Chapter I: Part 1

[E-text transcriber-note: Words or phrases surrounded with <g> and </g> appear in
Old English font in the original book.]

Henry Room John Rogers.

William Beattie MD.]

London, Published for the Proprietors by Geo. Virtue. 36. Ivy Lane.

THE

CASTLES AND ABBEYS

OF

ENGLAND,

FROM THE NATIONAL RECORDS, EARLY CHRONICLES, AND OTHER
STANDARD AUTHORS.

BY WILLIAM BEATTIE, M.D.,

GRAD. OF EDIN.; MEMB. OF THE ROYAL COLL. OF PHYS., LONDON;
OF THE HIST. INSTIT. OF FRANCE; AUTHOR OF
“SWITZERLAND,” “SCOTLAND,” “THE WALDENSES,”
“RESIDENCE IN GERMANY,” ETC. ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.

GEORGE VIRTUE:
LONDON AND NEW YORK.

GLASGOW:
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, PRINTER, LONDON STREET.

LIST OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS.

<g>Arundel Castle.</g>

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASTLE OF ARUNDEL, including part of the Town, with the Church, the College of the Holy Trinity, the River Arun, &c. from the South ALLOM. ARCHER. 1

THE INTERIOR QUADRANGLE OF THE CASTLE FROM THE KEEP, showing its present condition, as restored by the late Duke of Norfolk ARCHER. EVANS. 7

ARMS OF ROGER MONTGOMERY, Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury ARCHER. JACKSON. 8

SEAL OF WILLIAM DE ALBINI, Earl of Arundel. From the Impression J. W. ARCHER. 9

ARMS OF JOHN FITZALAN, Ninth Earl of Arundel, Oswaldestre, and Clun 11

SHIELD OF MONTGOMERY. Gules, a Lion rampant, or, within a bordure. From Horsfield’s History 12

THE CASTLE OF ARUNDEL from the Swan Lake on the South-east, showing the natural advantages of its position ARCHER. JACKSON. 13

NORMAN DOOR, richly ornamented, in the Keep. From a Drawing by Mr. BEATTIE, sculptor NICHOLLES. 14

JOHN MOT, having escaped from the Dungeon, taking Sanctuary at the College Gate of the Holy Trinity ARCHER. 15

SOUTH-EAST FRONT OF ARUNDEL CASTLE in its present state, taken from the Meadows ARCHER. EVANS. 17

THE OUTER GATEWAY OF NORMAN ARCHITECTURE, rebuilt by Richard Fitzalan ARCHER. JACKSON. 18

MOONLIGHT VIEW from the Window of St. Martin’s Chapel in the Keep, over the Vale of the Arun to the Sea ARCHER. JACKSON. 19

HORNED OWLS IN THE KEEP OF ARUNDEL CASTLE. Portraits taken on the spot ARCHER. EVANS. 20

THE INNER GATEWAY AND KEEP OF THE CASTLE, showing on the left the Entrance to the Tower ARCHER. JACKSON. 21

GOTHIC DOORWAY OF THE ANCIENT HALL OF THE BARONS, on the site of the New Hall, by Mr. BEATTIE EVANS. 23

INNER GATEWAY during the Parliamentary Siege, with Cavaliers on guard, by torchlight ALLOM & ARCHER. JACKSON. 24

VIEW FROM THE BATTLEMENTS, showing the Outer Gate with the Sallyport in its present state ARCHER. GRAY. 26

BAS-RELIEF OF KING ALFRED INSTITUTING THE TRIAL BY JURY, on the Southeast of the interior Quadrangle. From a Drawing by Mr. BEATTIE EVANS. 28

ANCIENT FAMILY ARMS, ACHIEVEMENTS, &c. as sculptured in front of the Barons’ Hall ARCHER. NICHOLLES. 29

Do. do. do. do. ARCHER. NICHOLLES. 31

Do. do. do. do. ARCHER. NICHOLLES. 33

VIEW OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY TRINITY, looking into the Inner Court ARCHER. EVANS. 34

GLASS IN THE GOTHIC WINDOW OF THE CHAPEL, representing the Swallow (Hirondelle), as the Arms of Arundel ARCHER. EVANS. 35

HAWK ON HAND--characteristic of the Ancient “Sporting Counts” ARCHER. 36

HIORNE’S TOWER, in the Park of Arundel--a modern Gothic erection 36

BEVIS’S GRAVE, in Pugh-Dean, in the Deer Park, showing the Traditionary Tumuli of Bevis and his horse “Hirondelle” ARCHER. JACKSON. 37

THE EMPRESS MATILDA’S ROOM in the Inner Gateway Tower of the Castle, with the ancient Bedstead, _supposed_ to be that on which she slept ARCHER. EVANS. 38

KING STEPHEN DISMOUNTED AT WALLINGFORD, in front of the Army SARGENT. EVANS. 41

CRUSADING--Beacon-guard on the Walls of Damietta ARCHER. JACKSON. 43

THE GRAND CEREMONY OF KNIGHTHOOD in Westminster Hall SARGENT. EVANS. 45

THE ADMIRAL’S SHIP AND FLEET, under the command of Arundel PRIOR. WHIMPER. 47

SCENE OF THE CONSPIRACY IN ARUNDEL CASTLE ARCHER. JACKSON. 49

NIGHT VISIT TO EARL RICHARD OF ARUNDEL’S TOMB, Cheapside SARGENT. WHIMPER. 53

JOHN, EARL OF ARUNDEL, mortally wounded at Gerberoi ALLOM. WHIMPER. 55

HENRY FITZALAN, EARL OF ARUNDEL, mounting the Breach at the Siege of Boulogne ALLOM. JACKSON. 57

FUNERAL OF THE LAST EARL OF THE FITZALANS ARCHER. JACKSON. 60

RENCONTRE AT BOSWORTH FIELD, and Death of John, Duke of Norfolk. From a Drawing by Mr. BEATTIE EVANS. 63

BOSWORTH FIELD--the Young Earl of Surrey and Sir John Talbot ALLOM. WHIMPER. 65

FLODDEN FIELD--Bivouac after the Battle ARCHER. GRAY. 67

HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY--Portrait. From a Drawing by Mr. BEATTIE M. JACKSON. 69

HENRY HOWARD, Victor at the Grand Tournament in Florence, with a View of the Old Ducal Palace from the Piazza ARCHER. JACKSON. 71

PRISON SCENE IN THE TOWER OF LONDON ARCHER. GRAY. 74

OFFICIAL SEAL OF THE EARL-MARSHAL OF ENGLAND HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 75

THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE ANCIENT EARLS OF SURREY ARCHER. GRAY. 76

ARMS OF THE DUKE OF NORFOLK--Earl-Marshal of England ARCHER. GRAY. 77

TOMB OF THE GREAT DUKE OF NORFOLK in Framlingham Church HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 78

<g>St. Alban’s Abbey.</g>

S. ALBANUS

PROTO-MARTYR ANGLICANUS.

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE STEEL PLATE.--GENERAL VIEW OF ST. ALBAN’S ABBEY, from the South T. ALLOM. ADLARD.

