David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross, two Scottish architects, toured Scotland by train and on bicycles to record every extant piece of castellated architecture they could find. The result was a mammoth five volume work, The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, published between 1887 and 1892. It has become the Scottish Castlemanianc's bible, to which all other books on the subject refer.

Their 60 page introduction to Volume 1, is a comprehensive treatise on the development of castles in France and England, and how it influenced Scottish design, before the book proceeded in vast detail to describe Scottish castles individually and their development. I will tag on to the end of this introduction, the introductions to various periods of Scottish Castle development, omitting the vast bulk of the sections on individual castles given as examples.

It's a great piece of writing on the development of castles in Scotland, England and France which all Castle 'anoraks' or students should enjoy and learn from.

Any time references relate to the book being published in 1887-1892.

Anyone wishing to purchase the books can do so via Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/090182418...5Fencoding=UTF8

 

or Amazon uk at

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...9599692-4846801

 

 

.......Oh and by the way, this is down to Andrew and his comment about OCR!

 

THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC

 

ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND

 

FROM THE TWELFTH TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

 

INTRODUCTION.

 

THE object of this treatise is to endeavour to trace the historical sequence of the various phases of Architecture which have prevailed in the old castles and houses of Scotland, and to try to define and explain the different styles of building adopted at different periods from the twelfth century till the revival of classic architecture in modern times. The various styles of our ecclesiastical architecture have been well ascertained, and their distinctive features defined, and every one knows how much additional interest is given to the study of our old churches by a knowledge of the history of their architecture. On visiting an ancient church, one not only admires its beauties, but naturally and at once assigns it to one or other of the Gothic periods, and marks wherein its details resemble or differ from those of other contemporary examples. An infinite variety of interest is thus imported into every portion of the building, into every ornament and every moulding.

 

Although many excellent and well-known illustrations of our baronial and domestic architecture have been published, there is no systematic treatise on their architectural history. It is scarcely even recognised that the architecture of our castles and houses has a definite historical sequence. The interest of these buildings would therefore be very largely increased if their various styles and epochs, with the characteristics of each, can be distinctly defined. One would then know what points to specially examine, and what to look for, in order to be able to place each building, or portion of a building, in its appropriate niche, and to compare the various examples with each other, and with the corresponding buildings of other countries. Besides, nothing can be more interesting and instructive than to follow the records of our national history contained in these old castles, and to note the manners and customs of our ancestors at different epochs as reflected in them.

 

The architectural history of Scotland does not date from a very remote period. The Roman occupation of the country was partial and of short duration, and left behind few or no buildings which might serve as models for the native inhabitants. Nor had the inhabitants been long enough under Roman rule to have acquired the art of imitating Roman skill and workmanship.

 

It was not till the returning tide of civilisation had reached Scotland from the South, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, bringing with it the revived arts, especially that of Architecture, that we find any traces of the building art in this country. It is therefore desirable, before entering on the consideration of Scotch Architecture, to trace shortly the rise and progress of the castellated and domestic architecture of the middle ages in the places of its birth, and thereafter to mark the steps by which it was gradually introduced from other countries into Scotland.

 

In the following summary the authors have freely availed themselves of the interesting works of Viollet-le-Duc and De Caumont on the Architecture of France, and of the equally interesting and very careful and comprehensive volumes of

G. T. Clark and John Henry Parker on the Castles and Domestic Architecture of England.

 

We will therefore first consider shortly the rise and progress of the medieval civil and military architecture of France and England.

 

When the Romans retired from Gaul, during the fourth and fifth centuries, they left in that country many structures indicative of their capacity as builders and engineers, as well as numerous examples of their style of decorative architecture. The remains of the amphitheatres, aqueducts, gateways, and other works still existing in the centre and south of France, serve to show the size and extent of the edifices erected by the Romans in this part of their dominions. Although the number of the Roman buildings still surviving is comparatively small, there can be no doubt that at the time of the various invasions of the Goths and Franks the country was to a large extent covered with towns, villages, country houses, and castles, all built on the Roman model. Up to the tenth century the old Roman buildings continued in many cases to be occupied, while others were built in imitation of them, although in certain districts modifications were introduced by the Franks and other foreign invaders. As the Romans gradually withdrew their troops, they built several chains of castles and forts for the defence of the provinces they still retained. These are supposed to have served as models for the earliest of the medieval towers. Although the northern races who invaded France used earthen mounds, and ditches with wooden superstructures, as their defensive works, still the Roman standing camp, with its ditch and mound, probably also contributed to the design of the earthworks which formed the principal defences of the earlier fortresses of the middle ages.

 

In the south of Gaul the Visigoths were the successors of the Romans. They became amalgamated with the inhabitants, and continued much of the civilisation they had acquired from them. Their country houses were built after the form of the Roman villae. These comprised an outer court, or villa rustica, containing detached buildings for storing corn and other purposes connected with agriculture, and houses for the farm-servants, artificers, and others ; while the inner court formed the villa urbana, and was the residence of the proprietor and his family. This arrangement was afterwards followed in the mediaeval castles, with their outer and inner wards.

 

The influence of the Roman forms of plans and design may also be traced in many other directions. A striking example of this is the mediaeval monastery, which was, in general plan, a direct imitation of a Roman house. The cloister with its pillars surrounding an open court, having apartments opening off it, is clearly derived from the Roman peristyle of the town house, and the villa urbana of the country mansion -the part of the house reserved for private use. The outer court, with its stables, granaries, etc., corresponds with the villa rustica of the Roman country house. The tablina becomes the chapter-house. The kitchen and refectory are in both cases situated on the outer side of the court. The style of workmanship used in the masonry of buildings erected up to the eleventh century was also of Roman origin. The town of Carcassonne in Languedoc still retains its Roman walls and towers, and traces of Roman works utilised and incorporated in mediaeval structures are to be found in the walls of Arles and many other localities in the southern parts of Gaul, where the Roman influence was strongest. In the northern parts of Gaul the destruction of Roman buildings was more complete, owing to the devastation caused by the incessant invasions of the Norsemen.

 

Under the Carlovingians a similar form of plan for house-building to that of the South, above referred to. was adopted throughout other parts of the Empire, but with modifications in different localities. A large outer court contained all the buildings connected with the cultivation of the soil, and the workshops of the necessary tradesmen ; and where a Frankish chief resided there arose in the midst of the court a hall, set upon a mound, which formed the house of the chief and his family. The whole "villa" or castle was enclosed with a ditch and palisade for defence. These establishments were generally on the plain, for the convenience of agricultural pursuits, in which case the hall was set for security on the top of an artificial mound or motte, thrown up from the ditch which was dug around it. In that situation the hall and other erections were generally of wood. Such fortifications were common to the Northmen, both on the Continent and in England. Numerous examples of castles with defences composed of earthen mounds and ditches are illustrated by M. de Caumont in France, and Mr. Clark in England. These were provided with wooden palisades, and the chief s hall was also built in wood. The wooden erections have now of course disappeared, but the enclosing ditches and mounds and the central motte may still be traced.

 

The wooden castle on the top of the motte, with the steps leading up to it, may be seen depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry,. and other medieval designs.

 

In the hilly parts of the country the castles were naturally situated on a height, or the edge of a cliff, and the shape of the enceinte was necessarily regulated by the configuration of the ground, its slopes or precipices being made available for defence. The hall or keep was set either on the most elevated point, or so placed as to defend the weakest places. In mountainous districts, where stone abounded, it naturally soon came to replace wood as the building material. The space afforded by special sites was frequently not large enough to contain all the dependencies. In such cases the various out-buildings were erected at the base of the hill or escarpment, and were included within an outer enclosing wall, or palisade and ditch, thus forming a second court or basse-cour. The keep was usually so placed as to command and defend these out-buildings.

 

It was soon found that the keep in the centre of the court was not conveniently situated for defence, and that it was better placed next the outer wall, so as to allow the garrison to make sorties and take the enemy by surprise, and also to permit the garrison in case of need to escape. We find the keep thus placed from the eleventh century. This was also the case in the fortresses composed of earthworks, the motte being usually placed on one of the lines of the enclosing mounds.

 

The Normans adopted a similar arrangement of their defences from the eleventh century. Till nearly the middle of that century the fortresses of Normandy consisted entirely of earthworks, with wooden palisades and buildings, but from that date square towers or keeps began to be built. The Normans devoted their attention chiefly to making these keeps of great strength, while the outworks were of comparatively small importance, and did not include the extensive courtyards common in other parts of Frankia. One reason for this may have been that the Normans worked together, and placed their castles so as to occupy strategic points, and protect one another and the country round about them. The Frank castles, on the other hand, were isolated and independent, each being constructed for the defence of the lord and his retainers, with their families and possessions. The latter castles were therefore necessarily of great extent, and the outer works are of first importance.

