardian or Concentric Castles (8)

The _Basement_ is at present entered by a plain round-headed doorway of 4 feet 7 inches opening, in the north wall near its east end. This has a rebate for an inner door, but no groove for a portcullis. The outer jambs are broken away. It is pretty clear, from a comparison of its ring-stones with the original arches above, that this entrance is an insertion, probably of the time of James I. or Charles I. In the same side, near the doorway, is a very peculiar air-hole, formed of two loops, 2 feet apart, which converge to a single exterior loop. There are similar loops, of much later date, at Caernarvon. Possibly the basement was divided into two chambers, and one loop opened from each; but there is no trace of any partition. In the west wall there was probably another loop, now converted into a window of 2 feet opening, square topped, set in a bold splayed recess, evidently an insertion of a period when security was no longer the first consideration. The window opens in the line of the plinth, the set-off of which is carried over its head as a square hood-moulding. The south wall was blank, and so, probably, was that to the east. The basement was 13 feet or 14 feet high, with a flat timber ceiling. There certainly were no mural chambers, and no staircase in it. It was probably entered from above by a trapdoor and ladder, and used as a store.

The _first floor_, about 13 feet high, seems to have had loops in plain round-headed recesses in the north, south, and west sides, of which the latter is broken away, and a two-light Tudor window inserted. The northern loop has also been replaced by a similar window. In the south wall the loop is represented by a small square opening. In the ruins of the east side may be traced the remains of a doorway and the base of a lobby and staircase in the wall. It is clear that the external door was in this face, near the south end, and that it opened direct into the first floor, while right and left, in the thickness of the wall, was a mural passage, at its south end a mere lobby, but to the north containing a straight staircase which rises 13 feet by twelve steps, 4 feet 4 inches broad, towards the east angle, where was a small lobby which opened on the second floor, and was lighted by a loop in the east wall.

Thus, the _second floor_ was entered in its east side by a direct mural stair, like those at Carlisle, at Chepstow, and at Ludlow. In each of the sides, north, south, and west, of this floor is an original round-headed recess, and in the east wall, over the mural stair, are traces of a shorter recess, placed higher up, whence seems to have been a passage into a mural chamber in the south-east angle. The southern recess alone contains its original window. This is a small coupled window of two lights, square headed, but within a round-headed arch. The dividing shaft is decidedly Norman, as is the whole character of the opening. The north window is also coupled and round headed, but looks like a Stuart insertion. The east and west windows are square headed, of Tudor date. In the north-west angle is a mural recess with loops, possibly a garderobe, and in the north-east angle a square-headed doorway opens by a lobby into a well-stair, which commences at this level and ascends to the roof. It is 7 feet 6 inches in diameter, and rises 31 feet by forty-six steps to the allure, or rampart walk. This second was originally the principal and uppermost floor, lofty, and with a high-pitched roof, the weather moulding of which is still seen on the east and west walls. The roof ridge was at the level of the rampart walk, and, as the north and south walls seem original, there must have been a deep cavity on either side, with the gutter in its bottom. Subsequently this roof was removed, and replaced by a flat roof, at the rampart level, the line of which is marked by a row of corbels in the north and south walls. The cause of this change, common, probably, to all Norman keeps, was the superior convenience for defence of a flat roof, rendered possible by the introduction of sheet lead as a roofing material.

The _third floor_ was formed by dividing the height thus gained by a floor laid at the level of the springing of the old roof, and thus was created a second floor of 10 feet, and a third of 20 feet. In the west wall was opened a square-headed window, in a splayed recess, and close south of it is a small Tudor fireplace, the flue of which ascends into the south-west turret. The east wall is less perfect, but still shows the line of the old roof, and the jamb of a Tudor window. In the north-east angle is the door from the well-stair.

The floors of the walls were throughout of timber, the joists of the first and second resting in the holes in the north and south walls of the turrets; that at the south-west is probably modern. It contains the flues of several fireplaces which appear to have been inserted in the south wall, but which have fallen out. The keep probably had originally no fireplaces. The north-east turret contains the head of the well-stair. The other two turrets seem to have been mere shells, having only the two outer walls. They all rose about 12 feet above the rampart walk, and 5 feet or 6 feet above the crest of the parapet on the outside of the east and south walls of the keep. Near the top are ranges of triangular holes formed by thin tile-stones set on edge, and looking much like pigeon-holes, which they probably were. The row in the south wall has five holes, and in the south-east turret are three. In the east wall are two sets, one of three holes, and one, imperfect, of two. There is one hole in the north-east turret. They are evidently original, and do not appear to communicate with the interior. There is no trace of a regular forebuilding, for which the keep, like Goderich, was too small, but there was probably an open stair, either of wood or stone, ascending to the main door, which was about 12 feet from the ground. The exterior of the keep was quite plain, and of rather rude workmanship. The pilasters are of square stones, and the wall, in part of similar material, and in part of stones of irregular shape, laid as uncoursed rubble. There is no herring-bone work, and no visible trace of Roman material worked up.

The keep is evidently late Norman, and the walls are original, though much pulled about, and with many insertions of the Tudor and Stuart days. This is another example of the high-pitched roof, as at Richmond and Bridgenorth, the whole roof having been concealed by the walls.