PISCINA--with a Monk of the Order PRIOR. SMITH. 79

ENTRANCE TO OUR LADY’S CHAPEL, From the North. PRIOR. SMITH. 80

THE NAVE OF THE ABBEY CHURCH, Showing the Saxon (or Norman) and Gothic Arches, the Great West Window, &c. HERMAN. EVANS. 83

THE CHOIR--with the Pulpit, Organ, Window of the North Transept, the Norman Arches, &c. SARGENT. EVANS. 86

THE SHRINE-TOMB OF HUMPHREY THE GOOD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. Drawn By Mr. BEATTIE GRAY. 89

THE DUKE’S VAULT, with His Coffin and Skeleton, in their present state, under The Shrine PRIOR. WHIMPER. 91

THE ENTRANCE TO THE LADY CHAPEL, from the South PRIOR. JACKSON. 93

THE ANCIENT ALTAR OF THE ABBEY, now in the South Aisle, with Pilgrims ARCHER. GRAY. 95

THE GATE-HOUSE, or Grand Entrance to the Abbey Court, from the Interior SARGENT. NICHOLLES. 96

ST. PETER’S STREET, including the Abbey Tower, the Market-place, and the Town-hall PRIOR. SMITH. 99

THE ENTRANCE TO THE LADY CHAPEL, from the North Lane PRIOR. JACKSON. 102

ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH, from the Churchyard PRIOR. SMITH. 104

MONUMENT AND STATUE OF LORD CHANCELLOR BACON, in St. Michael’s Church PRIOR. WHIMPER. 105

SOPWELL NUNNERY in Ruins, with the Abbey Church in the background SARGENT. WHIMPER. 107

GRAND ENTRANCE TO THE ABBEY CHURCH from the West, with the Distribution of Alms in the Cemetery PRIOR. WHIMPER. 108

INTERIOR OF THE LADY CHAPEL--showing the public thoroughfare through the Outer Chapel PRIOR. SMITH. 109

ARMS OF THE MONASTERY OF ST. ALBANS HERMAN. COOK. 110

THE

<g>Palace of Eltham</g>.

“That, passing by some monument that stoops
With age, whose ruins plead for a repair,
Pity the fall of such a goodly pile!”--SHIRLEY.

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE

STEEL PLATE.--INTERIOR OF THE ROYAL HALL OF ELTHAM, with the Banquet given to King John of France, by Edward the Third SARGENT. GODFREY.

INTERIOR OF ELTHAM HALL in its present state PRIOR. M. JACKSON. 111

NORTH ENTRANCE TO THE HALL, ditto SARGENT. NICHOLLES. 114

JOHN OF ELTHAM--his Tomb in Westminster Abbey HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 116

THE EXTERIOR OF ELTHAM, from the South-west, in its present state HERMAN. WALL. 118

ANCIENT GATEWAY in Ruins. Emblematic HERMAN. WALL. 122

ANCIENT BRIDGE ACROSS THE MOAT, the Approach to Eltham Hall HERMAN. WALL. 123

ELTHAM HALL, from the North-east--showing the Entrance, Double Windows, &c. SARGENT. WALL. 125

SCREEN IN ELTHAM HALL--with the Entrance-door in the Centre, and Orchestra above SARGENT. O. SMITH. 126

GREAT BAY-WINDOW IN THE HALL, at the North-east end of the Dais SARGENT. WAKEFIELD. 127

MEETING OF ANNE OF CLEVES AND HENRY VIII. ON BLACKHEATH. Eltham Hall on the right, and Shooter’s Hill in the background HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 130

<g>Rochester Castle.</g>

“Hic matres, miseraque nurus, hic cara sororum Pectora mærentum. puerique parentibus orbi Dirum execrantur bellum.”

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE.

STEEL PLATE.--ROCHESTER CASTLE, from the River Medway SARGENT. ADLARD.

ARMS OF ROCHESTER CASTLE--Seal of the Town HERMAN. WALL. 133

ROCHESTER CASTLE, with the Outer Walls, taken from the South-east end of the Bridge SARGENT. JACKSON. 134

GATEWAY. Portcullis and Sentinel on Guard WHIMPER. 138

THE DONJON; or GUNDULPH’S TOWER--showing the Entrance from the South SARGENT. EVANS. 140

ODO, BISHOP OF BAYEUX and EARL OF KENT HERMAN. COOKE. 141

ROCHESTER CASTLE. The Siege by King John, A.D. 1215 SARGENT. WHIMPER. 143

THE BATTLEMENTS OF THE MAIN TOWER--showing Arcades on the right, where the Castle Chapel is supposed to have been SARGENT. EVANS. 146

ARCHWAY, with View into the Tilting Yard WHIMPER. 149

SMALL TOWER OF THE CASTLE--showing the thickness of the Outer Walls PRIOR. WALL. 153

PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE TO THE MAIN TOWER--showing the position of the ancient Portcullis. View taken from the Entrance, looking Westward PRIOR. RIMBAULT. 154

THE STATE PRISON in Rochester Castle; as it is, and as it was PRIOR. WHIMPER. 155

STATE APARTMENTS IN THE CASTLE--showing the Norman Architecture. SARGENT. O. SMITH. 157

ROCHESTER CASTLE BY MOONLIGHT--with the supposed Secret Entrance from the River HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 159

INNER ARCHED GALLERY, surrounding the Apartments PRIOR. WALL. 160

WEST GALLERY OF ROCHESTER CASTLE--showing the Interior, with the Norman workmanship PRIOR. RIMBAULT. 161

THE CASTLE PRISON. Entrance to the Dungeon, with Staircase and Archway PRIOR. WHIMPER. 162

ROCHESTER BRIDGE AND CASTLE, from the Medway, looking South HERMAN. NICHOLLES. 164

GADSHILL TAVERN--the scene of Falstaff’s adventure, as it now appears PRIOR. WALL. 167

<g>Tewkesbury Abbey.</g>

“Extingue flammas litium;
Aufer calorem noxium;
Confer salutem corporum
Veramque pacem cordium.”

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS.

STEEL PLATE.--THE ABBEY OF TEWKESBURY, from the Toll-gate, looking across the Battle-field, or “Bloody-Meadow” SARGENT. HINCHCLIFFE.

