From the foregoing pages it is hoped that some slight knowledge may be obtained; but the dry bones of the facts recorded must be clothed by the imagination of the reader with their covering of flesh. “The cloud-capp’d towers” of feudalism may, perhaps to his ear, resound with the clash of armour; “the gorgeous palaces” of the Renaissance may echo with the melodious notes of the Elizabethan singers or the stately cadence of a later age. Through the cross-bars of the portcullis his eye must detect the glint of steel and the glow of heraldry; across the latticed panes of the mullioned window he must watch for the passing of ruff, and cloak, and slashed hose; behind the glazed sashes he must picture the flowing wig, the patches, and the skirted coat. As the panorama of architecture unfolds itself before him he must people it with the forms of the savage Front-de-Bœuf, the valiant Hotspur, the courtly Sidney, glorious John, sententious Shandy, and the rest of the great band of immortals; and from the “worm-eaten holds of ragged stone,” upon which his eye has lingered, he must for himself construct the homes that once they were. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CASTLES AND HOUSES. The list includes those mentioned in the text, together with a few others of note. It is not always possible to date houses accurately; a margin of a few years must usually be allowed. Where dates are given they either appear on the houses, or can be approximately ascertained. The Index to Illustrations shows which buildings are illustrated or referred to. WILLIAM I.--1066–1087. The White Tower, Tower of London WILLIAM II.--1087–1100. Colchester Castle, Essex Westminster Hall, early parts HENRY I.--1100–1135. Rochester Castle, Kent, 1130 (_cir._) Castle Hedingham, Essex, 1130 (_cir._) Norham Castle, Northumberland Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, parts STEPHEN--1135–1154. Many castles subsequently destroyed HENRY II.--1154–1189. Dover Castle, Kent Guildford Castle, Surrey Jew’s House, Lincoln Castle Rising, Norfolk Norham Castle, Northumberland, parts Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, keep Peak Castle, Derbyshire, keep, 1176 Oakham Castle, Rutland, 1180 (_cir._) RICHARD I.--1189–1199. Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, early parts Chacombe Priory, Northamptonshire, window JOHN--1199–1216. Conisborough Castle, Yorkshire HENRY III.--1216–1272. Stokesay, Shropshire, parts Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, parts Prebendal House, Nassington, Northamptonshire Many additions and repairs to royal houses EDWARD I.--1272–1397.