Probably the founder of the castle built both the keep and the curtain wall on the lines of the present curtain, and cut the cross-ditch which isolates it from the rest of the Roman camp. The gatehouse and hall, and the south-east tower were probably alterations and additions of the Decorated period. The whole fortress was repaired by Countess Anne, whose hand may be traced throughout the structure. The keep has been split with gunpowder, probably by order of the Parliament, producing fissures in its north and south walls.

Robert de Veteriponte, or Vipont, the head of a great Westmoreland family, to which the armorial bearings of the Musgraves and Lowthers, the Blenkinsops and Hellbecks, show them to have paid early allegiance, is regarded as the founder of the castles of Brougham and Brough, at any rate in their Norman form. His immediate ancestor came over with Duke William of Normandy, and the family first planted themselves in the counties of Devon, Northampton, and York. Robert, the second or third in descent, flourished in the reigns of Henry II., Richard, John, and Henry III., dying in 1228, the twelfth of the latter sovereign. He filled many posts of military trust, was custos of many castles, and sheriff of many midland and northern counties. He was also a justice itinerant, and of the Common Pleas. In 1203 (4 John) he had a grant from the king of the Bailliewick of Westmoreland and the castles of Appleby and Burg, at first during pleasure, but afterwards in fee. Possibly the grant was connected with the fact that his mother, Maud, was a member of the great Westmoreland family of Morville, and probably a daughter of Hugh de Morville, one of Becket’s assassins. Robert’s wife, Idonea de Buisli, was heiress of the castle and Honour of Tickhill. He was a man of very great wealth and power, and likely to have taken steps to secure his Westmoreland barony against its northern neighbours. The grant mentions the castles of Appleby and Burgh; and Burgh, that is Brough, was sacked by William of Scotland in 1174. Probably, therefore, there already existed some kind of strongholds at those places, founded, it may be, by the English on the Roman stations. Moreover, the year 1204 is very late indeed for keeps of so decided a Norman type, and it is no doubt possible that De Meschines, or De Morville, the preceding lords of the fee, may have built both castles.[2]

John de Vipont, son and successor, died 25 Henry III., in debt to the king, who gave his estates in ward to the Prior of Carlisle, who neglected the castles. In his time the keep of Brough was out of repair, and the joists rotten. Lord John sided with the barons, and died of wounds received at Lewes. His daughter, and finally sole heiress, Isabel, was married to Roger de Clifford,—the Roger of the inscription over the gate of Brougham,—and who was killed in battle in Anglesea by the Welsh, in the reign of Edward I. Robert de Clifford, their son, lord of the Honour of Skipton, of Appleby, Brougham, and Brough, fell at Bannockburn. There were then two parks at Brough, a mill, and the demesne land. The castle ditches let for the herbage at 6s. 8d. per annum, and the constable had 40s.

Roger, the next lord, was a great builder; he followed the fortunes and shared the fate of Thomas of Lancaster. He is thought to have made the additions to the eastern side of Brougham, where his arms and those of his wife, Maud Beauchamp, were long to be seen. His successor was his brother Robert, whose second and surviving son Roger, proved age 28 Edward III., recovered the family estates which had been forfeited, and kept his castles in repair. He died, 15 Richard II., seized of Appleby, Burgham, and Burgh. The four following lords fell in battle: Thomas in Germany, John in France, Thomas at St. Alban’s, and John at Towton. In 4 Henry V., the castle of Brougham lay waste, and the whole profits of the demesne were not sufficient to repair and maintain it. The next, Henry, was the Shepherd Lord, who, in 1519, held a great feast at Brough, at Christmas, which was followed, in 1521, by a severe fire, in which the castle was burned to the bare walls, and long remained waste. The succeeding lord and his son, both Henry, were the first and second Earls of Cumberland, of whom the latter died at Brougham Castle about 1560. George, the third earl, the admiral, who died 1605, was born at Brough in the last year of Queen Mary, 1558. With his brother Francis, the fourth earl, who entertained King James at Brough for three days in 1617, the male line failed, and the estates and baronies came to Countess Anne, the daughter of Earl George. This lady, who repaired Brougham and Brough in 1651-2, was born at Brougham in 1589, in the same room in which her father was born, her mother died, and King James was received. Margaret, her daughter, by the Earl of Dorset, carried the estates to the Tuftons, earls of Thanet, who also inherited the hereditary shrievalty of Westmoreland, until their extinction in the present century. They dismantled Brougham and Brough, and sold the fittings in 1714. The present owner appears to be very attentive to what remains of the two castles. Both are repaired in a very substantial manner.

BROUGHAM CASTLE.

This very curious pile stands on the right bank of the river Eamont, just below the point at which it is joined from the south by the Lowther, so that the combined stream covers the fortress on the north, as do the two waters and the marshy ground between them on the west front. The castle is placed but a few yards distant from and but a few feet above the Eamont, and between it and the large rectangular camp which marks the site of the Roman “Brovacum,” whence both castle and township derive their names; such, at least, seems the most probable etymology, though a claim has been set up for Burgham, which would have been more tenable had there been evidence of the place having been an English as well as a Roman stronghold.

