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 walls at the base are 9 feet thick,
and about 7 feet at the summit. The building is of three stages, a
basement, at the ground level, 12 feet high; a first floor, 25 feet;
and a second floor rather more, perhaps 30 feet. The floors were of
timber. The first floor seems to have rested on a ledge, the upper and
the flat roof upon joists, those of the lower lying east and west;
those of the upper, north and south. The joist holes in the north wall
have been closed by early work, and above is a slight set-off or shelf
in the wall, as though the level of the floor had been altered. In the
west wall, also, new joist holes, smaller, have been cut above the old
ones.
The original roof was very steep, having two slopes and a central
gutter, as at Porchester, and the reverse of the arrangement at Ludlow,
where the ridge was central, and the two gutters lateral. The weather
table remains perfect in the north wall, with a hole 2 feet high by 1
foot broad, to carry the beam which supported the gutter and the feet
of the rafters. The table is seen continued horizontally upon the west
wall, where it was laid as a flashing to cover the upper edge of the
tiling. The walls were brought up to a level line all round, so as to
conceal the roof. This arrangement, as at Ludlow, Richmond, Porchester,
and the gatehouse of Sherborne, shows that there was no original
intention of using the roof as a platform for mangonels and such
like heavy machines. The flat roof, of lead, was apparently of later
introduction. No traces remain of any mural staircase in the north or
west wall, nor of any mural passages.
The basement was, probably, a dark store or cellar, reached only by a
trap in the floor above. The entrance seems to have been on the first
floor in the west wall, in which also are traces of a loop or small
window. The north wall remains perfect. It was most exposed, and is
without openings of any kind. In what remains of the south wall is one
jamb of an original fireplace, of which is seen the sloping back, and
part of a lateral nook and Norman abacus above it. The flanking shaft
is gone. In the part of the east wall still remaining is the northern
half of a small full-centred window, deeply splayed inwardly. The east
and south walls above the first floor are gone. In the west wall, upper
floor, is seen the north jamb of a small full-centred window set in a
bold splay of hourglass section. North of it, in the same wall, is a
small recess, probably for a lamp, and which seems to have been round
headed. There, probably, was a fireplace in the south wall.
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