 

The first idea of the Norman keep was probably a wooden block-house for the protection of valuables, booty, etc., defended with ditches or earthworks. When the Normans had more thoroughly established themselves in the country, they began to build their castles of stone, and by the time of the Conquest of England the north of France was well supplied with castles.. some consisting of the earthworks above referred to, and others of quadrangular stone-built keeps of the usual well-known Norman type.

 

In England the Roman influence was much less marked than in Gaul, nearly all the Roman buildings having been destroyed by the Danes in their frequent invasions. A few buildings, however, such as Porchester Castle and Pevensey, still remain, and have been incorporated by the Normans in their castles. The fortresses of the inhabitants up to the eleventh century consisted of earthen mounds and ditches defended by wooden palisades, such as we have seen were common at the same period in the north of France. As in the latter, the hall or castle of the chief was built of wood, and stood on the top of the motte or earthen mound thrown up from the excavation of the ditch surrounding it. It was approached by a straight wooden stair up the slope of the mound, and protected by a drawbridge. There are hardly any traces of building in stone and lime before the Norman Conquest. After that date the erection of Norman keeps became common, but the old wooden towers and other defences were in many cases long retained.

 

Of Norman keeps there are abundant examples remaining both in Northern France and England. After the Conquest, England was covered with castles of this type, such as Dover, Rocliester, Newcastle, the Tower of London, etc. These Norman keeps are always square or rectangular in plan. They have generally flat pilasters on the exterior, the angle pilasters being carried up above the parapet in the form of a square or round turret at each corner. The walls terminate in a crenelated parapet about 2 feet thick and 5 feet high, carried up flush with the face of the wall, and concealing the roof. The roof is of the simple coupled form, with a gable at each end, but the ridge does not rise above the parapet. There are no projecting corbels with machicolations between, the only machicolations used being long openings in the floors. The merlons are broad and the embrasures narrow. The larger keeps have the entrance protected by a forework. This is a building the full width of the keep, and attached to one end of it. It contains a straight stair leading to the true entrance of the keep, which is on the first or second floor. The entrance to the forework is protected by strong oak doors, and bars running into the wall, and sometimes with a portcullis. A tower rises above the doorway, from which missiles may be thrown on an enemy attempting to ascend the straight stair. There are also sometimes intermediate doors with towers above them. and at the top of the stair a vestibule, well defended, and sometimes approached by a moveable bridge. In the upper floors of the forework was occasionally placed the chapel, and the prisons were often under the stair.

 

The interior of the keep was very simple in its general arrangements. The door on the first or second floor leads into the chief room or hall, where all the garrison lived and slept. From the hall a stair conducts down to the ground floor, which contained the stores, and another stair leads to the upper floors and battlements. The upper floor is generally appropriated as the owner's private apartment or bedroom. Many of the older keeps have been raised a story in Norman times to obtain additional accommodation, and a flat leaden roof introduced, which was useful for working military engines. This was managed without heightening the building, by utilising the space formerly occupied by the gabled roof.

 

The French keeps are similar in general idea, but varied in details. In some of them there is a large open top story, where all the garrison might assemble for the defence of the parapets. The Norman keeps have always walls of great thickness, and trust to the passive resistance they thus offer to attack. The idea of defending the

 

 

FIG. 1.-Keep of Chateau d'Arques from the North-East.

 

keep by flanking towers has not yet been recognised. The ground floor is sometimes vaulted, and the upper floors are invariably of wood. There are usually only small loops or air-holes on the ground floor, and the windows in the upper floors are small externally, although with wide bays internally, generally containing stone seats. In large halls there is sometimes an upper passage in the thickness of the wall, with a row of windows in the outside wall, and arches in the inner wall next the hall, like the triforium. arcade of a church. The interior stairs are spiral, and carried up in the thickness of the walls, usually at the angles. There are also frequently small chambers constructed in the thickness of the walls, used as bedrooms, garde-robes, etc. These generally enter from the ingoings of windows. The well is frequently under one of the walls, and a circular opening is carried up to the first floor, and sometimes to all the floors, for the supply of water.

 

Large keeps, like Rochester, are divided by a wall, which has often wide-arched openings on the principal floor so as to form one large hall, while the upper and lower floors are divided into two apartments with doors between. The passages and stairs are generally arranged so as to puzzle a stranger, and so that no one can go out or in without passing through the hall and being seen. Secret passages and exits are provided

 

 

 

FiG. 2.-Chateau d'Arques. Exterior, showing Ditch.

 

for escape, and there are frequently subterranean passages and stairs cut in the rock beneath the castles, giving exit to the ditches and outworks.

 

These keeps are generally provided with fireplaces, and there is usually an oratory or chapel. The kitchen is frequently not observable, but is usually on the level of the hall, or even in the upper floors.

 

The following examples of Norman keeps in France and England will explain and illustrate the above general descriptions:

 

The Castle of Arques (Fig. 1), in the north of France, comprises one of

the earliest keeps on record, having been built by William of Arques, uncle of the Conqueror, in 1039-43. The entrance is by a forework (at the right hand in the view), the stair commencing at the north-west angle, passing through a buttress, and then up the west side, where it was strongly

 

 

FIG. 3.-Chateau de Beaugencey.

 

defended. The buttresses in this instance projects much more than usual. The interior is divided by a central wall, and M. Viollet-le-Duc shows how this was made available in the defence of the keep.

 

The general view (Fig. 2) shows the immense ditch, about 60 feet deep,

 

 

cut in the chalk rock, which surrounded the enceinte, and the crest of which was fortified with a strong palisade. The dotted lines indicate the probable finish of the top of the keep, and the ruins of the bridge which crossed the ditch from the postern are also visible. There are numerous sub-ways cut in the chalk rock under the wall of the enceinte, some of which are now visible from the exterior. These were intended to counteract the mining operations of the besiegers. It will be observed that the keep is so placed as to touch the wall of the enceinte.

 

Beaugency (Fig. 3), on the Loire, is another French keep of great size and height, belonging to the eleventh century. The narrow projecting buttresses are unusual features, but somewhat resemble those of Arques. The mullioned windows, which are large compared to the Norman openings, are evidently insertions of the sixteenth century. The entrance door is on the first floor, without any forework.

 

The keep of the ancient royal castle of Loches (Indre et Loire) is large and imposing.

 

The pilasters on the faces (Fig. 5) are of a form unusual in castles, but more frequent in Ecclesiastical Architecture. The forework is also of peculiar form, being here developed so as to form a building of the L-plan (Fig. 4), so often adopted in later castles.

 

 

Fig 4.-Loches Keep. Plan of Basement

 

There has been an external flight of steps up to the door of the forework, which was on the first-floor level. The forework itself forms a vestibule, with a staircase to the second or principal floor running round the walls oil three sides, the steps being partly overhung. There was also a door to the first floor from the vestibule. The basement floor of

 

 

 

Fig 5 Loches Castle. Keep and Wall of Enceinte.

 

the vestibule was probably a prison, and the chapel was situated above the staircase.

 

The walls surrounding this castle are of great extent, and are a fine illustration of the style of the thirteenth century, and will be referred to further on.

 

A greater number of Roman buildings seem to have survived the ravages of the Norsemen in England than in Northern Gaul. At Porchester and Pevensey the old Roman walls and towers, with the distinctive small dressed blocks of stone bound together with bands of thin tiles, still remain. These old walls, built in Roman times, have since

 

 

FiG. 6-Colchester Castle. Exterior.

 

witnessed the innumerable descents of the Saxons, and the landing of the Normans under the Conqueror. They have played an important part in the wars between the Norman kings and their subjects; they have seen the sea retire for miles from their walls; and they still subsist, in all their solid strength, to attest the vigour and power of their originators. But in England, as in Northern Gaul, after the tenth century, the Roman manner of building was but little followed. Some examples. however. remain where Roman workmanship and materials have been closely imitated.

 

Colchester Castle, in Essex, for example (Fig. 6), has so great a resemblance to Roman work, that it was for long supposed to be a Roman building, and to have been erected as a shrine for some Pagan deity. There seems now. however. to be no question as to its being a Norman castle, built largely, like the priory adjoining, with bricks formed in imitation of the Roman pattern. The Norman entrance doorway, shown on the sketch, is a later addition; the original keep probably dates from the end of the eleventh century. The entrance door was then, no doubt, on the first floor, immediately over the inserted Norman doorway. The extent of the building and its lowness are very unusual Norman features, but these may have been suggested by some previous Roman work on the site. The exterior walls were eased with ashlar, which has been to a great extent stripped off, and thus the interior construction of the masonry becomes visible, showing courses of bricks or tiles binding the rubblework together.

 

 

FiG. 7-Colchester Castle. Interior.

 

The sketch of the interior of the keep (Fig. 7) gives a fine example of the " herring-bone" method of building with brick, derived from Roman times, and not uncommon in Norman brick-work, as at Guildford Castle and elsewhere.

 

 

The sketch of the keep of Newcastle (Fig. 8), although the building has been to some extent altered and restored, gives a good idea of the

 

 

Fig 8. Newcastle Keep.