The Roman road from Brough and Appleby towards Carlisle and Penrith skirts the north-eastern front of both camp and castle, and is carried, by a modern bridge, across the river, a few yards below the latter. Above the castle and upon the Eamont was placed the castle mill, the weir connected with which still remains. The actual site of Brovacum has been claimed for Brougham Hall, on the adjacent high ground; but, however this may be, the camp below is undoubtedly Roman, and an excellent example of the entrenchments of that people. A Roman altar was found, in 1602, at the confluence of the two rivers. What earlier name is embodied in the Roman Brovacum is not known, but “Bro” in South Wales is the old Welsh word for “the hill country,” and is preserved in Brocastle and Broviscin, in Glamorgan. The parish of Brougham is large; the church is called Ninekirks, probably a corruption of St. Ninian’s kirk. The parochial chapel, which stands near Brougham Hall, is dedicated to St. Wilfrid.

The camp is contained within a single bank and exterior ditch, both very well marked, though in height and depth very much reduced. Along the scarp or inner slope of the ditch are traces of a step or terrace, as for a line of palisades, in front of and below the main defence. The area within the ditch is 113 yards broad, and its length, now 134 yards, was probably 198 yards, those being the proportions of the camp at Brough. The ditch is about 25 yards broad. The entrance is gone; it was no doubt in the centre of the east side, that towards the road. The angles are, as usual, slightly rounded. The castle stands a few yards north of the camp, the adjacent parts of the latter having been cut away and levelled in forming its outworks. The castle is, in plan, a very irregular four-sided figure; the south and west sides meet at less than a right angle, and are in length 80 yards and 77 yards. The north side, at right angles to the west, and upon the river, is 50 yards. The east side has been partly rebuilt, with a low salient angle. It is in length about 40 yards. This area is the main, or rather the only, court of the castle. The keep originally stood clear within the court, near to its north-east angle; a large gatehouse now occupies that angle, and much of the north front, and is connected with the keep, which, therefore, is no longer isolated. The hall and domestic buildings stand against the south wall, and are continued a short distance along the east wall. A large square tower is placed at the south-west angle, and covers a postern. The west wall is free, and seems to have been low. The castle is about 50 yards from the river, and 30 feet above it. The entrance was from the east, along the bank of the river. A ditch, wholly artificial, and probably filled with rainwater, protected the west, south, and east fronts. Towards the west it is broadest and deepest, that being the exposed front. Towards the river the natural fall and the marshy character of the ground were a sufficient defence. The entrance is, and probably always was, in the east wall, at its north or river end. This part of the _enceinte_ wall is built with a shoulder or re-entering angle, so as to command, for some yards, the approach to the outer gate. The moat is now traversed by a causeway of earth, replacing the earlier drawbridge.

The _Gatehouse_, rectangular in plan, and 90 feet long by 39 feet broad, occupies the space between the keep and the north wall, and extends either way beyond the keep. It is composed of two parts,—one, a block of chambers, lodges, &c., forms, or rather abuts upon, the curtain; the other, connecting these chambers with the keep, contains the vaulted entrance. The entrance is broken transversely into two parts, separated by a small open court. The outer passage, 34 feet long, belongs to the outer gate; the other, 36 feet, to the inner gate. The keep forms one side and the lodges the other. Thus, there are really two gatehouses,—one abutting on the north-east, and one on the north-west, angle of the keep, each with its own defences and gates, the buildings on the north communicating with both. The exterior portal is in the east wall. It has no flanking towers, being protected by the curtain. The north-east angle is capped by a square buttress, placed diagonally. The gateway has a plain, flat segmental arch over it. Upon a stone are the words, “This made Roger,” and above are two tiers, each of two good Decorated windows of two lights, with trefoiled heads and a quatrefoil in the head, and divided by a transom. Between the two upper windows are three bold corbels, intended to support a machicolation resembling those on each face of the keep. It is said that formerly the arms of Vaux, “checquy,” were carved over the entrance; but it seems probable that they were the arms of Clifford, “chequy, a fess,” or it may have been “a bendlet.” The passage within, 11 feet broad, is vaulted. The first defence was a portcullis, of which the square groove, 6 inches broad by 4 inches deep, remains. Within this is the rebate for a pair of gates, and on the right the small door of a lodge. At the inner end of the passage was a second pair of gates, opening towards the first pair, and beyond them the open court, with the keep wall on the left. Above this outer gateway is a large room, 21 feet east and west, by 32 feet long. In its west wall is a fireplace, and a door opening into the middle chambers. In its north wall a good Decorated window looks upon the river; in the east wall are two windows overlooking the outer gate, and between them, over the gate, a recess for working the portcullis.

_Ground Plan of Norman Keep. Brougham Castle._

_PLAN OF_ BROUGHAM CASTLE]

Beyond the open court is the second part of the gatehouse, which commences by a portcullis, backed by a pair of doors, within which is a passage 20 feet long by 16 feet broad, vaulted in two bays with transverse and diagonal ribs springing from six corbels. There are no ridge ribs; the inner or further portal also had doors. The left-hand lodge is a vaulted cell, 11 feet long by 3 feet 3 inches broad. On the right the room is much larger, and leads to the north postern. The exterior or north front of these two gatehouses forms a handsome block, and is pierced by various openings at different levels. At its north-east corner is an angle buttress; then follows one in section a half square, set on diagonally; and west of this, again, is a large square buttress, in one side of which is the north postern, a small shoulder-headed door at the foot of a flight of stairs.

