The Norman castle at Berkhampstead, which stood close to the present railway due east of the station, and portions of the ruins of which may be seen from the train, was built by Robert Earl of Morton, brother of William the Conqueror. According to a recent writer, the earthworks of this castle represent the original fortress founded by the Conqueror, and the appellation of a “burh” to the structure is consequently erroneous. A Saxon “burh” or “burg” was a fortified town, whereas the moated mound of Berkhampstead, like those at Hertford, Bishop’s Stortford, Anstey, Bennington, and Pirton, are essentially Norman castles of the type known as “mottes,” or, from their shape, as “mount and bailey castles.” It is a common idea that Berkhampstead was originally a stone castle, but the earthworks now remaining really represent the fortress itself. In the reign of Henry II the custody of Berkhampstead Castle was entrusted to Thomas à Becket, who replaced the old wooden defences (such as stockades, palisades, and towers) originally crowning the banks, by walls of flint rubble, remains of which still partly surround the enclosure. Hertford Castle, the site of which forms the residence of His Majesty’s judges during the assizes, was built by Edward the Elder about the year 905; and after the conquest William I placed both castle and town in the custody of Peter de Valoignes. Other ancient castles and baileys in the county include the following, viz:-- Anstey Castle, situated about a mile from the eastern border of Hertfordshire, on the watershed between the Stort and the Quin. Bennington Castle, built on high ground about a mile from the river Beane and some two miles from Walkern Bury; the ruins include the remains of a small, square keep, as well as of a bailey. Waytemore Castle, Bishop’s Stortford, belonging to the Bishop of London, is an excellent example of the type of fortress which owes the main part of its strength to being situated in a practically impassable morass; that is to say, when the latter was kept well flooded. The flint rubble walls of the keep are fully a dozen feet in thickness. Smaller baileys existed at High Down, near Pirton; at Periwinkle Hill, on nearly level ground, midway between Reed and Barkway; and also at Walkern, on the Beane, about a mile and a half distant from the village. In the last of these it is noteworthy that the church is situated close to the castle, although, unlike the one at Anstey, it does not appear to have been included in an outer ward.