 

appearance of a complete Norman keep with its forebuilding, armed with its several towers guarding the stair leading up to the main entrance on the upper floor.

 

 

FIG. 9 -Castle Hedingham.

 

Castle Hedingham, in Essex, is a fine and very perfect late Norman keep. The plan (Fig. 9) shows that it is almost square, and divided into two compartments by a central wall. The keep has the usual broadpilasters at the angles (Fig. 10), with a square sinking on the corners, and narrower pilasters in the centre of each face, all springing from a broad splayed plinth. The forebuilding is much destroyed, but its outline can still be traced, containing the stair to the main entrance on the first floor. This doorway has recessed shafts with good Norman caps and bases, and chevron mouldings round the arch. From this point a newel stair leads Up to the second floor, which contains the great hall, and down to the

 

 

FiG. 10-Castle Hedingham from the West.

 

basement, which, together with the first floor, contained the stores. The windows are all small externally, with chevron mouldings round the arches, but have wide square recesses internally, with full centred vaults. In the hall they are provided with stone seats in the recesses, and the wall arches are adorned with bold chevron ornaments. The hall is 38 feet long by 33 feet wide. We have here a fine example of the removal of the central wall so as to form one great hall on the principal floor. At Rochester this is effected by means of several arches, but at

Hedingham the whole of the wall on the principal floor is omitted, and the central wall above is supported on one grand arch which spans the whole width of the keep, or 33 feet. This arch is enriched with

 

 

Fig. 11. -Rochester Castle from the South-West.

 

Norman mouldings, and springs from bold caps and corbels in the side walls.

 

The hall is two stories in height, and has the usual gallery running round the upper floor, with arches in the inner wall to permit the hall to have the benefit of light from the windows. This is probably the finest hall of any Norman keep in England, and we regret that we are unable to give a view of it, all sketching being most strictly prohibited.

 

The Castle of Rochester (Fig. 11) is one of the noblest of the Norman keeps in England. Mr. Clark fixes the date of its erection in 1126.

 

It has the usual pilasters at the angles and on the face of the walls, the former carried up as turrets above the roof. The windows are small, and enriched with Norman ornament. The forework is much destroyed, but shows how the entrance was planned and defended. The stair (Fig. 12) commences on the west face, and has a landing at the northwest angle, where there are the remains of the arch forming the first door, over which there was a tower.

 

 

FIG. 12-Rochester Castle. Plan of Keep.

 

The stair then continues along the north front till it reaches the level of the first floor. There the entrance to the vestibule was defended by a moveable bridge, with a pit beneath. The staircase was roofed in, and the passage over the drawbridge was defended by the outer wall, which was carried over the pit on an arch. The vestibule forms an outer post of defence before the entrance to the keep itself is reached. The plan shows the building divided by a wall near the centre. The well is under the centre of this wall, and from it a circular tube in the masonry

 

 

FiG. 13- Rochester Castle. Interior of Keep.

 

is carried up to the various floors for the supply of water. The ground floor, and probably the first floor, were used as stores. From the main entrance a newel stair in the north-east angle leads to the upper floors.

 

The view of the interior (Fig. 13) is taken at the level of the second, or principal floor, where the central wall is pierced with four arches, so that the whole might form one large hall. It appears, however, to have been divided by a lower arcade inserted between the pillars. Over the lower windows of this floor is a second tier of windows, between which and the arches in the inner wall a gallery runs round the building. The windows of the upper and lower floors are also seen. There are fireplaces on the principal floor, the chimneys from which are carried through the wall, and find vent in the angles of the outer buttresses. None of the floors are vaulted; the holes in the walls show where the wooden beams rested. The vestibule is carried up as a tower, and contains the chapel on the upper floor, and two tiers of prisons beneath the vestibule. The south-cast angle was undermined in the siege by King John, and rebuilt in a round form. Near this point there was a door giving access to the battlements of the enceinte by a drawbridge from the keep.

 

Dover Castle (Fig. 14) contains a very large and perfect keep of the reign of Henry II.

 

 

FiG. 14. -Dover Castle from the North-West.

 

The view shows the usual external characteristics of the Norman keep. On the left of the keep are seen the three towers of the forework, which here is very perfect, and leads up to the main floor of the building, which is on the second story. Surrounding the keep are the walls and towers of the inner or Norman ward, and the whole enceinte is enclosed with the lofty walls of the thirteenth century. These

 

 

Fig 15 Mont du Chevalier, Cannes. Keep tower from the North-West

 

are now shorn of their battlements, for which modern works are substituted. To the right is a picturesque group of buildingsof later date (fourteenth century), called the "Constable's Gateway" with its drawbridge, which formed the principal entrance to the castle.

 

The enceinte is surrounded on this. the most exposed side, with a wide and deep ditch. The round tower rising in the centre of the ditch was an outwork, dominating the higher ground to the north-west, and communicating with the north-west angle of the enceinte by means of a covered way, and also with a spur work erected by Hubert de Burgh in 1216 for the protection of this weak point in the defences, and now converted into a modern ravelin.

 

From the above covered way, and in various other places, tunnels are cut through the chalk rock to assist in the defences, as at Arques.

 

From an early period square towers, somewhat similar to the Norman keeps, were in use on the coast of the Mediterranean. Many of them still exist in the towns along the Riviera, as at Cannes, Antibes, and many other places. These are built with solid masonry, carefully dressed on the joints, but left rough on the face, after the Roman manner of construction. The tower of the Mont du Chevalier, at Cannes, is a good example. It is built on a detached and rocky promontory jutting out into the bay, and was surrounded with a strong wall enclosing a courtyard, which contained a chapel and other buildings.

 

 

FIG. 16-Mont du Chevalier, Cannes.

 

The plans and view (Figs. 15, 16) explain its design. The basement was vaulted, and had no windows, the only access to it being from a trap-door in the floor above. The entrance to the tower was on the first floor, and was reached by a wooden stair, the projecting step for receiving the top of which still remains. From this level a stone stair, corbelled out from the interior of the wall, and running round the sides of the apartments, led to the upper floors. The roof was probably flat, and had a parapet with crenelations, which was only destroyed some years ago when the tower was struck by lightning.

 

The openings for light are small and narrow longitudinal slits in the masonry, without splay or ornament, and they have no internal bay, but are rnere oblong holes passing through the walls.

 

This tower was built in the twelfth century.

 

The design of these southern towers was probably derived from that of similar Roman buildings, just as the northern keeps of the Normans may be another descendant from the same original. It will be afterwards pointed out how the same simple form continued for several centuries to be the ordinary plan of castles and houses in Scotland. It would thus appear that in all places, and at all times, the simple square tower seems to have been adopted as the most natural form in which to build a tower of defence.

 

Besides these Rectangular Keeps the Normans erected another kind of stronghold, called the Shell Keep. For several centuries before the Norman Conquest (as already mentioned) the castles of Northern Gaul and England consisted of earthworks with ditches and palisades, the buildings within these strongholds, like all the domestic buildings of the Saxons and Norsemen, generally being of wood.

 

A large number of these fortresses existed and were occupied at the time of the Conquest.

 

They were generally well situated for defence, and, like the early establishments of the Roman Gauls above described, they comprised an extensive enceinte, within which was a lofty mound or motte, with its ditch, having the chiefs house built with wood on the top. It now (eleventh century) became the fashion with the Normans to substitute stone for wood in their castles, and, finding that a solid square keep could not safely be erected on the mottes of forced earth, they built a wall round the top of the mound and placed their dwellings as lean-to's against the interior of this wall, leaving a courtyard in the centre. These Shell Keeps are polygonal or curved in form to suit the ground.

 

As a rule, the Shell Keeps are always on an old mound, natural or artificial, while the Rectangular Keeps are on new sites without mounds, and the two forms of keep rarely occur together.

 

The Shell Keep, like the Rectangular Keep, is generally situated on the enceinte, and has its own ditch and drawbridge, and a steep flight of steps leading up the mound to the door.

 

Of the Shell Keep, the Castle of Gisors, near Vernon, in the north of France, may be taken as an illustration. It has the lofty artificial mound or motte situated in the centre of a large enceinte surrounded with lofty walls, the fine gateways of which still exist. On the top of the motte is the shell (Fig. 17) or wall of polygonal form, with flat pilasters on the angles. The entrance door is seen on the left, a plain archway, to which a straight flight of steps led up from the level ground below, where there was, no doubt, a drawbridge over a ditch which surrounded the motte, but is now filled up. There is a small keep or tower opposite the entrance, and the remains of a Norman chapel with circular apse against the wall of the shell.

 

 

Fig. 17-Gisors Castle. Motte and Keep.

 

The other buildings would be erected round the wall on the various sides. This keep was probably built in the latter half of the twelfth century.

 

The great tower of Windsor Castle (now rebuilt) gives an idea of the effect of a great shell keep raised on a lofty mound. Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, Durham Castle, and numerous other shell keeps, are fully described by Mr. Clark in his work on the Castles of England.