The lofty tower at the south-west angle of the court is about 35 feet square, with an appendage on the east face. It has thick walls and mural passages, and projects but little from the curtain. It has a basement and three upper floors. The first floor was entered by an exterior flight of stairs, which also communicated with the rampart of the west curtain. At its junction with the tower is the postern, the approach to which is guarded by a loop, while nearly over the door discharges the shoot of a garderobe.

Along the south wall are the domestic buildings, of which the chief was the chapel, about 35 feet by 20 feet. This was on the first floor, with a timber floor and open roof. The chamber below was entered from the court by a lancet door. The chapel had a large east window, of which the jambs remain; and in its south or curtain wall are two long trefoil-headed windows, splayed within. Towards the east end are three sedilia, also with trefoiled heads and trefoils in the spandrels, the whole beneath a flat top. There is also a piscina of late Decorated aspect. Near the chapel, towards the south-east angle, the remains of a large fireplace seem to indicate the kitchen, and along the east wall are two windows, and traces of a fireplace between them, all which seem to belong to the hall. At the north end, also, on the first floor, are remains of a handsome door in the Perpendicular style, with a four-centred arch beneath a square head. The staircase may have been exterior. Grose shows some walls here in 1775, which are now gone.

The _Keep_, called in Countess Anne’s time “the Roman Tower,” the only remain of the original castle, is 44 feet square, and, in its present state, of unusual height. Its exterior plinth is confined to the north side. The two western angles are covered by pilasters, 12 feet broad and of 6 inches projection, one on each face, meeting so as to form a solid angle. Two other pilasters, balancing these, cover the east end of the north and south walls, but there are none on the east side, that having been covered by the forebuilding. The south face is prolonged eastwards 12 feet by a wall 5 feet thick, which rises to the third-floor level, and formed the south end of the forebuilding. The pilasters rise to the present summit of the wall, and terminated originally in four square turrets, of which traces remain at the two northern angles. The keep has a basement and three upper floors, of which the uppermost, if not an addition, has been recast. The walls are 11 feet thick at the base, and at least 10 feet at the rampart level. The parapet is gone. There is no external set-off. In the centre of each face, and near the top, are three or four bold corbels, which evidently carried a short machicolation; and in the angles, near the top, are several cruciform loops, slightly fantailed at the top and bottom, and with lateral arms ending in oillets, much resembling those at Kenilworth. Some of these are the lower half of those of the turrets, which, with the parapet, were standing in 1775. At the upper part of the south-eastern angle the wall is corbelled out 12 inches for a breadth of 15 feet on the southern, and rather less on the eastern, face. This is to give a little more space to a mural oratory, which has a loop on the south face, and a small trefoil-headed window towards the east, clear of the forebuilding. On the north face, near the east pilaster, a vertical line of six loops shows the presence of a well-stair from the first floor. The four lower loops have round heads; the two upper have square heads, and are probably later.

The basement is at the ground level. It has splayed loops to the north, west, and south; and in the east side is a recess with parallel sides, and a trace of a rebate of a doorway. This, if original, must have led into a cell below the forebuilding, as at Rochester; but it may be a Decorated insertion. It is nearly covered up with rubbish. In the north-east angle, which has been filled up with a short wall, is a small door opening into a bent passage, which now leads into the open air, at where was the foot of the great entrance-staircase. There may always have been a cell here, but the cross-wall and the outer door are not original. In the west end of the north wall is another recess opening into a garderobe chamber, 5 feet long by 3 feet broad, and original. This basement floor has had a vaulted and ribbed roof, springing from corbels at the angles, and from four others, in the centre of each side. There was, in 1775, a central pier. As at Richmond, this vault was an insertion replacing timber. The basement was about 13 feet high.

The _first floor_ is 23 feet square. It has round-headed window-openings to the north and west, in round-headed recesses, with beaded angles. In the south wall was a fireplace, probably a garderobe, like that below. In the north-east angle, filled up like that below by a short cross-wall, is a door opening on a well-stair, which occupies that angle, and ascends to the roof. The east wall has been in some measure rebuilt, recently. In it may be seen parts of a large Decorated doorway, evidently inserted to give a direct entrance to the chamber. This floor has had an arcade against its walls, of which traces remain on the south and west sides. The arcade had slender piers and trefoiled arches. It is unusual to find so ornate a room in the first, or, indeed, any floor in a Norman keep: it must have more resembled a chapter-house than a private chamber. The chapel at Castle Rising was so arcaded, and those at York, and in the curtain at Richmond. This floor was about 15 feet high, and was covered by the joists and floor of the room above.

The _second floor_ has round-headed recesses, beaded at the angles, for the windows, in the north and west sides; and a flue, now laid open, occupies the south side. In the east wall is the original entrance,—a plain round-headed arch of 6 feet opening, with a chamfered rebate for an exterior door. There was no grate. Close north of this is a small door entering an oblique passage, which opened, as at Middleham and Rochester, upon the turret over the outer entrance of the forebuilding. The well-stair has no direct opening into this floor, whatever may have been the case before the alterations. There seems to be, as below, a garderobe in the north-west angle.