PAGE

THE SOUTH CHANCEL, with the Tombs, Shrines--scene after the Battle SARGENT. EVANS. 169

FUNERAL PROCESSION TO ST. FAITH’S CHAPEL. Burial of Hugh, a Mercian Noble PRIOR. JACKSON. 171

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, from an Ancient Statue. Fr. Monum. HERMAN. DALZIEL. 172

A BLACK FRIAR, or BENEDICTINE MONK of Tewkesbury HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 173

THE CHAPTER-HOUSE OF TEWKESBURY--now the Grammar School PRIOR. WALL. 174

EAST END OF THE CHANCEL. Behind the Altar Screen. In Ecclesia nostra de Theokesberye, &c. A.D. M.CC.XXX SARGENT. RIMBAULT. 177

GOTHIC SHRINE-TOMB of the Le Despenser Family HERMAN. GRAY. 179

THE AXE AND BLOCK ARCHER. 181

PORTRAIT OF GEORGE, DUKE OF CLARENCE. From the Brit. Mus. HERMAN. DALZIEL. 183

THE SEAL OF TEWKESBURY HERMAN. DALZIEL. 184

THE ANCIENT GATE OF THE ABBEY, with Reliques of the Conventual Outbuildings PRIOR. WHIMPER. 186

NORTH AISLE, PISCINA IN THE COLUMN. Pilgrims, Antique Alms-boxes, &c. SARGENT. GRAY. 188

GREAT WEST ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH. Norman Window, Towers, &c. from the Churchyard SARGENT. JACKSON. 189

ANCIENT FONT AND COVER in the Abbey Church SARGENT. JACKSON. 190

CLOISTER BELL-CASE, in which was suspended the Vesper-bell, C PRIOR. O. SMITH. 191

ABBOT’S ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH from the South, with the Tomb of SOMERSET PRIOR. O. SMITH. 194

NORTH TRANSEPT OF THE CHURCH, with carved Stalls, &c. originally in the Choir PRIOR. WALL. 197

PORTRAIT OF MARGARET OF ANJOU, Queen of Henry VI HERMAN. DALZIEL. 201

BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY, and Death of Lord Wenlock HERMAN. DALZIEL. 205

PORTRAIT OF PRINCE EDWARD, murdered after the Battle HERMAN. DALZIEL. 206

CLOISTERS OF TEWKESBURY ABBEY, with the Rich Windows, Arcades, and Shrine-work PRIOR. WALMESLEY. 208

<g>Kenilworth Castle.</g>

“Follow where all is fled! Rome’s azure sky,
Flowers, ruins, statues, music, speech, are weak,
The brightness they transfused with fitting words to speak.”

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS.

STEEL PLATE.--THE CASTLE OF KENILWORTH. General View from the Lake ALLOM. ADLARD.

PAGE

ARMORIAL SHIELD OF THE EARL OF LEICESTER ARCHER. WAKEFIELD. 211

VIEW OF THE CASTLE from the East, with Lunn’s Tower, Gatehouse, &c. ARCHER. JACKSON. 212

GATE OF TUE ANCIENT PRIORY, with Sepulchral Remains ARCHER. NICHOLLES. 215

SIMON DE MONTFORT, from a Sepulchral Effigy HERMAN. NICHOLLES. 217

REMAINS OF THE GREAT HALL IN THE CASTLE, with the Undercroft SARGENT. WALL. 220

RICH WINDOW IN THE PRESENCE CHAMBER, or Hall PRIOR. EVANS. 222

JOHN OF GAUNT, Duke of Lancaster--Lord of Kenilworth HERMAN. NICHOLLES. 224

THE STRONG TOWER, with adjoining Ruins SARGENT. EVANS. 226

THE THREE BARONIAL KITCHENS, west side of the Castle SARGENT. SMITH. 228

LEICESTER’S STABLES, with the Timber-work, &c. SARGENT. EVANS. 231

PART OF LEICESTER’S BUILDINGS, erected by Robert Dudley PRIOR. WALL. 232

THE GATEWAY, part of the Dudley Buildings ARCHER. JACKSON. 233

THE FLOODGATE, or WATER TOWER (see the Plan) PRIOR. NICHOLLES. 235

LEICESTER’S CHIMNEY PIECE, formerly in the Presence Chamber ARCHER. GRAY. 237

EFFIGY OF ROBERT DUDLEY, Earl of Leicester, from his Tomb ARCHER. GRAY. 239

ENTRANCE TO THE GREAT HALL, with Entrance to the Nether Hall, or Undercroft. On the left a Window of “Queen Elizabeth’s Dressing-room” HERMAN. O. SMITH. 241

PLAN OF THE CASTLE, as it appeared in 1575, from the “Illust. Kenilworth;” with references and explanations at p. 280 HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 243

SIGNATURE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, from the Original in the British Museum HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 245

KENILWORTH CASTLE, from the East, showing on the left Mervyn’s Tower--Leicester-Buildings--The Keep--The Gate-House--The Stables, &c. PRIOR. WALL. 247

PORTRAIT OF ROBERT DUDLEY, Earl of Leicester LAW. EVANS. 249

VIEW FROM THE TILT-YARD, now a sheep-walk, showing part of the outworks. Cæsar’s Tower on the left--part of Leicester-Buildings--and the Gate-House ARCHER. DALZIEL. 251

LUNN’S TOWER AT SUNSET, showing the remains of the Moat, grass-grown ARCHER. EVANS. 253

PORTRAIT OF AMY ROBSART--Dudley’s first wife, murdered in Cumnor Hall ARCHER. WHIMPER. 255

THE SNAKE AND DOVE, allegorical of Dudley and Amy Robsart ARCHER. DALZIEL. 256

SEAL OF KENILWORTH PRIORY, impression with the parchment attached, from the British Museum HERMAN. JACKSON. 259

THE BRIDGE AT KENILWORTH, with the Church and Gate-House on the left SARGENT. EVANS. 260

<g>Waltham Abbey.</g>

“Within fifteen, holding my passage
Mydde of a cloyster; depict upon a wall,
I saw a CRUCIFIXE, whose woundes were not small,
With this Worde wide written there besyde--
‘BEHOLDE MY MEEKNESS, CHILDE, AND LEAVE THY PRIDE!’”--LYDGATE.

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE.

STEEL PLATE.--WALTHAM ABBEY CHURCH, from thy Meadows SARGENT. GODFREY.

VIEW OF THE MAIN STREET, with the Tower of the Abbey Church DELAMOTTE. WALL. 261

ABBEY CHURCH, East End (with a funeral), showing the Ancient Arch Window TIFFIN. JACKSON. 264

HERALDIC SHIELD OF THE ABBEY HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 265

SAXON BRIDGE, still used in “Harold’s Park,” Waltham HERMAN. WALL. 268

INNER PORCH OF THE ABBEY CHURCH DELAMOTTE. WALL. 270

BAKER’S ENTRY, remains of the Houses occupied by the Abbots’ retainers HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 271

GATEWAY, BRIDGE, and ABBEY TOWER HERMAN. WALL. 274

PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH, with a Monk HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 276

ANCIENT FONT IN THE CHURCH OF WALTHAM HERMAN. WAKEFIELD. 277

VIEW OF THE ABBEY CHURCH, across the Burial-ground HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 278

ORNAMENTAL BUTTRESSES OF THE ABBEY CHURCH HERMAN. EVANS. 278

THE SEAL OF THE ABBOTS OF WALTHAM HERMAN. JACKSON. 279

<g>Carisbrooke Castle.</g>

“O, uncertain path of life: in our hopes how little security: in our joy what short duration! where can weak man find shelter? Where in this short life peace?”--CAMOEMS.

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE.

STEEL PLATE.--VIEW OF THE CASTLE FROM THE NORTH, showing the Keep, and Gate, and Outworks SARGENT. RADCLIFFE.