 

Norman keeps had always one or more castle garths or courtyards attached to them, enclosed with a curtain wall connecting with the keep, but not generally giving access to it from the wall battlements. Sometimes, as at Rochester, the keep is placed near the wall of the enceinte, but not touching it, so that it may either be joined to it by means of a moveable bridge, or separated as required. There were square flanking towers at the corners of the enceinte, and at intervals along the curtains. These had usually wooden floors and stairs. The ditches are large and deep, and the countersearp is protected by a palisade, as at Arques. The gateways are not important, and there does not appear to have been any outer barbican protecting them.

 

The enclosing walls, like the keeps, had no machicolated parapets, but it is probable that they were armed in some cases with projecting wooden hoards or breteches, such as we shall see were so prominently used in the succeeding styles.

 

These keeps must certainly not have been very comfortable or luxurious places of residence, and as the Norman nobles became more settled in their possessions, they gradually began to build themselves more comfortable dwellings in the inner courtyard, reserving the keep as a place of last retreat in case of siege. The principal building in the inner court was the hall, with its appendages. The hall was a large building of stone or wood. It was either on the ground floor, or placed above a half-sunk story. In some of the larger examples the roof was supported either with one row of stone or wooden pillars down the centre, or with two rows of pillars, dividing the building into a central nave and side aisles like a church. Of this class we have still a fine example at Oakham, in Rutlandshire. (See Parker.) There was also erected in the court a solar or lord's room, generally over a cellar. The kitchen seems to have been originally a temporary wooden erection left open above. The buttery, pantry, etc., were also in use, but their position is not quite distinct; they were, however, probably near the entrance to the hall. It should be kept in mind that these were all detached erections, and that the offices, lodgings for soldiers, guests, etc. were usually temporary wooden structures, put up as they were required, and as speedily removed. In the outer court were situated a chapel for the garrison, barracks for the men, stables and sheds for horses and castles etc. The halls were sometimes defended with thick walls, crenelated parapets, and buttresses with projecting bartizans.

 

In towns the houses were almost universally of wood, and thatched, and only one story high. In London this was the case previous to the great fire in Stephen's reign, when regulations were made as to building party walls of stone. Some houses, however, still exist built with stone, and two stories in height, such as the Jew's house at Lincoln, a house at Southampton, etc. In these cases the livingrooms were on the first floor, the ground floor being probably used for stores. Fireplaces are usual, and the flues seem to have been (as at Lincoln) in the side walls, not the gables. The iron-work of this period is of the florid description usual throughout the middle ages. One striking Peculiarity is that the external ashlar work of good buildingsappears to have been painted-the alternate stones of different colours, like a chess-board-and in order to carry this idea out the masonry was frequently plastered. This may perhaps have been a tradition from the Saxon times, when the wooden buildings then in use were undoubtedly painted externally.

 

In all the civil buildings of the period (twelfth century) there are abundance of characteristic Norman mouldings and enrichments, corresponding in style with the ecclesiastical edifices of the same date. The Norman style of castles continued till the close of the twelfth century. In that century considerable advancement had been made in the military art. During the Crusades the soldiers of the West had been taught many valuable lessons in the East, and in particular the use of improved military engines for the attack and defence of places. From about 1150 there were introduced powerful machines for throwing great stones, strong cats, or sheds on wheels, for defending the miners during their operations at the base of the walls, moveable towers for attacking the parapets of the curtains, etc.

 

It was then found that the angles of the square keeps were weak, and presented a tempting point for the attack of the miners while there were no flanking works to defend them. This led to the adoption of various modifications of the form of plan with the view of overcoming these defects. Of these modifications of plan we have a fine example at D’Etampes, between Paris and Orleans. This keep is built on plan (Fig. 18) in the form of a quatrefoil. The keeps of York and Warwick were also of that form.

 

 

Fig. 18.-Chateau D'Etampes Plan.

 

D’Etampes belongs to the latter half of the twelfth century. The details of the caps and bases of the columns of the upper story are of that date. Here the entrance (Fig. 19) (now destroyed, but restored in the drawing) was on a landing half-way between the basement and the firstfloor level, and was approached by a drawbridge from the wall of the enceinte. The aperture over the door opens into a small room in the thickness of the wall, from which the drawbridge was worked. A stair in the thickness of the wall leads to the upper floor, and also descends to the basement, where the well is still to be seen. The upper floors were vaulted in a peculiar manner; the imposts of the arches still exist.

 

M. Viollet-le-Duc gives a very interesting restoration of this building, showing how the upper floors were utilised in connection with the defence of the keep.

 

The sketch indicates (to the left) the probable appearance of the keep in time of peace, and also (to the right) the -hoards- or overhanging c 9 wooden defences with which it was armed in time of siege.

 

The Chateau Gaillard, on the Seine, built by Richard I at the end of the twelfth century, is a splendid example of the castles of this transition period. It is situated on a lofty and detached promontory of chalk rock overlooking the course of the Seine, and defending the passage from the royal domain into Normandy.

 

The disposition of the various parts of the buildings and defences may still be distinctly traced, although the buildings are now much ruined. The plan of the Castle is given in M. Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary.

 

The keep (Fig. 20) is of a rounded form, but it has the wall strengthened with a sharp angle or keel jutted out opposite the weakest side. It is placed on the enceinte at the highest and most precipitous part of the cliff. The defensive works are peculiar, and consist of a parapet with large machicolations, an invention which M. Viollet-le-Duc attributes to King Richard. The parapet is set on the top of buttresses, which rise out of the sloping wall of the building, and the arches thrown across between these buttresses left a long opening or machicolis between them and the wall, from which missiles could be thrown on besiegers.

 

The enceinte of the inner bailey is of a remarkable form, consisting

 

 

Fig. 19.-Chateau d'Etampes

 

 

 

Fig 20.- Chateau Gaillard, Keep and Enceinte

 

of a series of curved projections or rounds, so designed that every part of the base could be seen and defended from several parts of the parapet. The whole was further strengthened by a deep ditch cut in the rock.

 

The outer ward had also a lofty wall and deep ditch, and was fortified with round towers.

 

A triangular outwork to the cast, also furnished with lofty round towers, guarded the approach from that quarter where the promontory joins the mainland.

 

In 1204 this castle stood a memorable siege by Philip Augustus, by whom it was taken from King John.

 

 

 

Fig. 21.-Chateau de Provins. Plan.

 

The Castle of Provins (south-cast of Paris) is another instance of the various forms which were tried in the twelfth century. It is an octagon on plan (Fig. 21), four of the sides being smaller than the others, and having semicircular projections upon them. These in the upper stories become detached circular turrets, connected in their upper part by a flying buttress with the main keep (Fig. 22).

 

The entrance to the keep was by a drawbridge from the wall of the enceinte. M. Viollet-le-Duc supposes that there were drawbridges from the projecting ledge at the doors on the four sides to the enceinte. A covered way for defence runs round the keep above the first-floor level, and above this were hoards projected out to a great distance. These, together with the angle turrets, enabled the garrison to attack the assailants on all sides and guard the keep in every direction.

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 22.-Chateau de Provins.

 

The existing upper story of the keep is modern, and the space within the enclosing wall or chemise was filled up by the English, when they took the place in the fifteenth century, in order to form a platform for their guns.

 

Of the transition period at the end of the twelfth century, England possesses one very fine example in Conisborough Castle, Yorkshire (Fig. 23).

 

This castle has been well illustrated and described by Mr. Clark. It stands on the top of a steep rocky promontory, which was originally a Saxon stronghold, with its great ditch and palisaded crest, and lofty motte crowned with a wooden castle. The present castle appears to have been built by Hamelin Plantagenet, who held the Earldom of Warren from 1163 to 1201. The keep is circular, but has six buttresses, half hexagons in form, projecting from it, and giving it at a distance very much the appearance of the older square keep of the Normans.

 

 

Fig. 23.-Conisborough Castle.

 

The keep is 66 feet in diameter, and measures 80 feet over the buttresses. The walls are 15 feet thick ' and 90 to 100 feet high. The entrance door is 20 feet above the ground, and the stairs to the upper floors wind round in the thickness of the walls. The basement floor is vaulted, and has a deep well in the centre, and an aperture in the vault above to enable the water to be drawn up. Neither the basement nor first floor have any loopholes for light; these must therefore have both been used as stores.

The hall is on the second floor, and the private room on the third floor. Above this there was also a room entering from the parapet walk for the garrison.

 

 

Fig. 24.-Conisborough Castle. Chapel.

 

The hall and private room have both fine chimneys, and the former has a window with full-centred recess and stone seats, such as are usual in Norman keeps, and which we shall find common in Scotch keeps to a very late period. Off the private room there is a beautiful little oratory built in the thickness of one of the buttresses. The style of ornamentation fixes distinctly the (late of the building towards the end of the twelfth century.