With this floor the original keep seems to have ended. There is now, however, a _third floor_, which, if not altogether new, has been remodelled. The walls are very thick, and the four angles within are filled up with short walls, converting the chamber into an octagon, or rather into a square with the angles taken off. One of these fillings-up, that to the north-east, is carried down the whole way. The other three are confined to the top floor, and rest upon brackets. This floor had a large recess and a window in each of the four main faces, of which that to the west is segmental and ribbed. These recesses are now quite inaccessible; but it would appear, from the thickness of the wall, and from certain square apertures outside, that they communicate on the west side with mural chambers. In the north-west angle is a very remarkable fireplace of about 9 feet opening, with a perfectly flat platband, composed of thirteen stones joggled together. This is a very fine example of this kind of work, and it stands quite unaltered. In the opposite, or south-eastern angle, is a shallow-pointed recess, and in it a square-headed doorway, which opens into the oratory. The window recess in the south wall differs from the rest. Its arch was high-pointed, and moulded with deep reduplicated bands, with half-shafts with bell capitals; no doubt Decorated, but of Early English character. From the east jamb of this recess a second passage opens into the oratory, and this was probably the principal entrance to it. The oratory is seen from below to be vaulted and groined. It occupies the south-eastern angle of the building.

The east face of the keep was covered by the _Forebuilding_, which evidently contained a straight staircase, which rose from the north-east corner of the keep, and ascended to the main doorway on the second-floor level. This doorway, as at Middleham, is near the south end of the wall, but, notwithstanding, the steps must have begun above the ground level, to reach, without undue steepness, so considerable a height. The wall has been so much injured, and so freely repaired, that the marks of the stairs are no longer visible, but a toothing and some springing stones, as for an arch, seem to show that the staircase rose from the north-east angle, under a covered way or low tower, the battlements of which were evidently reached by the oblique passage still seen above in the wall, as at Middleham and Rochester. Below the level of the original doorway are traces of a larger and more lofty doorway, in the ornate Decorated style,—evidently an insertion. This would give direct passage into the first floor of the keep, and was probably inserted when the arcading was introduced, and this converted into the main apartment. There are other toothings and roughnesses in the wall, indicating various alterations. The forebuilding was about 12 feet broad, and contained a basement and two floors, as shown by the openings in the south wall, which are, near the ground, a loop; above it, a small window; and above that a garderobe, corbelled out upon two heavy blocks upon the south wall. Above the line of roof of the forebuilding is to be seen the east window of the oratory, and near it a cruciform loop.

Unfortunately for the close examination of this very curious keep, the upper part is inaccessible, and ladders of sufficient length are not readily to be procured. The architectural history of the castle may be inferred from its details, so far as these are visible. It is evident that the original fortress was a late Norman keep, and it must have been placed within an _enceinte_ pretty closely corresponding to that now seen, and which skirts the edge of the ditch. Of this supposed original _enceinte_ wall, as well as of the domestic buildings and gatehouse, which must have been present in some form or other within it, there remain no very certain traces. The keep, judging from internal evidence, and probably the ditches were the work of Robert de Vipont, very early in the thirteenth century.

In the Decorated period the castle underwent great alterations. The keep was probably raised a story, and an oratory included in the new work. The basement was vaulted, the first floor arcaded, and the forebuilding so altered as to admit of an entrance on that floor. All the rest of the castle, gatehouses, domestic buildings, and the whole of the _enceinte_ wall belong to one general period, and are probably the work of Roger de Clifford, the first of his race who held this property, and the husband of Isabel de Vipont, its heiress, in the reign of Edward I. Usually, when a Norman fortress was remodelled in the Edwardian period, the keep was neglected, and left in its original isolation; here, however, it was decided to turn the keep to account, and to ornament its principal chambers, and connect them with the suite of rooms in the upper floor of the gatehouse.

The drawing represents a section of the keep east and west, looking south. Something of the various additions is here shown, and the springings of the vault of the basement.

The exterior view of the keep is taken from the south-west quarter, and shows, above, the projection for the oratory, and below and beyond it the end wall of the demolished forebuilding. On the left is seen the river gateway of the entrance.

There are some peculiarities of detail in this castle which need further investigation. The large windows of the first and second floors of the keep are original; but the half-piers and bell-caps in the exterior jambs look much later, and may be a part of the Decorated additions. It is said that the buildings against the east wall received some alterations from another Roger de Clifford, grandson of the former. It is curious that walls so thick as those of the keep, and of such good material, should have been left solid, for the most part unpierced by the chambers and passages so much affected by the Norman architects. It is also to be observed that the curtain wall is but scantily furnished with flanking defences. Countess Anne mentions “the Tower of Leaguer,” and “the Pagan Tower,” and “the Greystoke State Chamber,” in Brougham Castle.

THE CASTLE OF BUILTH, IN BRECKNOCKSHIRE.