ENTRANCE TO THE KEEP by an ascent of seventy-two stone steps SARGENT. EVANS. 281

CARISBROOKE CASTLE--The ancient Donjon--partly Saxon--from the “Roman Mounds” SARGENT. EVANS. 283

THE BARRACKS AND GOVERNOR’S HOUSE, with the Keep, from Mountjoy Tower SARGENT. EVANS. 285

ANCIENT GATE IN THE CASTLE, viewed from the Interior, leading to the steps SARGENT. EVANS. 287

PART OF THE KEEP, known as the Flag-staff Tower, with the Battlement SARGENT. EVANS. 289

PORTRAIT OF HENRY BEAUCHAMP, crowned King of the Isle of Wight, in his Coronation Robes, from the original by Rous, British Museum HERMAN. 291

NORMAN GATE, from the Interior, with the Original Oaken Door, said to be 500 years old SARGENT. EVANS. 293

THE GOVERNOR’S HOUSE, with part of the Barracks, erected by Queen Elizabeth SARGENT. EVANS. 294

THE GREAT GATE, with Round Prison Towers, Machicolations, and Queen Elizabeth’s Gate in the foreground. View taken from the road SARGENT. EVANS. 296

THE GARRISON WELL, showing the Great Windlass-Wheel, &c.; with the Interior of the Building as it now appears SARGENT. EVANS. 297

SIGN-MANUAL OF KING CHARLES I., from the Original MS. British Museum HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 298

“QUEEN ELIZABETH’S TOWER,” with the Outer Gate and Landscape, from the Keep SARGENT. EVANS. 299

VIEW OF THE APARTMENTS OCCUPIED BY KING CHARLES DURING HIS IMPRISONMENT IN THE CASTLE, with the Window from which he attempted to escape--Objects emblematical of his Reign SARGENT. EVANS. 301

EXACT FORM AND APPEARANCE OF THE SAME WINDOW, from which, with his own hand, the King had sawed through one of the Iron Bars SARGENT. EVANS. 302

GROUND-PLAN OF CARISBROOKE CASTLE, showing all the Buildings and Outworks HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 304

<g>Netley Abbey.</g>

“Mundus abit, fortis sim, non ero: sim speciosus, Non ero; sim dives non ero, mundus abit. Mundus abit, non CHRISTUS abit: cote non abeuntem.”--MOR CATH MARTENE.

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE. VIEW OF THE SOUTH TRANSEPT OF NETLEY ABBEY, showing the beauty and richness of its Architecture SARGENT. HINCHLIFFE. 305

IMPRESSION OF THE ABBEY SEAL, with the Wax and Ribbon attached, from the Original HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 306

THE ABBOT’S SEAL, with its Impression and Inscription HERMAN. WALMESLEY. 307

THE GREAT WEST WINDOW OF THE ABBEY SARGENT. EVANS. 309

THE FOUNTAIN-COURT OF NETLEY ABBEY SARGENT. EVANS. 311

THE CONFESSIONAL, for the Cistercian Brotherhood of the Abbey SARGENT. EVANS. 313

THE SACRISTY OF THE ABBEY, Vaulted, and Lighted by two Windows SARGENT. EVANS. 314

THE CHAPTER-HOUSE OF THE ABBEY SARGENT. EVANS. 316

THE ABBOT’S KITCHEN, with the ancient Fireplace SARGENT. EVANS. 318

THE SOUTH FRONT OF NETLEY ABBEY SARGENT. EVANS. 320

THE BUTTERY-DOOR OF NETLEY ABBEY. Peasants with their Offerings receiving the Priest’s Benediction SARGENT. EVANS. 321

THE CONFESSIONAL OF NETLEY ABBEY, with Confessor and Penitent SARGENT. EVANS. 323

PALMER, Pilgrim 324

NETLEY BEACH--a Scene on the road to the Sun Inn SARGENT. EVANS. 327

NETLEY CASTLE, lately used as a public House of Entertainment SARGENT. EVANS. 329

PLAN OF NETLEY ABBEY--arrangement of the Buildings HERMAN. 330

<g>Appendix.</g>

ARTISTS. ENGRAVERS. PAGE.

ALLEGORICAL SUBJECT--with Figures and Tomes SARGENT. EVANS. 331

VIEW OF THE CASTLE OF ARUNDEL, from a new Point ARCHER. GILKS. 335

KNIGHT IN ARMOUR 336

SCROLL-HEAD, illustrative of Arundel Castle--West Gateway--“Owl and Swallow” HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. 337

THE BARON’S HALL--Minstrelsy in the Olden Time--SYR BEVIS ARCHER. DALZIEL. 338

VIGNETTE--TILTING HELMET, SWORD, AND SHIELD 341

PISCINA IN ABBEY CHURCH, St. Albans, referred to in the Text PRIOR. JACKSON. 343

ANCIENT ARMOUR OF ELTHAM HALL--“THE DUKE’S STUDY” ARCHER. DALZIEL. 345

DISCOVERY OF HAROLD’S BODY, after the Battle of Hastings, by his Mistress, “Edith with the Swan’s neck” ARCHER. DALZIEL. 348

HEAD OF KING CHARLES I. as Prisoner in Carisbrooke Castle LAW. JACKSON. 350

THE ABBOT OF NETLEY’S MITRE AND CROSIER SARGENT. EVANS. 352

<g>List of Illustrations.</g>

ALLEGORICAL VIGNETTE SARGENT. EVANS. v

ARMS AND ABBATIAL TROPHIES OF ST. ALBANS HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. vii

ARCHITECTURAL SCROLL-HEAD AND TROPHIES OF ELTHAM HALL HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. viii

MILITARY SCROLL AND ARMS OF ROCHESTER CASTLE HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. ix

SCROLL-HEAD, WITH ARMS AND TROPHIES OF TEWKESBURY ABBEY HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. x

MILITARY TROPHIES OF KENILWORTH, with the Arms of Robert Earl of Leicester
HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. xi

SCROLL, WITH THE SHRINE OF THE HOLY CROSS, WALTHAM ABBEY HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. xii

SCROLL-HEAD AND GATEWAY, with the Royal Crown and Arms HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. xiii

ALLEGORICAL HEADING OF NETLEY ABBEY HERMAN. DELAMOTTE. xiv

<g>Fínís.</g> VIGNETTE--CHRONICLES OF ENGLAND SARGENT. EVANS. xv

<g>Architectural Letters.</g>

A, characteristic of ARUNDEL.
S, “ ST. ALBANS.
E, “ ELTHAM.
R, “ ROCHESTER.
T, “ TEWKESBURY.
K, “ KENILWORTH.
W, “ WALTHAM.
C, “ CARISBROOKE.
N, “ NETLEY.

* * * * *

De tout usage antique amateur idolâtre;
De toute nouveauté frondeur opiniâtre;
Homme d’un autre siècle, et ne suivant en tout
Pour tou qu’un vieux honneur, pour loi que le vieux goût:
Cerveau des plus bornés qui, tenant pour maxime
Qu’un seigneur de paroisse est un être sublime!--
On n’imagine pas combien il se respecte,
Ivre de son château dont il est l’architecte.--GRESSET, _Le Châtelain_.

