The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 2 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authorsBeattie, William
History
The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 2 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authors
Beattie, William
Abbeys -- England; Castles -- England
Tewkesbury to quit Goldcliffe in 1445; but in the following year they
were permitted to return. In the twenty-ninth of the reign of Henry the
Sixth, Goldcliffe Priory was granted to the college at Eton, and to
Tewkesbury again. At the accession of Edward the Fourth, but seven years
later, it was restored to Eton college, in whose possession it has since
remained.[108]
<g>Caldicot.</g>--The castle of this name is said to have been erected by one
of the ancient Bohuns, earls of Hereford, hereditary
lords-high-constables of England,[109] for nearly two hundred years.
From them the castle descended to Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and upon
his accession to the throne as Henry the Fourth, it was invested in the
crown. The ivy-mantled walls enclose a large court, with three
entrances. The principal gateway is flanked by lofty square towers; and
on the east side are the remains of the hall, comprising a range of
windows, of large size and elegant workmanship. The style of masonry, as
shown in the construction of the walls, is excellent; the courses of
large and equal sized stones, are accurately squared and jointed; but
the whole construction has more the appearance of an ancient domestic
residence, than of a British stronghold--well suited for the
accommodation of a feudal baron and his retinue in times of peace, but
ill prepared to resist an enemy, or sustain a siege.
Yet there Tradition tells her tale
Of warrior-knights in glittering mail--
Of martial feat, and festive hall,
And banners waving from the wall;
When Cambria’s rival spears were bent
For martial joust and tournament;
While Beauty, from her lattice high,
Surveyed the scene with radiant eye--
And Cambria’s Chivalry in arms
Did faithful homage to her charms.
But <g>Caldicot</g>, how lonely now!
The wreath has withered from thy brow;
The scene of song and martial deeds
Is now a wilderness of weeds!
Ah, such at last the homes shall be
Of England’s proudest Chivalry!
<g>Mathern</g> is remarkable as the burial-place of Theodoric or Teudrick, the
hermit king of Glamorgan, already mentioned.[110] His hermitage “among
the rocks of Tinterne,” to which he had retired for repose and
meditation in the evening of life, is supposed to have stood on the site
of the present abbey, which had thus, in the traditional records of the
people, a spot already consecrated by royal example, as a foundation for
those gorgeous altars by which it was subsequently distinguished.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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