The name of Builth, borne at this time by a considerable town, and by a Hundred of the county of Brecknock, is very ancient. As, like Brecon, the town is placed in an open valley, accessible without much difficulty to an enemy from the east, it has suffered from invasion from a very early period, and to these and similar attacks are to be attributed various strongholds, both of earth and masonry, of which the remains are abundant upon the marches of England and Wales, and in such tracts of the latter territory as either Saxon or Norman, having overrun, thought it worth while to retain.

The construction of Offa’s Dyke, in the eighth century, must have been preceded by many years of conquest, and the establishment of many English strongholds throughout the annexed district, and probably also beyond it. Nothing short of a present inability to rise would have kept the Welsh quiet during the construction of such a work, or have forced them to accept, even passively, a limit which cut off a large part of their fairest territory. The fortresses of Builth and Brecon, which resemble in general character those of known English origin elsewhere, were probably advanced posts thrown up either during the wars which preceded the dyke, or to aid the aggressions which followed it. The plan of construction leads rather to the latter conclusion, and points to the ninth or early part of the tenth century.

However this may be, it is certain that when Bernard Newmarch invaded Brecknock, towards the end of the eleventh century, he found the earthworks of Brecon and Builth already existing, and occupied them, as was usual, by works of a Norman character. Probably these were at first of timber, for a structure of masonry required time and peace, and generally tradition has imputed the oldest Norman military buildings in Wales to the immediate successors of the conquerors, rather than to the conquerors themselves. Where the age can be safely inferred, either from the design of the building or from its ornament, it is generally found to be of very late Norman, verging upon the early English period.

Newmarch was succeeded by Milo Fitz Walter, who married his daughter. He was created Earl of Hereford by the Empress Maud, in 1140, and received from her the moat, or more probably the “mote” and castle of that city. His sons died childless, Mahel, the last of them, having been killed by the falling of a stone from Bronllys tower. Builth was inherited by his sister Berta, who married Philip de Braose, who, indeed, is said already to have possessed himself of that territory, and to have afterwards married its lawful heiress, as Newmarch had married the Welsh Nest, by way of precaution.

Their son, William de Braose, also a powerful baron in Devon, flourished in the reigns of Henry II., Richard, and John, and died in exile in 1210. His brother Giles, Bishop of Hereford, succeeded, and, dying in 1215, was followed by his brother Reginald. In his time occurs the earliest mention of the castle. In 1219, 4 Henry III., the Sheriff of Gloucestershire is directed to give immediate aid to Reginald de Braose “ad castrum suum de Buetto firmandum et fossatum et trencheyas ibidem faciendas contra inimicos nostros.” Also 12 September, 1223, 7 Henry III., the king directs all the sheriffs of England, excepting those of Stafford, Salop, Worcester, Gloucester, and Hereford, who probably had already, being near, discharged their duty, to raise men and march to Gloucester, the reason being the king’s sure information that Reynold de Braose was besieged in his castle of Builth by Llewelyn and a multitude of armed men. What the result was is unknown, but some years later, in July, 1260, after De Braose’s death, when the castle was in charge of Roger de Mortimer, it was besieged and taken by Llewelyn. Roger was in London, and, as it was his duty to have been at his post, he had a regular remission in form, stating that he was attending Parliament by special precept. It is stated therein that he held the castle “ex ballio” by deputation from Prince Edward. In August, Llewelyn was still in possession, and there remains a precept on the subject, directed to Richard de Clare and others.

Reginald de Braose, who was lord during the siege of 1223, is generally stated to have died in 1221, which seems disproved by Rymer’s record. He died, however, about that time, and was followed by William his son, who, in 1229, was hanged, according to the Welsh, by Llewelyn. On his death, leaving only daughters, the Crown took the castles, and they were granted to Prince Edward, who held them in 1254, when his father renewed the grant.

5 Edward I., some question arose about certain tythes held by the prior and convent of Brecon under William, William his son, ... and Reginald de Braose, Lords of Builth, and it appears from a later entry, 13 Edward I., that it was their duty to serve a chapel or chantry within the castle, then called “the King’s Castle.” 25 Edward I., John Giffard was custos, and his allowance was reduced by the treasury because it was more than was usual.

17 Edward II., 1324, a survey was taken of the castle for the Crown. The castle yard and curtilage were worth per annum 12d., and there were 40 acres in demesne of arable at 3d. per acre, total 10s. Also 10 acres of meadow at 12d., total 10s. Also the “communitas patriæ,” hangers on outside the vill, paid the king every second year, for all services and annual rents, 10 cows or 20 marcs in money at the lord’s pleasure, that is, £1. 6s. 8d. for each cow, its money-value at that time. Rents of assize in Lanveir 70s., probably from 75 burgesses. A ferry 4s. per annum. The land of Talevan, in the king’s hands, 2s. The land of Tyr Maukyn, 2s. Pannage of hogs, 20s. The king had there four mills, each at 10s. No villenage there. All pleas and perquisites of the court merchant in Lanveir 57s. per annum. Pleas and payments of the courts “patriæ,” 17s. Ammobrages, 13s. 4d. No royalties, villenage, demesne, or other outgoings. No profits accruing to the king in Builth save the above.