---- Enraptured have I loved to roam,
A lingering votary, the vaulted dome,
Where the tall shafts, that mount in massy pride,
Their mingling branches shoot from side to side;
Where elfin Sculptors, with fantastic clew,
O’er the long roof their wild embroidery drew;
Where Superstition, with capricious hand,
In many a maze the wreathed window plann’d,
With hues romantic tinged the gorgeous pane,
To fill with holy light the wondrous fane!

Designed by Lonsdale. Painted by Backler. Engraved by Allen.

_Signing of the Magna Charta by King John._

FROM THE GREAT WINDOW OF THE BARONS HALL ARUNDEL CASTLE.

_page 27._

LONDON, GEORGE VIRTUE.]

<g>The Castles and Abbeys of England</g> may be justly regarded as the great fixed landmarks in her history. They stand like monumental pillars in the stream of time, inscribed with the names of her native chivalry and early hierarchy, whose patriotic deeds and works of piety they were raised to witness and perpetuate.

Viewed in this connexion, they are subjects of enduring interest and curiosity; especially to those whose minds have been strongly imbued with a love of the arts, a veneration for the great minds and the wise measures of which they are the splendid memorials. We linger in the feudal court, and muse in the deserted sanctuary, with emotions which we can hardly define: in the one our patriotism gathers strength and decision; in the other, that piety of which it is the outward evidence, sheds a warmer influence on the heart. We traverse the apartments that once contained the noble founders of our national Freedom; the venerable and intrepid champions of our Faith; the revered fathers of our Literature; with a feeling which amounts to almost devotion. We turn aside to the mouldering gates of our ancestors as a pilgrim turns to some favourite shrine; to those ruins which were the cradles of liberty, the residence of men illustrious for their deeds, the stronghold and sanctuary of their domestic virtues and affections. The mutilated altars of our religion, the crumbling sepulchres of our forefathers, are pregnant with an interest which no other source can afford. In these venerable remains, the visible stamp of sanctity still clings to the threshold; we tread the ground with a soft silent step, overawed by the solemnity of the scene; we feel that--although the sacred fire is extinguished on the altar, the hallelujahs hushed in the quire, and priest and penitent gone for ever--we feel that the presence of a divinity still hallows the spot; that the wings of the presiding cherubim are still extended over its altar.

But turning from the cloistered abbey, to the castellated fortress of antiquity, a new train of associations springs up. The vaulted gateway, the rudely sculptured shield, the heavy portcullis, and massive towers--all contrast forcibly with the scene we have just left, but present to the mind’s eye a no less faithful picture of feudal times. It was from these towers that the flower of English chivalry went forth under the banner of the Cross--carried the terror of their arms to the gates of Jerusalem, and earned those glorious ‘badges’ which are now the proud distinction of their respective houses.

In a survey of these primitive strongholds, these rude citadels of our national faith and honour, every feature is invested with traditionary interest. They are intimately associated with our native Literature, civil and sacred; with History, Poetry, Painting, and the Drama; with local tradition, legendary and antiquarian lore.

To the early founders of our castles and abbeys, we are mainly indebted for the blessings we still enjoy as a free and independent nation. It was the unflinching fortitude and uncompromising faith of our baronial ancestors which extorted from the hands of Despotism the grand charters of English freedom; and, if the men who achieved such things ought to live in the grateful remembrance of their country, surely the local habitations with which their names are identified, must ever be viewed as classic scenes with which the grandeur and glory of England are inseparably connected.

It is there that the very Genius of chivalry still presents himself with that stern and majestic countenance which views with disdain the ‘luxurious and degenerate posterity’ which has robbed him of his honours. It is there that the scenes of other days recur to the imagination in all their native pomp and solemnity. These were the ancient schools where the manly exercises of knighthood, the generous virtues of patriotism, fortitude, honour, courtesy and wisdom, were habitually taught and practised.

The love and reverence of antiquity are imbibed with our earliest classic discipline; but when we turn to the history of our own country, and contemplate in her castles, abbeys, and cathedrals, the monuments of her former greatness, we become animated with a different emotion; we feel the strong bond of relationship which unites us with their founders. We dwell with romantic interest on their valour, munificence, hospitality; a hospitality which was open to all; to knight, pilgrim, and minstrel; to him whose honoured office “wedded to immortal verse” the fortunes, achievements, and festivities of the noble owner; and by exciting the first efforts of wit and fancy, secured an introduction to every species of polite learning--to all the softer influences by which the stern manners of the age were gradually softened and refined.

With respect to our ecclesiastical foundations, our abbeys, priories, and cathedrals; how great is the proportion that was built and endowed by our ancient nobility! Next to the glory of bearing arms in the Holy Land, was the desire of founding churches at home; for to honour God with their substance, to brave every danger in defence of their religion, were maxims that regulated the chief actions of their lives, and extended their view beyond the boundaries of time. To them and their long line of descendants, we are indebted for feats of arms, for examples of Christian fortitude, which have preserved our throne and constitution inviolate, and raised the British character to its zenith of national glory. By the practical lessons which they afford, they inspire us with admiration of their lofty virtues. Their patriotism at home, their perilous adventures abroad, their indomitable courage and inflexible faith, their triumphs at the scaffold and the stake,--all evinced a constancy in virtue, a confidence in God, which nothing could shake or overthrow.

In the history of feudal times, when turbulence and faction were constantly troubling the serene atmosphere of public and private life, we observe the spiritual and temporal power mutually aiding and restraining each other: both uniting to regulate the balance of the state, to enforce obedience to the laws, to resist those unconstitutional and oppressive measures which produced such frequent and painful divisions between the sovereign and his vassals.

But, while thus adverting to the character and polity of feudal times, we are far from maintaining that there was no flaw in the system, no flagrant act of injustice in its administration. On the contrary, we freely admit its imperfection; but we as freely applaud its excellences. We grant that every castle had its dungeon; every dungeon, perhaps, its prisoners and captives; but still, viewed as a scheme of civil freedom, the feudal polity ‘bears a noble countenance. Deprived of its sustaining power, the very names of right and privilege must have fallen prostrate at the feet of unlimited despotism.’ If, says Hallam, ‘when the people were poor and disunited, the nobility had not been brave and free, the tyranny which on every favourable occasion was breaking through all barriers would have rioted without control.’

In these prefatory remarks, however, we refrain from supporting our views by the evidence of facts; but to the indulgent reader, who feels an interest in the subject, and will accompany us in our tour[1] through the feudal monuments in question, we hope to prove by many interesting records, anecdotes, and illustrations, the beneficial influence of a system, prolific beyond all others in the grandeur of its institutions, and forming what may be justly styled the monumental ages of England.

But along with their graver history, these primitive strongholds of the national faith and freedom unite a thousand pleasing and faithful pictures of social life. It was in these palaces, castles, abbeys, halls, and manor-houses, that, in the ‘merry days of England,’ the festivals of our Church and the fêtes of Chivalry, were celebrated in all their splendour. It was there the noble host collected around him his friends and retainers, that the walls were hung with banners, that steel-clad warders paced the battlements, that the sound of the horn summoned the guests from the ‘joust’ or the chase,--that the ‘boar’s head’ smoked on the ample board,--that mantling cups were drained to the health of ‘beauty,’ and fresh honours decreed to the ‘brave.’

