Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 2 (of 2)Clark, George Thomas
History
Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 2 (of 2)
Clark, George Thomas
Architecture -- England; Architecture, Medieval; Military architecture
We have, then, to recapitulate, as the constituent parts of Hereford
Castle, an oblong space, with the river on one side, and high banks
and ditches on the other three. One end was cut off from the rest, and
had its proper ditch, more or less circular, and within it a conical
mound, with a table summit, and upon it a shell keep, with some kind of
central tower, probably an addition. At the base of the mound, within
its ditch, was a second wall, many sided in plan.
The lower ward, no doubt, had its walls along the summit of the
earthworks, and these probably were low, by reason of the height of
the bank and the depth of the ditch beyond. There was a gatehouse at
the land entrance at the north-west angle, and a water-gate at the
south-western, where also was the passage between the two wards. Very
likely there was a postern at the south-eastern angle, where is now a
footway.
There is a general resemblance, as regards the mound and bank, between
these arrangements and those at Wallingford, Wareham, and Tamworth, and
with what is related of the castle of Worcester.
HERTFORD CASTLE.
The Castle of Hertford not only is of high antiquity, but the date
of its foundation is on record. The Saxon Chronicle relates that in
the year 913, Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, threw up two Burhs
at Hertford, one at Martinmas, on the north bank of the river, and,
later on, one on the south bank, between three of the rivers which
here unite. The former of these works has long been laid low, and
no trace of it is visible, but the latter has been preserved by its
incorporation into the later castle. The mound, standing on the edge
of the river Lea, is indeed shorn of its original dimensions, but it
remains, and attached to it is the base court with its exterior ditch,
once of great breadth and depth, the invariable accompaniment of the
mound, and with it constituting the Burh.
[Illustration: Hertford]
Edward’s Burhs may have been preceded by an earlier earthwork, for
Hertford is reputed to stand on the site of a chief town of the
Trinobantes, the British occupants of the district north of this
part of the Thames. The Britons, however, if they here established a
stronghold, are more likely to have placed it upon one of the adjacent
heights, where are several excellent positions for an entrenchment.
Probably the existence of a British settlement in a neighbourhood so
well protected by its watercourses attracted the invading settlers, for
here the East Saxon kings are said to have had a residence, and to this
place Archbishop Theodore, consecrated in 668, convened a synod of the
national Church in 673.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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