Llanfair is the town of Builth, its Welsh name being Llanfair-ym-Muallt, or St. Mary’s, Builth. Ammobrage is thought by Spelman to be the same with Chevage, a poll-tax paid by villeins to their lord. Jones, the Brecknock historian, gives it a Welsh etymology, and makes it a sort of excise.

The importance of these frontier castles naturally ceased after the settlement of Wales by 3 Edward I., and the Crown no longer cared to retain them. 9 Edward III., Builth Castle was vested in Eubolo le Strange and Alesia his wife, and 14 Edward III. Thomas de Bradestan, Banneret, had “Thlanver” Castle, probably “Blaenlleveny,” and the Lordship of Builth.

16 Edward III., 1342-3, Gilbert Talbot, Justiciary of South Wales, was directed to raise levies in the divisions of Builth, Ewias-Lacy, and Ewias-Harold, and similar precepts were issued in 1367.

34 Edward III., 1360-1, Roger de Mortimer held the castle and cantred of Builth, and 5 Richard II., Edward Earl of March and Philippa his wife held Bewolthe or Beult Castle, as did Earl Roger, their successor, 22 Richard II. On the attainder of the Mortimers the castle fell to the Crown, and so remained till granted away by Charles II., since which it has passed through many hands.

Regard being had to the position of the castle upon an exposed and very dangerous frontier, it is not surprising that its walls and towers were planned with some skill, and executed with great passive strength. But of the works in masonry, scarce a trace now remains above ground, and the site of a fortress which could hold Llewelyn and his armed Welshmen in check, probably for several weeks, is now indicated by heaps of earth of a rather remarkable character, and which, from their position and size, make a feature in the outline of the town from whatever point beheld.

THE CASTLE OF BUILTH.

J. H. Le Keux, Durham. ]

Moreover these earthworks, which have survived the masonry that for so many centuries crowned their summits, are, it is evident, of far earlier date than the Norman work, and have only in these latter times resumed much of the appearance which they originally presented.

For they resemble in their general features and in their details, those earthworks nearer to, or within the English border, as Wigmore, Richard’s Castle, Kilpeck, and Ewias-Harold, which again resemble those of Warwick, Leicester, Bedford, and Towcester, the dates and authors of which are on record, and all of which, wherever situated, are quite unlike the grand hill-camps so common on the border, and usually attributed to the British.

Hence a peculiar interest attaches to works such as these at Builth. Not only as regards the English part of the community is there the presumption, amounting almost to demonstration, that they were the work of their proper ancestors, but, what is of interest to all, it is possible to fix an approximate date to their construction, which is by no means the case with the larger and probably older hill-camps.

The town of Builth stands in the north-eastern quarter of Brecknock, in the Hundred of its name, just upon a bold curve of the Wye, which, escaping from the deep valley in which it descends from Rhayader Gwy, and about to plunge into that by which it reaches the more open country near Glasbury and Hay, here traverses a broad expanse of mead overlooked by the town, to which it not improbably gave origin.

On the eastern edge of the town, and, like it, a hundred yards above and as many distant from the river, is placed the castle. It commands a considerable view towards the north, and was within an easy ride of Payn’s Castle and other fortresses upon the middle Wye and the Usk. It stands upon a bank falling steeply towards the north of the river, and, though higher on all sides than the adjacent ground, is approached by an easy ascent from the south, on which side was its entrance.

The castle occupied a plot of ground nearly circular, being about 180 yards north and south, by 190 yards east and west. Its principal feature is a conical mound, table topped, wholly artificial, 60 feet diameter at the top, 200 feet diameter from the centre of the circumscribing ditch, and from the bottom of that ditch 60 feet high. The ditch is carried all round from 100 to 120 feet broad, being narrowest towards the north, the side naturally strong. For about four-fifths of its circumference to the south, the mound is covered by two curved platforms, convex towards the field, and concave towards the rear. That on the south-east is the larger, and from 60 to 90 feet broad and 400 feet long. That on the west is 30 to 35 feet broad and 200 feet long. They are separated by a deep trench about 100 feet broad, which connects the inner with the outer ditch. At their other or northern extremities they end more gradually, but leave the northern front of the mound uncovered. These platforms are in their rear about 30 feet above the bottom of the ditch of which they form the counterscarp, and consequently about 30 feet below the top of the mound. They slope gently outwards. The western platform has along its inner edge a narrow steep bank about 6 feet high. This could scarcely have carried a palisade, there being no space for a walk behind it. It looks more as though it had been thrown up during a siege, to cover those who proposed to storm the mound.

Outside and in front of these platforms is a ditch of from 70 to 100 feet broad, and 15 to 25 feet deep. It covers the southern four-fifths of the work, but, towards the north, where the platforms cease, it is continued into and forms part of the inner ditch.

Finally, encircling the whole, is a bank upon the edge of the outer ditch, of variable height and thickness, sometimes narrow and from 5 to 6 feet high, in other parts expanded into a platform of from 12 to 20 feet. This bank subsides into the natural slope of the ground, which is very steep towards the north only.