It was in these halls that the ‘Christmas log,’ flashing through the painted casement, announced the reign of hospitality,--when the ‘roast beef of Old England,’ her nut-brown October, and the national songs and dance, conspired to produce one long scene of mirth and festivity; when the ‘harper’ sang those romantic and heroic ballads at which the young caught fire, and the old threw aside the weight of years. Who can reflect on these scenes, now the subject of history, without a lively interest in the Castles and Abbeys of England?

Hitherto, the grand objection to works of this description, has been their expense, which has confined the circulation of picturesque antiquarian works to the opulent classes of society. The great recommendation of the present work is its unprecedented cheapness, being illustrated by original views taken on the spot, and not amounting in general to more than a twentieth of the price at which its predecessors in the same field have been published.

6, PARK SQUARE, LONDON.

Derived down to us, and received
In a succession, far the noblest way,
Of breeding up our youths in letters, arms,
Fair mien, discourses, civil exercise,
And all the blazon of a gentleman.--
Where can he learn to vault, to ride, to fence,
To move his body gracefully; to speak
His language purer; or to tune his mind
Or manners more to the harmony of Nature
Than in these Nurseries of Nobility?

BEN JONSON’S _New Inn_. Act I. Scene 3.

N.B. A LIST OF THE NATIONAL RECORDS, ANCIENT CHRONICLES, AND OTHER
STANDARD AUTHORITIES QUOTED, OR REFERRED TO, IN THE FOLLOWING WORK,
WILL BE FOUND ANNEXED TO EACH SUBJECT RESPECTIVELY.

_Drawn by T. Allom._ _Engraved by I. W. Archer._

ARUNDEL CASTLE.]

THE CASTLE OF ARUNDLE,

<g>Sussex</g>,

PRINCIPAL SEAT OF HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NORFOLK, K.G.

Since William rose and Harold fell,
There have been Counts of Arundel;
And Earls old Arundel shall have,
While rivers flow and forests wave.

<g>The Castle of Arundel</g> enjoys a twofold celebrity, in its great antiquity and in its peculiar privilege of conferring the title of Earl on its possessor. The former reverts to a period much anterior to the conquest; the latter was hereditary in the eleventh century, and confirmed by Act of Parliament in the sixth year of the reign of Henry the Sixth. But its chief and enduring interest is derived from the long list of warriors and statesmen whose names are identified with the place; and whose deeds, during the lapse of eight centuries, have shed lustre on the national history.

The earliest recorded notice of Arundel occurs in the will of the Great <g>Alfred</g>[2], in which he bequeaths it, along with other lordships, to his brother’s son Athelm. It is described in that document[3] as a manor, but without any specific distinction in its privileges from those of Aldingbourn, Compton, and Beeding, with which it is associated; and to Godwin and his son <g>Harold</g>, who were successively earls of Sussex[4], it passed, in all probability, in the same form. It was not till the overthrow of the Saxon dynasty[5], however, that Arundel assumes a prominent station in history as a native fortress of strength and importance[6]. Among the train of warlike barons who attended the Norman in his successful expedition to our coast, was Roger de Monte

[Sidenote:

1066 { 1070. { ]

Gomerico, or <g>Montgomery</g>, nearly related to the Conqueror by blood, and possessing extensive territories in Normandy[7]. At the battle of Hastings, which placed the British crown on the head of William, Montgomery led the

centre division of the army[8], and contributed to the victory. In return for this important service, and to bind him more firmly to his interests, the Conqueror four years afterwards bestowed upon him the two comtés, or earldoms, of Shrewsbury and Arundel[9]. Of the six rapes[10] into which Sussex is divided, two, comprising Chichester and <g>Arundel</g>, and calculated to contain eighty-four knights’ fees[11] and a half, were set apart to form the honour[12] of Arundel. Of this and his other princely territories, Montgomery retained possession during a period of twenty years; and the ample revenues which they produced enabled him to support that dignity, splendour, and host of retainers which bespoke the rank of one of the great vassals of the crown. He was a man, according to Orderic[13], of exemplary prudence and moderation; a great lover of equity, and of discreet and modest persons. When he perceived his end approaching, the attachment which he had always felt for a religious life induced him to solicit admission to the Abbey of Shrewsbury, which he had founded; and there, three days after he had assumed the monastic habit[14], he expired in the month of July, 1094. Of his family, consisting of five sons and four daughters, an account will be found in the Appendix.

[Sidenote:

1098 { 1102 { ]

On the death of Roger Montgomery, his English possessions descended by will to <g>Hugh</g>, his younger son, whose life, like that of his brother <g>Robert</g>, was spent in wars of retaliation and aggression; seconding the enterprises of the turbulent nobles of his period; alternately opposing, and punished by, the king. When an attempt was made upon the island of Anglesea by the king of Norway[15], Hugh made all haste to give him a warm reception; but although the enemy was put to flight, one of his arrows taking effect upon the Earl of Arundel[16], entered at the eye, and passing through the brain, struck him dead from his horse. He was buried in Shrewsbury. From Hugh the earldom passed to his elder brother Robert, Comte of Belesme, in La Perche, on payment of a fine to the king of three thousand pounds--an immense sum at that period. But on the revolt of the latter, when his possessions were forfeited to King Henry the First, the honour and castle of Arundel were resumed as property of the Crown.

By <g>Henry</g> they were settled in dower upon his second queen, Adeliza, daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine, who on the death of the king conveyed them by a second marriage to William de

<g>Albini</g>, lord of Buckenham in Norfolk, of whose descendants we shall make more deliberate mention hereafter. When the Empress <g>Matilda</g>, daughter of Henry the First, and mother of Henry the Second, landed in England in 1139, to assert her claims against the usurper Stephen, she was received, as will hereafter be noticed, at Arundel, and lodged with her retinue in the castle--an event which served greatly to advance and establish the fortunes of Albini. For the news of her landing having alarmed the Usurper, he drew his forces immediately under the walls, and laid close siege to the castle. Albini, however, not only preserved his royal guest from violence, but, by good generalship or caution, secured for her a safe-conduct to Bristol, from which she took shipping and returned to the Continent.

On the accession of her son, Henry the Second, this and other faithful services were not forgotten by the sovereign, who, to testify the sense in which he viewed Albini’s devotion to his cause, confirmed to him and to his heirs for ever the honour and castle of Arundel[17]. He died in 1176, and William, his son and successor, in 1196.

<g>William de Albini</g>, the third in regular descent who enjoyed the earldom of Arundel, is well known in history as one of the barons who signed the Magna Charta, and otherwise evinced himself one of the most talented and enterprising men of his day. Having died on his way home through Italy in 1221, he was succeeded by his son William, the fourth earl, who dying early, without issue, was succeeded by his brother, <g>Hugh</g> de Albini, the last of the race. Hugh died in 1243, leaving four sisters, or their representatives, as his co-heirs, amongst whom, under a special commission from the Crown, his manorial estates were divided. Of these four sisters, the second, Isabel, had married Fitzalan of Oswaldestre; and to her son John Fitzalan, as nephew to the late Earl Hugh, the castle of Arundel and all its appurtenances descended by inheritance. This was the beginning of a new line of Earls--the Fitzalans of Arundel, six of whom in succession held that distinguished rank in the state.