The buttresses are carried up as turrets above the parapet, and one of them is fitted up with an oven, so that the baking may have been (lone there, and the room in the roof may have been used as the kitchen. Another turret seems to have been designed for a dovecot, a mode of providing for the wants of the besieged which was also adopted in Scotch castles.

There is a large inner ward connected with the keep, in which the hall and other domestic apartments were situated. The keep was evidently not intended for a residence, but only as a place of last refuge in case of siege.

The above peculiar forms were ultimately superseded by Round keeps and towers, which were, for the same reason as the above varieties, introduced in place of square keeps by Philip Augustus; square towers being vulnerable at the angles, while no part of the circle was more exposed to the operations of the sapper than another. The round form was also more convenient for vaulting, which it was now found desirable to substitute for wooden floors, to render the building secure against fire. Along with the introduction of the round form of tower, the number of towers used for the defence of the enceinte was also greatly increased, and these towers were themselves frequently of great size and strength. By degrees the keep came to hold a secondary place in the defences, and chief reliance was placed on the towers and other subsidiary works, or rather the whole castle became a great keep, of which all the parts were artfully combined in such a manner as to be independent, while yet protecting one another. The law now came to be applied, that 11 that which defends should itself be defended." Each tower and separate part of the castle was self-contained, and possessed complete means of resistance, being provided with its own garrison and commander, with the necessary munitions and victuals, and free exit for assuming the offensive or for escape, while at the same time every tower was defended by its neighbours, and the curtains were flanked by the towers. The various towers were garrisoned in time of danger by the vassals, each tower being generally named after the vassal whose duty it was to defend it. The proprietor, shut up in his keep with his chosen band of followers, was thus independent of his vassals, in whom he could not always place full reliance. This system was in complete operation about the year 1200, and prevailed during the thirteenth century.

 

In the view of Loches, given above (Fig. 5), the walls of the enceinte, with their strengthening towers, are well illustrated. We have also here the keel or sharp angle on the face of the round towers, which was a favourite feature in France, but was never adopted in England. There is, however, an example at Bothwell Castle, in Scotland. The accompanying sketch of the gate and walls of Aigues Mortes (Fig. 25) shows the enceinte of a thirteenth-century town in wonderful preservation. This town was the port of France in the Mediterranean at the time of St. Louis and

 

 

Fig 25 Aignes Mortes, North Side.

 

it was from here that he sailed on his last crusade. The walls were begun by him, and finished by Philippe le Hardi, and they still remain almost as entire as the day they were completed in the thirteenth century.

In further illustration of the walls of enceinte of the thirteenth century, we give a general view of the Castle of St. Andre (Fig. 26), on the west side of the Rhone, immediately opposite Avignon.

 

 

FiG. 26.-Chateau de St. Andre Villeneuve lez Avignon.

 

This castle was built by Philip the Fair, at the end of the thirteenth century, for the defence of his territory on the right bank of the river. The general effect of these walls is similar to that of some of our English castles, such as Pevensey, and, as will be hereafter seen, has a striking resemblance to some of the early Scotch castles, notably that of Dunstaffnage. The round tower at the angle is only slightly projected beyond the face of the wall, being on a rocky platform like Dunstaffnage. It has not the bold relief which distinguishes the round towers of the period, as at Pevensey, when not limited by the nature of the site.

 

 

 

Fig 27Chateau de St Andre, Villeneuve lez Avingon. Exterior

 

The gateway (Figs. 27, 28) is a splendid specimen of this class of building of the fourteenth century, and we shall find as we proceed that similar gateways were not unknown in Scotland.

The Tour do Pont (Fig. 29), at Villeneuve, also erected by Philip the Fair in 1307, to guard the passage into his dominions from Provence by the Bridge of St. Benezet at Avignon, is given as a striking example of a simple fort of the fourteenth century, and as presenting a remarkable resemblance to many of the fourteenth and fifteenth century keeps of Scotland, such as Clackmannan.

During this century the internal domestic arrangements continued very much as in

 

 

FiG. 28-Chateau de St. Andre, Villeneuve lez Avignon. Gateway.

 

the later Norman castles, except that the lords began to isolate themselves and families from the garrison. Each castle contained, besides the donjon (or place of retreat in danger), the hall, where the master and his retainers all lived and had their meals together, with the kitchen, buttery, and pantry at one end. and the lord's chamber or “Solar“ at the other, generally on an upper floor above a cellar.

 

 

FIG. 29-Tour du Pont, Villeneuve.

 

The donjons were planned with great diversity of arrangements for secrecy ; they were not occupied in time of peace, and no strangers were admitted to them. Roche Guyon, between Paris and Rouen, is a good example of the care taken in the defence of the donjon. The habitable castle is built at the base of a lofty chalk cliff close to the Seine, and the donjon on the summit is approached by subterranean passages cut through the rock, which have stairs and pitfalls in them. From these the passage ascends to the rampart of the outer wall ; it crosses thence to the rampart of the inner defending wall or chemise of the donjon by a moveable wooden bridge, and from the chemise to the door of the donjon by another moveable bridge. The north side of this donjon being overlooked by higher ground, the walls, both of the donjon and the enceinte are thickened enormously, and run out to a sharp point or ‘bee’ opposite the

 

 

Fig 30 Chateau de Coucy, the keep from the courtyard.

 

dangerous place (like the angle of the keep of Chateau Gaillard).

Of this period is the great Chateau de Coucy (Fig. 30), the circular keep of which M. Viollet-le-Duc justly calls the grandest military structure in Europe. The aspect of this immense keep and the massive towers and walls, when seen from a distance, is most impressive. This castle was built by the Duke Enguerrand 111., 1293-30. The plan (from M. Violletle-Due's Dictionnaire) shows the great extent of the buildings, and the numerous halls and domestic buildings erected round the courtyard, as well as the great towers boldly projected at the angles for the defence of the

 

 

Fig. 31.-Chateau de Coucy. Plan.

 

curtains, everything being on the most gigantic scale (Fig. 31). Here the great round donjon does not profess to be a residence, it is simply a redoubt or last refuge in case of siege. This immense tower is about 95 feet in diameter, and 215 feet high, and the walls are 25 feet in thickness. It is surrounded by a separate ditch, with its chemise or enclosing wall, from which a moveable bridge leads to the entrance door. The interior contains one vast apartment or hall on each floor, and all were vaulted with groined arches, which had a circular aperture in the centre of the vault, through which materials of war might be hoisted to

the roof, where the defences were situated. There are only three stories in the height of the building, so that each floor is very lofty, the great hall being about 40 feet to the crown of the vault. The principal hall, which is on the second or highest floor, is of great size, with a raised gallery in the thickness of the wall all round, and could contain an assembled garrison of several hundred men. The openings in the walls are small till the parapet is reached. There we find a series of

large stone corbels for carrying the hoards, and doors in the parapet for access to them. Above these the wall is crowned with a carved and foliated cornice.

We have here a good opportunity of examining the hoards or wooden defences already several times referred to. These were universally adopted in the castles of the thirteenth century. They consist of wooden hoardings projected from the face of the parapet for the protection of the defenders, and in order to enable them the better to see and command the base of the curtains and towers. The boarding is carried by wooden beams run out from holes in the walls made to

receive them, and these are supported and strutted by stays resting on wooden putlogs or stone corbels. The Tower of Jeanne d'Arc, at Rouen (Fig. 32), has been restored in imitation of old examples, and is armed with hoards as of old.

It is curious to trace the history of the use of wood in the construction and defences of mediaeval castles. At first we find the whole of the erections in the castle, with its dependencies and enclosing palisade, constructed entirely of wood. The first change was the introduction of stone for the construction of the keep or chief stronghold, which was thus rendered secure against fire. Then it was found desirable to prevent the enclosing fortifications from being easily destroyed with fire, and a stone wall is substituted for the wooden palisade. Wooden defences are still adhered to, but they are now raised to the top of the walls in the form of hoards. At Aigues Mortes the apertures for the putlogs used for supporting the hoards are perfectly preserved. (See sketch.) By and by the engines of attack became powerful enough to throw missiles which destroyed these hoards, and fire-balls which set them on fire. It then became necessary to make the hoards of stone likewise; but this change is introduced very gradually. First stone corbels are

used instead of wooden putlogs to support the wooden stays, then larger corbels are substituted for the wooden struts (as at Coucy), and finally the hoarding or parapet itself is built with stone. This last change did not take place till about the beginning of the fourteenth century.

The general adoption of vaulting in keeps arose from the same desire

to avoid conflagration. Norman keeps were often floored entirely with

wood. Sometimes the basement only was vaulted, the other floors being

of wood. But now, with the introduction of the circular form of tower,

vaulting was simplified, and was adopted for every floor, so that keeps and towers thus treated were rendered practically fireproof.

 

 

Fig. 32-Tour (le Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen.)

