_Raglan_, one of the most imposing ruins in the British Isles, was erected shortly after 1415 by Sir William ap Thomas, who had returned rich in honours and also in worldly wealth from many a stricken field, the last being that of Agincourt. He married the daughter of Sir David Gam, and commenced the erection of the magnificent building which combines in such an excellent manner the characteristics of a mansion and a fortress. If either predominates it is undoubtedly the warlike portion since, presumably, the builder could not at once forget his bellicose proclivities. His son was made a baron by Edward IV. and afterwards Earl of Pembroke, and was beheaded at Northampton, 1469. The Castle came into the possession of the Somersets in 1503, the ancestors of the present Duke of Beaufort. The fifth earl carried out extensive work upon the pile, but shortly afterwards the demolition of the Castle was ordered by the parliament. Probably the most striking feature of the Castle is the detached Keep lying to the left of the main entrance, and called the Yellow Tower. It is surrounded by a wide and deep moat, and was undoubtedly a formidable obstacle before being slighted. It underwent a vigorous siege in 1646, when Sir Thomas Fairfax assailed it with a large force. The garrison ran short of ammunition, and, the north wall being breached, a capitulation ensued. _Herstmonceaux Castle._--One of the finest examples of the later castles is Herstmonceaux, in Sussex, dating from the year 1440. It has been described as "the most perfect example of the mansion of a feudal lord in the south of England," and, when visited by Walpole in 1752, was in a perfect state of preservation; Grose, writing a few decades later, gives a vivid description of all the principal apartments, which seem to have suffered but little at that time. Now, however, when there is some rumour prevailing of an intended restoration, the building is in ruins,--roofless, ivy-grown, and in many parts dismantled by the falling-in of roofs and floors. It is built of the small bricks then in use, two inches or less in thickness; they were brought to England from Belgium, strange to say the art of brick-making having apparently been lost since the departure of the Romans. Belgian workmen were also brought over to erect it.