<g>The Fitzalan Family</g>, like those of Montgomery and Albini, was of Norman origin, and descended from Alan, the son of Fleald, who attended the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings, and received, amongst other spoils of the vanquished, the castle of Madoc-ap-Meredith in Wales, with the lordship of Oswaldestre in Salop. His wife was a daughter of Warren-the-Bald, sheriff of Shropshire, and consequently grand-niece of Roger Montgomery. By her he had two sons; William, who, adopting his patronymic, was called Fitz-Alan; and Walter, who, pursuing his fortunes in Scotland and being appointed by King David grand-steward of the kingdom, became the progenitor of the royal family of <g>Stuart</g>[18]. William Fitzalan, the elder brother, married Ellen, daughter of William Peverel, and niece of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and with her obtained a large accession of property in Bretagne. He defended Shrewsbury against Stephen, fought with the Empress Matilda at Winchester, and at the accession of Henry the Second was appointed sheriff of Shropshire. At his death he left an only son, William, whose marriage with Isabel, daughter and heiress of Ingelram-de-Say, added the extensive lordship of Clun to the patrimonial possessions of the family; when the titles of Clun and Oswaldestre were first united, and continue in the Howard family to the present day. After the death of William, the first lord of these honours, his son and successor survived him only five years, and leaving no issue, the property devolved on his brother, John Fitzalan, who, in concert with the Barons, opposed the tyrannical measures of the king, and was appointed by Henry the Third one of the Lords Marchers in Wales. At his death he was succeeded by his only son, the subject of this notice, and first of his family who was Earl of Arundel.

On two occasions, however, the family honours and property were alienated by attainder, and given in the first instance to Edmund, Earl of Kent; and in the latter to Holland, Duke of Exeter. This took place in the persons of Edmund the third, and Richard the fifth earl; but in both cases their sons were restored to that station and inheritance which their own political offences had forfeited.

[Sidenote:

1415 { { ]

<g>Thomas</g>, the sixth earl of the Fitzalan line, dying without issue, left three sisters as his co-heirs. But his grandfather, Richard, in order to prevent the further division of the honour, had entailed it first upon his Countess for the term of her natural life; and then on the heirs male of his own body, by the said Countess Alianor, with remainders over. In pursuance of this arrangement, therefore, the castle and estates of Arundel passed, on the demise of Earl Thomas, to his second-cousin, John Fitzalan, Lord Maltravers, from whom it again descended through a succession of seven earls of the united families of Fitzalan and Maltravers--many of them highly distinguished, and terminated in Henry, the twenty-second Earl of Arundel.

<g>Henry’s</g> only son, a youth of splendid accomplishments, had died at Brussels; and of his two daughters, Joan, the elder, was married to Lord Lumley; and Mary to Thomas Howard, fourth Duke of Norfolk. But the latter, having died after giving birth to a son, Philip Howard; and the other, Lady Lumley, having been married twenty years without issue; a fine was levied in 1570, by which the earl, ten years previous to his death, entailed the castle and honour of Arundel, with a numerous list of parks, forests, lands, estates, &c., upon Lord Lumley and Joan, his wife, for the term of their separate lives, remainder to the lawful heirs of the said Joan, remainder to Philip, son of Mary, Duchess of Norfolk, and his heirs.[19]

[Sidenote:

1581. { { ]

<g>Philip</g>, first of the Ducal House of Howard invested with the title of Earl of Arundel, continued in the enjoyment of his honours only during the short period of eight years, when, as will hereafter appear, he was attainted in 1589, and his estates forfeited to the crown. Fifteen years later, however, they were restored to his son Thomas, on the accession of King <g>James</g>, who was anxious to redress the wrongs of the father, by extending the hand of royal favour to the son. This event in the fortunes of the Howard family took place in 1604; and from that period down to the present time, the title has passed without interruption through a line of descendants--

Cui genus a proavis ingens, clarumque paternæ
Nomen erat Virtutis.

<g>With</g> this brief and hasty sketch of the origin of the Castle of Arundel and its powerful lords, whose deeds and destinies shed around its history feelings of mingled sympathy and admiration; we turn aside to view the fortress, whose apartments have been the hereditary asylum and berçeau of patriotism, chivalry, piety, and British independence, during a period of eight centuries.

Combien de souvenirs ici sont retracés!
J’aime à voir ces glacis, ces angles, ces fossés,
Ces vestiges épars des siéges, des batailles,
Ces boulets qu’arrêta l’épaisseur des murailles.

To the great antiquity of Arundel Castle we have already adverted. BEVIS[20]--a hero of romance--is currently believed to have been its founder; but however easily this may be disputed, the fact of its having been a royal fortress, long before the Conquest, seems fully established. The earliest recorded evidence to this effect appears in the Domesday Survey, where it is stated that, in the time of Edward the Confessor, the castle of Arundel[21] rendered for a certain mill forty shillings, for one pasture twenty shillings; and that between the town, the port, and the customs of the shipping, it rendered twelve pounds, and was worth thirteen.

But as the name and epoch of its founder remain in total obscurity[22], conjecture, however plausible or ingenious, would here be fruitless; and leaving the fanciful antiquary and etymologist to indulge their several tastes in exploring the labyrinth of fable, we turn at once to the broad noon of history, to draw from authentic sources such facts as may appear in some respects more extraordinary than fiction.

<g>The Castle of Arundel</g>, in point of situation, presents every advantage which could be desired for the erection of a military fortress. At the southern extremity of the elevated platform on which it stands, a strong wall inclosed the inner court, containing upwards of five acres; on the north-east and south-east a precipitous dip of the hill, to at least ninety feet, rendered the castle inaccessible. On the remaining sides, a deep fosse, protected on the north by a double vallation, and cutting off all external communication in that direction, secured the garrison against any sudden incursion or surprise. Or, if assailed,--

From gate and battlemented tower
Fell the warder’s iron shower--
And swift and sharp, from twanging yew,
The feathered shafts incessant flew.

In the centre of this spacious area, rose the <g>donjon</g> or Keep, circular in form, of enormous strength, crowning a lofty artificial mound, and commanding a wide and uninterrupted view of all the neighbouring approaches. The height of the mount, from the bottom of the fosse on the external side, was seventy feet; on the internal, sixty-nine; and with that of the walls and battlements, by which it was crowned, presented a commanding elevation on the east of ninety-six feet; and on the west, of one hundred and three. The walls, measuring from eight to ten feet in thickness, inclosed a nearly circular space, varying between fifty-nine and sixty-seven feet in diameter, which afforded accommodation for the garrison. The apartments, judging from the corbel stones still remaining, appear to have been arranged round the walls, converging towards the centre, from which they received their light, as from an open cupola. Externally there were neither loop-holes nor openings in the masonry, from which, as in other keeps, an army could be annoyed; so that it was only from the ramparts and battlements that the garrison could repel an assault.--See Dallaway’s Rape of Arundel and Horsted’s History.

