Our county historians are often diffuse upon the descent of a castelry, and the particulars of its area and tenures, but their descriptions of the buildings are seldom intelligible. Even Surtees, so distinguished for the wealth and lucidity of his style, whose history of Durham contains, entombed in folio, chapters that in a more accessible form would have met with far more than antiquarian attention, never attempts scientific description. Hunter, whose histories of Hallamshire and of the Deanery of Doncaster are perfect as records of the descent of families and property, is not at home in architectural detail; and even Whitaker, who, with Hunter, was quite aware of the interest which attaches to earthworks, gives plans of but few of them, and says very little about the details of the castles. To come down to the latest period, even Raine, Hodgson, and Eyton, in their histories of Durham, Northumberland, and Salop, so copious and so accurate in all matters of record, pass by with but short notice the various earthworks and castles in which those counties are so rich, and the details of which would be so valuable. We look in vain in the pages of these writers for any general conclusions as to the age, style, and points of resemblance or difference between these works, points which certainly fall within the province of the topographer. The great work of King, the “Munimenta Antiqua,” three-quarters of a century or more older than most of the above, and full of absurd theories, misplaced learning, and fanciful and incorrect descriptions, recognises the importance of plans and details, and although those given with great show of accuracy are often very incorrect, they are worth a good deal, and with all its absurdities the book is on the whole valuable. The “Vetusta Monumenta,” a work of the same school and period, includes a few castles, and gives plans and sections of two, the Tower and Hedingham, correctly, and in great detail. Unfortunately, these large and needlessly expensive plates are accompanied by no proper descriptions. The voluminous works of the industrious Britton include very few castles, but what there are, as Rochester, Kenilworth, and Castle Rising, are drawn and planned with extreme accuracy. The drawings of Grose and the brothers Buck serve to show the condition of many English castles a century ago, though the descriptions of Grose are poor, and his drawings are by no means clear. Buck’s perspective is very incorrect, but this allows of the bringing into view more of a building than can really be seen at once, which has its advantages.