Although but one small fragment of masonry remains above ground, there are traces of walls where the foundations have been dug up, and here and there are heaps which probably cover the remains of towers. There was evidently a central tower or keep, circular or many sided, covering the top of the mound, and probably, like Bronllys, of early English or late Norman date. The north slope of the mound, covered only by the ditch and bank, formed part of the _enceinte_, as at Berkhampstead, and from the keep descended eastwards a curtain, of which a part remains, which crossed the ditch, and evidently was carried along the platform so as to include it. There are upon it two small mounds, which seem to have been towers flanking the entrance. How this curtain was continued, whether it was confined to the east platform or whether it traversed the cross ditch, and included the west platform, is uncertain. In either case it must have finally turned inwards, crossed the inner ditch, and reascended the mound to abut upon the keep tower. The castle seems to have been composed of a keep and a single ward, and probably owed much of its strength against a sudden attack to its contracted area. The ditches are far above any source of water from adjacent ground. They seem, however, to have been more or less wet, probably from the rain water. The cross ditch and adjacent parts of the ditches are still boggy, and would form a small pool, but for a drain which has been cut in the outer bank.

The approach seems to have lain through the town of Builth along an existing road, and to have reached the outer barrier where the ditch is partially filled up on the eastern side; thence crossing the platform, where there seems to have been a causeway across the inner ditch, and no doubt from it a flight of steps led up the mound.

CAERNARVON CASTLE.

Of the three greatest military works executed by Edward I. in Wales, Caernarvon is undoubtedly the chief; nor, indeed, is there any castle in Britain laid out with greater uniformity of design, or in which the resources of the military engineer are more skilfully set forth. Moreover, it has suffered less than any other of equal magnitude from violence, or natural decay, or the rapacity of local builders. Its towers, walls, and gatehouses, stand as firm and free from injury as when they came from the hand of the mason. Floors and roofs, indeed, have been removed, and the interior lodgings, hall, and chapel, are wanting, but their removal, if it took place, has been effected with so much care that it is uncertain whether they were ever erected, and whether the toothings and roughnesses of the contiguous walls were not left with a view to their addition. In these latest days the Crown, always the owner of the pile, has shown unusual zeal for its conservation. Mr. Salvin, than whom no man could more skilfully restore an ancient castle, was consulted upon its necessary repairs, and Mr. Turner, as deputy-constable, watches over the fabric with no common care.

The castle and town of Caernarvon are placed upon the right or northern bank of the Seiont, a river known to fame by the construction upon its meadow of the Roman Segontium, at no great distance above the castle, which, with the town, stands within the junction of the river with the waters of the Menai Strait, so that two sides of the position are protected, the one by the river, the other by the sea. Segontium, or Caer Seiont, seems to have been succeeded by the Welsh camp of Caer-yn-Arvon, so called from its position upon the shore of Arvon, no longer “dreary Arvon,” but one of the most charming spots in North Wales.

The town, founded, with the castle, by King Edward, is somewhat of a parallelogram in plan. It is contained within a curtain wall, strengthened by ten towers, of which two form the east and west gatehouses, and three cap the principal angles of the enclosure. They are either cylindrical or half cylinders, open at the rear.

The south end of the area is closed by the castle, of which the principal face is thus towards and within the town. The opposite or southern face rests upon the Seiont, as does the western, and did, to some extent, the eastern end. Wilson’s picture, taken in the last century, shows the walls rising almost from the water’s edge, and the cross ditch before the Queen’s Gate still open, but at this time a broad quay intervenes between the castle walls and the river, and of the broad and deep ditch separating the fortress from the town only a part remains. The ditch was, probably, deep enough to admit the tidal waters.

The castle somewhat resembles an hourglass in plan, its outline being governed by the rocky ridge on which it stands, and which lifts it a few feet above the level of the town. It is in length about 100 yards, and in breadth from 30 to 40 yards, the narrowest part being at the centre. Its outline is polygonal, and on each angle is a tower, also polygonal. Of these there are nine, two of which are double, and form gatehouses. There are also two smaller towers, also polygonal, in the centre of two of the curtains. The ground falls rather steeply from the south-east end, but at its lowest is some feet above the water level.

The main or King’s Gatehouse, a very noble structure, is in the centre of the town front, and occupies a re-entering angle of the wall. It is broad and high, with an unusually lofty and ornate archway, in the upper part of which is a statue of Edward II., who completed the castle, and below this the recessed gateway. Two bold half-octagons flank the entrance, the approach to which was by a drawbridge, now superseded by a work in masonry. The portal is broad and high, vaulted and ribbed, with the usual portcullis grooves, rebates, and bar holes for doors, and _meurtrières_ in the vault. On either side is a lodge, an unusually spacious chamber. Both of the flanking towers are looped, and in that to the right is a mural gallery, with loops completing the command of the approach. The rear of this right-hand tower is prolonged into a square building forming the prison tower, in one angle of which is a well staircase leading to the upper floor of the gatehouse and its roof. At the foot of this staircase a small portcullised doorway opens westwards upon the kitchen.

From the Prison Tower a narrow building connected the gatehouse with the opposite or Exchequer Tower, and thus divided the castle into an eastern or upper, and a western or lower, ward. A handsome archway pierced this building, and opened from one ward to the other. Building and gatehouse are gone, but the jambs of one side, with two portcullis grooves, show that the portal was strong and was ornate.