Such in all probability was the ‘Castrum de Harundel’ when the Conqueror placed it in the hands of Roger Montgomery, and such as it had been when erected by the wise policy of King Alfred. At this time the Keep appears to have comprised the whole strength of the place, the barbican or outer rampart excepted; so that to give it the strength and space of a Norman castle, by contributing those improvements which the circumstances of the time demanded, and of which its natural position was highly susceptible, engaged the first care of its Norman possessor. The external walls, accordingly, were faced with a new casing of Caen stone; the whole structure was supported at intervals by broad flat buttresses; and on the south-east side of the Keep an improved

entrance was effected, where the Norman art is still visible. It is a wide semicircular <g>archway</g> cut through the solid wall, ornamented on the inner side with a plain torus moulding, and terminated on the outer by a smaller arch, richly carved with the chevron and other ornaments in common use during the latter part of the eleventh century.[23]

But of all the architectural improvements effected by Roger Montgomery in the wide area beneath the Keep, the most conspicuous in the present day is the great Gateway. It consists of a square tower standing over an arched way, which forms the entrance to the court, and communicates with the Keep by a raised passage carried across the moat, and terminated by a flight of steps. The upper part of this tower is supposed to be the work of the thirteenth century; but the lower portion, comprising the whole of the covered-way, retains its original stamp, and presents a striking specimen of Norman taste. The arch is circular, without a keystone, and quite destitute of ornament. The arch, as well as all that remains of the ancient front of the tower, is composed of square blocks of Pulborough stone, the angles of which still preserve their original sharpness. A portcullis was formerly placed at the outer extremity of the passage, which was probably still further strengthened by a drawbridge over the fosse immediately beneath it.[24]--See the engravings.

The Barbican, or <g>Bebis’ Tower</g>, as it is generally called, is another of those warlike adjuncts by which the Norman baron strengthened and improved his new residence. It occupies the north-west side of the ditch by which the Keep is surrounded, and, notwithstanding the ravages of siege and storm, presents many of the characteristic features of Norman architecture. It is an oblong tower, supported by a huge buttress at each of its angles, and originally was of considerable elevation; but during the Parliamentary siege, about to be noticed, the upper part was destroyed, and the temporary roof which now covers it was supplied at a later period. The whole is now invested with a luxuriant mantle of ivy, and presents, like the adjoining Keep, a green pyramidal mass of foliage, through which at intervals the grey stone and white mortar are discernible. It is haunted ground--

For there, ’tis said, ’mid scenes forlorn,
When midnight spreads her dreary pall,
The blast of Bebis’ bugle-horn
Rings loudly from its ramparts tall.
While, starting to the unearthly sound,
Warrior spectres gather round;
And dismal through the dusky air,
Banners gleam and torches glare--
Till all, at cock-crow, to their shrouds
Shrink away like fleeting clouds.

Under the east end of the Castle is an immense <g>vault</g>, described by a late historian of the Castle as sixty-six feet in length by nearly twenty-one feet in width, and upwards of fourteen feet high. The arches are circular, and formed of square blocks of chalk strengthened by four transverse ribs of massive stone. The walls, varying in thickness, present at different parts externally a compact mass of seven feet and upwards. This is the dismal receptacle in which the unhappy captive whom the fortune of war had placed at the mercy of his feudal lord, or the culprit who had violated the laws, were shut up in miserable durance. Few have ever traversed that dreary vault without an involuntary shudder, as imagination conjured up the scenes of human agony that must have transpired unheard, unpitied, under the veil of its sepulchral darkness--

Where oft, at the dark and midnight watch,
As the sentry walks his round,
The wail of pain, and the clanking chain,
Send forth a dismal sound.

[Sidenote:

1404. { { ]

A curious instance of escape from this dungeon, in connexion with the law of sanctuary, is recorded by Mr. Tierney, on the authority of Bishop Rede’s Register:--A person named John Mot, having been committed on a charge of robbery, contrived to elude the vigilance of his keepers, passed the

enclosure of the castle, and had nearly succeeded in effecting his retreat, when his flight becoming known, the constable, assisted by a part of the inhabitants, followed in close pursuit. Finding that he was likely to be overtaken, the fugitive turned to the College of the Holy Trinity, and seizing the ring attached to the gate, claimed the rights of sanctuary. The constable, however, appears to have doubted the validity of this appeal to ecclesiastical protection, and the captive was forcibly disengaged, and hurried back to prison. But the circumstance got wind; rumours of the occurrence soon spread through the neighbourhood; the immunities of the church and the laws of sanctuary were said to have been violated; two of the parties who had aided the constable in securing the offender were summoned before the bishop, to answer the charge in person. Being questioned, and found guilty, they were ordered to make a pilgrimage on foot to the shrine of St. Richard, at Chichester, to present an offering there according to their ability; to be cudgelled (fustigati) five times through the church of Arundel, and five times to recite the Pater-noster, the Ave, and the Creed, upon their knees before the crucifix at the high-altar. Before, however, this sentence could be carried into execution, it was ascertained that, on discovery of the error which had been committed, the captive had been “restored to the church.” The cudgelling was therefore ordered to be remitted; and an offering of a burning taper by each of the offending parties at the high-mass on the following Sunday, was substituted in its place.[25]

Of the <g>Baronial Chapel</g>, believed to have been erected at the same time, and now converted into the modern dining-room of the castle, little is known, beyond the fact of its having existed in the latter part of the thirteenth century[26]. During the minority of Richard Fitzalan, a royal patent was issued, by which we learn that the king, in right of the wardship which he possessed, presented to “the chapel of St. George, within the castle of Arundel.”[27] From that early period, down to the close of the last century, when the late Duke entered upon his plans for restoring the castle to its original splendour, this hallowed apartment had served as the family oratory of the <g>Montgomeries</g>, the <g>Albinis</g>, the <g>Fitzalans</g>, the <g>Howards</g>. But the rich and beautiful Gothic temple which the Duke has substituted has, in some degree, compensated for the metamorphosis to which the primitive altar of the family has been subjected. The spot, however, where an altar had stood for centuries--at which so many generations had knelt in their joy or their sorrow; had paid the tribute of gratitude in prosperity, and implored succour in adversity; at which the marriage benediction, the baptismal rite, and the solemn service for the dead, had been so long and often celebrated--such a spot, however transformed by the hand of man, to whatever secular purposes converted, possesses that inherent sanctity which no disguise can obliterate--

Unseen a hallowed incense fills the air,
And mystic voices peal the notes of prayer.
Still round that shrine where once the VIRGIN smiled,
And kings and shepherds hailed the SAVIOUR-CHILD,
A seraph watches with extended wing,
And angel-quires their songs of triumph sing.

<g>The South-east</g> front of Arundel Castle, which crowns an abrupt descent overlooking the river Arun, appears, in common with the dungeon already described, to have been the work of Montgomery, and contemporary with the adjoining tower. This opinion is confirmed by the close resemblance of its external masonry to that of the keep; as well as by the remains of some double round-headed windows, still visible in the walls, and which strictly correspond with double arches in Winchester Cathedral, built about the same epoch by Walkelin, cousin of William the Conqueror.

[Sidenote: 1094. {]