Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 1 (of 2)Clark, George Thomas
History
Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 1 (of 2)
Clark, George Thomas
Architecture -- England; Architecture, Medieval; Military architecture
The history of Arundel has been written by Dallaway in his Western
Sussex, and by Tierney in a specific work. Whatever may be the value
of either production for the history and descent of the lordship,
neither gives a full plan of the earthworks of the castle, nor enters
at all scientifically into its details from either the military or
architectural point of view. Unfortunately, the proximity of the
castle to Brighton and some lesser watering-places has caused the
exclusion of visitors, save under restrictions so very narrow that it
is impracticable to examine the works at all in detail. It appears
from Tierney’s history that the castle is protected towards the north
or open country by a double line of defence, composed of a bank and
ditch, of which the outer includes the present as well as the older
park, and is, in places, at least two miles from the castle. The inner
line is of much smaller extent, but the two seem intended to protect
the town and the port, as well as the site of the castle, and to be
rather lines of defence than the remains of a camp, whether British
or English. Within both of these, and probably of later date, are the
earthworks upon a part of which the Norman castle was founded. These
resemble the works common to England with Normandy, and may probably be
attributed to the Northern invaders in the eighth or ninth centuries.
The high ground is occupied by an oblong inclosure, of which more or
less of the original earthbank remains, and outside of which to the
south and east was the natural steep, and to the west a natural hollow,
deepened and extended round the north front by art. The inclosure is
in length 317 yards, and in breadth 83 yards, and includes about 5½
acres. Near the centre of the western side, and forming a part of the
_enceinte_, is a large circular mound, almost wholly artificial, having
its proper ditch, which on the outer face is also the ditch of the
general _enceinte_. The mound is about 90 feet diameter at its table
summit, and about 230 feet at its base. As the ground rises towards the
north, the height is on that side about 50 feet, and on the opposite
side about 70 feet from the bottom of the ditch. The Windsor mound is
about the same height, but rather larger, being 125 feet across, at its
summit. By its projection this work materially narrows the main area,
and with the addition of a short cross-ditch, bank, and wall, now gone,
divided it into an upper or northern and lower or southern ward, in the
latter of which are the domestic buildings. These two wards were the
parts of the earlier fortification taken possession of by the builder
of the Norman castle, but there is also an inclosure opposite to the
mound, and outside the ditch, which runs up to a narrow end towards the
north-west. Whether this was fortified with masonry is uncertain, but
it certainly was a part of the earlier fortress, and shows its extent
and importance. The ditches everywhere being in the chalk, and at a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account