 

Other improvements were rapidly introduced during the great building epoch of the thirteenth century, till at the close of the century, we reach the point at which the castle and the palace are combined in one. We have seen above that the great enclosing walls of the enceinte contained originally, besides the keep, only offices hastily constructed in wood, and thrown into the centre of the court so as to allow the military engines to be used close to the curtains. These offices were subsequently built in stone against the walls, and gradually improved upon and joined to one another with covered corridors, till at last they were drawn together so as to form a compact dwelling.

 

Up to this point the castles are more works of military engineering than of architecture, but from the thirteenth century they become fine specimens of domestic architecture. Such castles as Coucy are magnificent residences as well as strong castles, provided with all the apartments necessary for the life of a nobleman living on his domains. and surrounded by his court and garrison.

 

At this period feudalism had reached its height in France. From this time the power and riches of the great independent nobles were gradually lost and destroyed, and that of the Crown increased. St. Louis induced the nobles to engage in Crusades in order to occupy them and their warlike dependants. These expeditions resulted in great losses to the nobility, and a crippling of their power and resources. Hence few castles were built in France between 1240 and 1340.

 

Similar changes to those in France took place at this time in England in the construction of castles. In the reign of Henry Hi. few new castles were built, the country having been well supplied during the Norman times. The Norman castles were, however, added to and improved. The enceinte was enlarged, and the outworks strengthened. The palisades gave place to stone walls, and mural towers and gateways of great strength were added. These were sometimes concentric round the keep, and sometimes the keep was attached to the walls, either outer or central. During the thirteenth century manor-houses increased, and the castles became more domestic. The keel) was abandoned and

 

 

Fig. 33-Carnarvon Castle from the North-West,

 

often allowed to become ruinous. The hall and chambers, chapel, etc. (as at the end of the twelfth century), were built in the inner bailey, and buildings of wood and plaster for the immediate requirements of large

establishments, were reared within the enceinte; but these buildings, formerly detached, were now connected with covered corridors. The end of the thirteenth century and part of the fourteenth is, however, marked by the erection of the great castles of the Edwardian period. These consist of lofty fortified walls enclosing one or more courtyards; there are generally two, called the outer and inner wards. These walls are flanked and strengthened by towers, generally round, and rising high above the curtains. These round towers were introduced about the middle of the Early English period. The keeps erected at this time are also frequently round, and strengthened with buttresses, like Conisborough. The door is usually on the first floor, and is entered by an external stair of stone or wood, or by a drawbridge, and is frequently defended by a portcullis. The battlements are provided at first with wooden hoards, and afterwards with stone corbels and parapets.

 

Carnarvon Castle (Fig. 33), in North Wales, is one of the finest of the Edwardian castles. It is of great extent, and in plan is shaped somewhat like an hour-glass, to suit the form of the site. The enceinte is of great height and strength, and contains three tiers of defences, viz., two galleries with loop-holes in the thickness of the walls, and the parapet walk above. The towers are here octagonal in form. The sketch shows the Eagle Tower, which is the largest, and seems to have been intended as a kind of redoubt. This castle was-begun by Edward I in 1283, and finished by Edward ii. in 1322. The similar great castles of Conway, Beaumaris, Harlech, and Caerphilly were built about the same time to keep Wales in subjection.

 

 

Fig. 34.-Pevensey Castle, Sussex.

 

Pevensey has already been referred to as exhibiting Roman work in its outer walls. But within the Roman walls a portion of the site was in Saxon times cut off by a deep ditch, and a motte erected within this defence. Still later in the thirteenth century a medieval wall of enceinte (Fig. 34) was erected within the moat, and strongly fortified with salient round towers, similar to those in use at this time in France, and not unlike some we shall, meet with in Scotland.

 

The English round towers of this period are, however, greatly inferior, both in size and richness, to those of France. But much was done in England at this time to improve the comfort of the castles. These are generally of a smaller type than the French ones, and rather resemble fortified residences. The power of the sovereign, being sooner established in England than in France, may account for the comparative inferiority of the English castles ; the royal fortresses, however, such as the Edwardian castles above referred to, were of great extent, but the nobles did not attempt to rival them.

 

Fireplaces become general in all the apartments, though these, being often only made of lath and plaster, are in many instances not now

discoverable. The rooms are decorated with fresco painting. Glass is gradually introduced in the windows, although glass was not manufactured in England till the fifteenth century. There is a steady growth in wealth and luxury, and the lords and ladies forsake the gloomy donjons for the pleasanter apartments built round the walls. The manor-houses of this century also show an improvement on those of the twelfth century. They have now a larger number of chambers, as for instance at Charney, where the buildings form three sides of a quadrangle, and are two stories in height, the upper floor being habitable apartments, and the lower floor cellars, etc. The entrance to the upper floor was by an outside stair, usually of wood, with penthouse roof. Stokesay, Shropshire, is an excellent example of the fortified manor of this period (about 1300), also Somerton Castle, Lincolnshire, which belonged to Anthony de Bee (licensed 1281), and presents a good example of the round towers of the period. (See Parker.) The mouldings used give some indication of the date of the buildings, but plain splays are often employed. In the early English castles the buttresses are bold, and the nook-shafts, ribs of the groins, etc., indicate the same (late as similar features of ecclesiastical architecture.

 

During the course of the fourteenth century, military and domestic architecture made still further progress.

 

As the science of attack and defence advanced, it was found that the old system of multiplying and complicating the difficulties of access, notwithstanding the great skill displayed in arranging the details of the defence, was a mistake in principle. The works proved too crowded; there was riot sufficient space for the defenders at the critical points ; the obstacles accumulated in a small space were found to do more harm than good, by preventing a sufficient number of men being brought into action at once ; and these obstacles, when taken, gave shelter and protection to the besiegers. For instance, when the enceinte was taken and the defenders had to retire for safety to the keep, they were unable with sufficient rapidity to climb the narrow ladder leading to the lofty door, and were exposed to be cut off.

 

It was thus found necessary to abandon the system of isolated defences. The garrison was no longer divided up into independent detachments, each occupying its own post; the whole were united under one central command. Now, therefore, every facility was given for moving men from one part of the works to another, and the outer fortifications strengthened by every means the architect's ingenuity could devise. A smaller garrison of picked men was then found more suitable than the large garrisons of earlier times, composed of untrained vassals. The donjon was still retained, but it was now constructed more in the form of a dwelling than of a redoubt, and relied for security not so much on its own strength of construction, as on the numerous defences which surrounded it. The outer works adjoining the ditches were strengthened and provided with crenelated walls and rampart walks. The curtains are heightened and furnished with two stages of defences; first, the projecting parapet with machicolations and loops, crowned by a second parapet with embrasures and loop-holes.

 

In the case of the towers, these stories of defence are increased to three, and even five stages in height.

 

The extra height of the curtains guarded against escalade, and broad talus or ramp at the base not only strengthened the wall, but saved it from the attack of the miner by keeping the assailants well out, and exposing them to the missiles from above. There were no openings in the lower part of the main walls, and the various towers and parapets were so planned as to cover and protect one another. The gateways were of course defended in a special manner, having miniature castles erected beyond the ditch to cover the approach.

 

Behind these extensive works a skilful commander with a small garrison could defy the attack of a large army. The defence now had the better of the attack. But this pre-eminence did not last long, and the tables were soon to be turned by the introduction of gunpowder in the attack of strong places. This took place about the beginning of the fifteenth century.

 

While the above changes were going on in the defences of the castles considerable modifications were also gradually introduced into the habitations within the walls. During the fourteenth century chivalry advanced and manners softened. The apartments were no longer limited to the hall, with solar and kitchen, and a few other rooms. Great suites of halls, reception rooms, private rooms, bedrooms, etc., were now introduced.

 

The Castle of Pierrefonds, built by the Duc d'Orleans about 1400, is a very fine example of the castle of the period, presenting a complete representation of the most powerful fortification, combined with

 

 

Fig 35 Chateau de Pierrefonds Entrance Front.

 

 

the amenities of a noble mansion. The plan of this castle (Fig. 37, from M. Viollet-le-D tie's Dictiotinaire), together with the sketches (Figs. 35, 36), will explain the arrangements and defences of this splendid building, which has within recent years been admirably restored by M. Viollet-le-Duc.

 

 

FIG. 36.-Chateau de Pierrefonds. West Side.

 

The entrance gateway, provided with drawbridge, etc., is covered by an enormous round tower forming part of the donjon or keep. This is no longer a simple tower or redoubt, as at Coucy, but contains ail extensive suite of apartments forming the residence of the lord and his family. The entrance is by a handsome perron, or open staircase, and the rooms are all decorated with painting and carved work. Along the west and north sides of the courtyard there is a series of splendid reception rooms, hall of justice, etc., and on the cast side the chapel and a small courtyard

through which provisions, etc., were hoisted into the castle by a postern, without the necessity of admitting strangers into the inner ward. This courtyard also served to isolate the keep from the rest of the castle.

 

The towers are all of great height and strength. They are solid below, and provided with several tiers of defences at the summit.

