_Penshurst Place._--This was originally an embattled mansion of the fourteenth century, and gradually expanded by constant additions into an excellent example of a combined castle and a manorial dwelling-house. The licence to crenellate is dated the fifteenth year of Edward III., and stands in the name of Sir John de Pulteneye. This opulent knight erected a stately mansion in the form of an irregular square as to plan. It reverted to the Crown in the reign of Henry VI. and was held by the Duke of Bedford, Regent for a time, and then by his brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. The Staffords held it afterwards, but at the decease of the Duke of Buckingham Edward VI. gave it to Ralph Fane and then to Sir William Sydney, one of the heroes of Flodden Field. Its associations with Sir Philip Sydney form one of its chief claims upon the public. The spacious Hall measures 60 feet in length by the same in height; it is 40 feet wide, and is a grand example of fourteenth-century architecture. The beautiful windows reach from the floor to a considerable height, the roof is open, there is a minstrels' gallery, and an elaborate arrangement for the fire in the middle of the Hall. Adjacent is a range of buildings much altered in the Elizabethan period, containing state rooms, the Queen's drawing-room, etc. Portions of the wall of enceinte are to be found upon the south and east. _Ightham Mote._--This building is undoubtedly one of the most perfect examples of the combination of domestic convenience with an efficient system of defence to be found in England. It stands about two miles from Ightham village in Kent in a deep hollow, through which runs a rivulet flowing into the moat surrounding the House, from which the latter takes its name. Ivo de Haut possessed the Mote in the reign of Henry II.; it reverted to the Crown for a time in the reign of Richard III., but was restored to the family, and subsequently passed through the hands of many owners. The House appears to be of three distinct periods, Edward II., Henry VII., and Elizabeth. The Hall is of the first period; it has a slender stone arch to carry the roof and contains many ancient features; some of the original shingles, for example, are still in existence, though a modern roof covers them. Other objects are a Chapel, original, and the Gateway Tower with the gateway itself and the doors. There are many examples in England of the simple manorial hall of purely domestic type whose owners found it expedient, at some critical period, to fortify in some manner, and these additions are of the greatest interest to the antiquarian. Perhaps the best example to be found is that of Stokesay, near Ludlow, which is a unique specimen of a small mansion of the thirteenth century subsequently fortified. The licence is dated 1291, and a stone wall is mentioned; only a few yards remain of this.