 

The view of the south front (Fig. 35) gives a general idea of the aspect of the castle, while the sketch of part of the west side shows the various stages of defences with which the towers and curtains are armed.

 

 

Fig. 37.-Chateau de Pierrefonds. Ground Plan

 

During the fourteenth century the Castellated and Domestic Architecture of England took a somewhat different course from that of France. Instead of devoting their attention to the perfecting of the defences, the English architects were chiefly intent on still further improving the convenience and comfort of the interior accommodation. The halls were increased in size and in number-there being frequently a great hall and a little hall, each having its separate kitchen and offices. The private rooms were also increased in number and importance. The lord had no longer only one solar, which acted as private room for himself and family There were a lord's room and a lady's room, family bedroom and guests' apartments. Bath-rooms were also in use. These apartments were placed in wings attached to the hall. Parlours and private dining-rooms were also now introduced, and large rooms for wardrobes. The chapel was also an important chamber, and had peculiar arrangements. The chancel was lofty, and was provided with a large cast window. But connected with it there was sometimes a nave or room of two stories in the height of the chancel-the upper part, or ‘oriel’, being used by the lord and his family, and the lower part by the domestics. The hall was the prominent feature in every dwelling, and it was then arranged exactly as it has continued to be till the present day in the halls of the various Colleges and Inns of Court. It had a raised dais at one end, with lofty oriel window, and communicated with the lord's apartments and the chapel. At the other end was the screen, made of wood, which formed the passage from the entrance, and over which was situated the minstrels' gallery. The screen was frequently richly carved and ornamented. At the opposite side of the screen from the hall were generally three doors -the central one leading to the kitchen, while the side doors led, one to the pantry, the other to the buttery. In the screens was placed a lavatory for washing hands, and sometimes also a stone sideboard, both of which were often highly enriched.

 

The dais and private rooms were sometimes adorned with tapestry hangings, which were introduced in the fourteenth century.

 

 

FiG. 38.-Warwick Castle.

 

The hall was generally heated by a large hearth in the centre, the smoke escaping by the louvre in the roof. The hall was either on the ground floor or first floor (with cellars under), but always had an open timber roof. It had either a porch at the entrance or an outside stair, as required, the latter having a penthouse roof.

The detached kitchens, bakehouses, brewhouses, etc., beautifully constructed in stone, which still exist at Glastonbury, Stanton Harcourt, and elsewhere, are a remnant of the old fashion of building all the offices apart from the main building.

 

The Castle of Warwick (Fig. 38), rebuilt by Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in 1360-69, illustrates the dispositions of the various halls and other apartments at that time. (See plans in Parker.) We have here the great hall and the little hall, a separate dining-room and drawingroom, private rooms, numerous bedrooms, etc. The enceinte is fortified with two great towers at the angles, called Caesar's Tower and Guy's Tower, with a large gatehouse between, provided with a barbican or outer fortification. The sketch of Caesar's Tower (Fig. 38) shows that the English Castellated Architecture of the period was but little inferior to that of France, and forms a good companion picture to the view of the Western Towers of Pierrefonds.

 

Bodiam Castle, Sussex (Fig. 39), is also a good example of an English castle of the end of the fourteenth century, the licence to build it having been granted in 1385. The building consists of a quadrangle 152 feet by 138 feet over the walls, which rise directly from the water of the moat which surrounds it. This has been formed artificially, by excavation on one side and damming up on the other, and is still in good preservation. The sketch shows the north and cast fronts, with the principal entrance to the castle in the centre of the former, approached by a causeway with drawbridge and barbican, the remains of which are visible. The curtain walls are 40.6 high, and the towers are 56 feet high, and are provided with stone parapets and machicolations.

 

The entrance gateway is finely vaulted, and has the usual portcullis and gates. The hall and kitchen occupy the south side of the quadrangle ; the passage through the 11 screens,- which has three service doors, leads to a postern opening on the moat. Everything here betokens a castle built for strength. There are few and small openings to the exterior, all the principal windows being to the courtyard; but, although strong, it is manifestly very inferior as a fortress to such buildings as Pierrefonds. The chapel and private rooms occupied the cast side, and barracks and offices the west side.

 

Manor-houses were frequently erected in the form of a quadrangle, having the hall and principal apartments on one side, stables and offices on other two sides, and the gatehouse on the fourth side. They are invariably surrounded with a moat, and protected by a drawbridge and portcullis. The wings sometimes form towers of three or four stories in height. The outbuildings are still frequently of wood. Every house of any importance is fortified, so that it is difficult to draw the line between the house and the castle or fortress, the latter having always habitable parts, and the former being strongly fortified.

 

 

Fig 39 – Bodiam Castle . Entrance Front.

 

Many manors had towers attached to them, both for security and as adding dignity, in the same way as the towns marked their rank and freedom by their belfries.

 

Another class of manors were built in the form of a tower, generally of three stories in height, and with windows on all sides. These had turrets at the angles, which contained bedrooms, offices, closets, and staircases. They also had a wall or palisade enclosing a court, surrounded by a moat, with gatehouse, etc.

 

In disturbed districts these tower houses had the ground floor vaulted. The hall and rooms above were entered by an outside stair to the first floor, as in the older keeps. The guard-room and prison were generally on the ground floor.

 

Although gunpowder had been used to a considerable extent during the fourteenth century, it was not till the fifteenth century that it was made available in the form of siege artillery. About the year 1400 cannons were employed chiefly in the field against troops. By 1430 the Royal armies had begun to use cannon against fortresses, and. by the middle of the century, it was recognised as a principle in the construction of castles that they should be built so as to resist artillery. But the feudal nobles were hard to convince that their magnificent castles. which had been reared at so much expense and with so much care, were not impregnable; and they still clung to the old and cherished forms of lofty towers and curtains, crowned with parapets and machicolations.

 

For some time efforts were made to defend castles against artillery by the erection of outworks, like barbicans, in front of the gates. These were armed with guns, the loopholes being pierced at the base of the walls. Outworks were also constructed in advance of the walls, so as to keep the guns of the besiegers at a distance, and so save the walls; but it was soon found, as the science of artillery improved. that these outworks were of no use, and that the walls could be battered by guns from a much greater distance.

 

Attempts were also made to arm the towers and walls with cannons. Flat platforms were substituted for the old conical roofs of the towers, and cannons were placed upon them; but the towers were too weak and too small in diameter for guns of any useful size, and the plunging fire from such a height did little harm.

 

At length, towards the end of the fifteenth century, large siege-guns came into use, and then the nobles had, however unwillingly, to accept the position, and admit themselves convinced that their castles could no longer resist this new means of attack. It now became clear that henceforward fortresses must be large. with extended works, too great for single individuals to carry out. and that such constructions must therefore be national, and undertaken by Royalty only.

 

Thus it came about that the nobility, finding their castles useless for defence, gradually did away with the ponderous and gloomy walls which surrounded them, and opened them up for their own pleasure and comfort.

 

At this time also many of the French nobles who had been engaged in the wars in Italy had there seen and appreciated the delightful open villas of that country, and on their return home to France they hastened to make their own castles as like them as possible. They threw down the curtain walls, and erected convenient domestic buildings instead, with large windows, commanding the finest views over the country, without reference to defensive requirements.

 

But the old habits and traditions were not easily overcome, and it was not till the days of Louis xiv. that the symmetrical Italian facade completely displaced the old medieval style. For long the plan and distribution of the apartments remained perfectly French, although the details began gradually to show signs of air Italian feeling. The castles still preserved their complicated entrances, with moat, drawbridges, flanking towers, projecting bartizans, machicolations, etc.

 

But these were not built for the purpose of resisting a siege, but rather in imitation of the features of the feudal fortress, and as symbols of the power and importance which had once belonged to these fortifications.

 

Hence it resulted that these features, no longer employed for their old uses, but merely for ornament, came to be fancifully disposed, and infinitely multiplied. The covered passages, for instance, formerly required for the service of the machicolations, were still continued, but only used as passages of communication to the various rooms. The great corbels, which formerly carried the overhanging parapet, now only supported an ornamental cornice, and were therefore soon broken up into small and fanciful mouldings. The parapets themselves became rnere decorative features, the caves of the roof being raised to the top of them, and so with all the other features of the medieval castle. These Renaissance castles are characteristic of the early part of the sixteenth century. They were generally planned with a chief or inner courtyard , which contained the hall, with the domestic apartments of the owner, kitchen, offices, etc., and an outer court for the dependencies, and frequently air enclosed garden.

 

The mansions of this period are still single tenements, i.e. the rooms extend the full width of the building, with windows on each side, and the apartments enter through one another. It was not till the seventeenth century that double blocks were introduced, with rooms lighted from one side only, and with corridors giving access to the separate apartments. Symmetry and regularity of design were arrived at. early in the sixteenth century.

 

The stage had then been reached of merely playing at building feudal castles. Francis I set the example. He demolished the great donjon of the Louvre erected by Philip Augustus, and built a Renaissance courtyard instead. He also built the celebrated Chateau de Chambord, which is a perfect parody of a French castle. It has all the parts complete,-a great donjon situated next the wall, towers at the angles, turnpike stairs, secret passages, moat, etc. But these features resemble those of the feudal fortress only in name, without any of the characteristics which rendered the latter real and noble.

 

Efforts were now made to alter the old feudal towers, so as to bring them into harmony with the more peaceful ideas of the times, by enlarging the windows, in order to render the apartments more cheerful and habitable. But the great towers of the old castles were so solidly built that enlarged openings could with difficulty be cut through the masonry. This led to an opening in the old walls being slapped from top to bottom, as the easiest mode of getting enlarged window spaces. A series of windows was then introduced, filling up the gap with new work from top to bottom, and this feature afterwards became a motive for the decoration of other similar new buildings. The old machicolations were also imitated in the new cornices, and throughout the ornament there is a curious mixture of the old castellated details with the new Italian decorations.

 

Very many fine specimens of the castles of this period (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries) exist in almost every part of France, and are easily distinguished by their numerous turrets and pointed roofs, and by the late Gothic details with which they are ornamented. The banks of the Loire are especially rich in fine examples of fifteenth-century work, such as the Castles of Blois, Amboise, etc.

 

We give two views of Montsabert (Figs. 40 and 41), one of the castles from the Loire country, which shows nearly all the leading features above referred to. It seems to occupy the site of an older castle, the enceinte walls, ditch, etc., of which have now almost completely disappeared. Some of the towers are probably ancient, but they have now assumed a more modern guise, being pierced with large windows, and having lost their frowning parapets. The machicolations, which are ornamented, and may have been at one time for use, now merely carry a false parapet, on which rests the roof, with dormer windows running up into it, thus showing that the space within formerly used for the service of the defence is now thrown into bedrooms. The front courtyard has no enclosing wall, and the door. no longer jealously guarded with portcullis and drawbridge, is accessible to every visitor.

 

The details are generally late Gothic of the fifteenth century, but these have been superseded in the dormers and doorway with later Renaissance work. We have selected Montsabert for illustration because we have special reasons for referring to it hereafter in connection with Scotch Architecture. We likewise give, for a similar reason, a view of the

 

 

Fig 40 Chateau Montsabert. View from the West.

 

 

Fig 41 Chateau Montsabert. View from the East

 

So-called “ House of Francis 1st” in the “Cours la Reine” Paris (Fig 42)

 

 

Fig 42 House of Francis 1st. Paris.

 

This building may be taken as an excellent example of the later phase of medieval domestic architecture in France. The house was originally erected in the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau in 1527, and was taken down and re-erected on its present site in 1626, in terms of the inscription which it bears. We here see a design in which perfect symmetry prevails, and although the general forms of the windows, niches, canopies. parapets, etc., are Gothic, the details are completely Renaissance in design. In the larger drawing of the window-shafts. we see some remains of the late Gothic feature of " interpenetration---of mouldings and caps, mixed up with the Renaissance features of baluster-shaped shafts and caps with wreaths and other classic details.

 

The heads of kings and queens (which in this case bear the names and dates of the originals) are very characteristic ornaments of the period.

 

There is scarcely a single building of this time, especially amongst the numerous examples in the country of the Loire, which is not adorned with the heads of the Roman Caesars or of the Kings of France, a feature which we shall afterwards see King James v. of Scotland imported into his country along with his Queen. Madelaine. daughter of Francis I

 

In England, as we have observed, the process of conversion of castles into dwelling-houses had begun much sooner than in France, and in the fifteenth century we may say that the process was completed. Manners and the mode of living had so entirely changed, that a large hall was no longer necessary. The nation had made great progress, and commerce and wealth had greatly increased. The towns had risen in importance, and many of the wealthy merchants vied with the nobles in their state. Guilds had also grown up among the tradesmen, and many of the trades which used to be carried on within the walls of the castle were now practised by the burghers in the towns. The feudal lord thus no longer required or maintained the same number of retainers and tradesmen within his castle, and as his state and retinue declined, the hall declined with them.

 

The introduction of gunpowder further materially hastened the process of conversion of the castle into the mansion. But in England, as in France. the old forms and features were long retained as ornaments after their original use was forgotten and abandoned.

 

Towers and battlements, moats, drawbridges, and other early features, still continued to be erected, although the residential character of the houses was developed. Of these castles we have a fine example in Hurstmonceaux, Sussex (Fig. 43), which combines the castellated features of moat and loopholes, crenelated towers and frowning gateway, with the large windows and oriels and extended accommodation of the later mansions.

 

But these castellated features are merely for show, not for use. The only really defensive features of this mansion are the moat (now drained) and the shot-holes at the entrance gateway. The interior is unfortunately so much destroyed that the plan cannot now be distinctly made out. The castle was begun in 1420, but does not seem to have

 

 

Fig 43. Hurstmonceaux Castle, Sussex.

 

Been completed till 1480. It comprised three courtyards, and the domestic arrangements seem to have been of a very advanced description .

On the borders of Scotland and Wales, where the country was dis turbed, the old fortified plan of castles was still adhered to. The pele towers also retained their old form, which was an imitation of the Norman keep. This form of tower had been preserved frorn the twelfth century, through all the changes which had taken place, as the simplest and most suitable for the fortified house or small pele. These towers were, in fact, the manor-houses of the Border districts. The Norman ornaments, such as the billet, cable, etc., used in these peles, still further connect them with the Norman keeps. It should, however, be remembered that in all late Gothic work there is a tendency to revert to Norman ornament. The billet and zigzag, for instance, are often employed as ornaments in the barge-boards of the Elizabethan period. The Pele towers, like the Norman keeps, had usually their entrance. on the first floor, or by a narrow newel stair from the ground floor. The latter was always vaulted (as a precaution against fire), and formed a storeplace, or a stable, or a place of safety for cattle. The first floor contained the hall or common room, and the principal or private room was on the top floor. It was not till the seventeenth century that the Border pele towers were abandoned, when they were found to be defenceless against artillery.

 

Some houses built in the tower style are much more ornamental than usual, as Tattershall, in Lincolnshire, for instance (see Parker), where we have a tower-built house crowned with machicolis, parapets, and turrets, and surrounded with a moat; while its large windows and other details show that it was not designed for serious warfare, although, no doubt, capable of resisting a sudden attack.

 

In the more peaceful parts of the country, however, the manors are usually of the ordinary dwelling-house form, viz., built round a quadrangle, of which the hall and its pertinents formed one side, with the offices and chambers disposed round two of the other sides, and the gatehouse in the side opposite the hall. Sometimes there is a kitchen court behind entering through the screens. At other times the kitchen and offices are on the ground floor, and the principal rooms above. The outer court was often the farmyard, with the necessary farm-buildings around. From this the entrance to the inner court was through a gateway, but the drawbridge and portcullis were dispensed with.

 

Dining in hall was greatly disused in the fifteenth century (notwithstanding ordinances against the abandonment of this ancient custom), and we find instances where the old dais is cut off from the hall by a partition, and thus converted into a private dining-room. Private diningrooms and drawing-rooms now became usual, and all the apartments were multiplied, both at the master's and servants' end of the hall; for the practice of the servants sleeping in the hall was abandoned (except when the house was very crowded), and the servants were provided with distinct apartments.

 

Besides the private dining-rooms and drawing-rooms, there were a study for the lord and a boudoir for the lady, a private chapel, and numerous bedrooms. These were frequently arranged in a tower adjoining the hall. The dormitory was often in the roof, and sometimes over the hall.

 

The apartments thus gradually increased in number and importance, till, in the time of Elizabeth, they became as numerous and varied as they are now.

 

The decoration of the interior also progressed rapidly. The arras was replaced, in the time of Henry VIII with wainscot panelling, frequently carved with the linen pattern. This covered the lower part of the walls, while above it was pargeted with plaster, ornamented with the heads of the Caesars and similar figures, while Italian details and ornaments gradually crept in. Inscriptions, texts of Scripture, mottoes, etc., were of frequent use in the fifteenth century. At this date glass for windows was still rare in houses. Henry VIII had his casements carried about with him, from one manor to another, and the windows of the different houses were made of the same size, so as to suit the glass casements.

 

Ceilings had usually moulded wooden beams and ribs, in square panels, in the fifteenth century, but plaster was gradually introduced in Henry VIII time, and its use was greatly extended under Elizabeth.

 

Staircases were enlarged, and adorned with curiously carved bannisters and pedestals.

 

The passages were still generally in the thickness of the wall, with doors entering from the window recesses; but there were sometimes galleries formed outside, like cloisters, to give access to the different apartments. These galleries form a fine and characteristic feature of the Elizabethan period.

 

The bow window was introduced about the end of the fourteenth century, and soon became a very favourite and characteristic feature of English Architecture.

 

Fireplaces were usual in all the apartments, but in the hall the reredos or brazier in the centre was still common, and in many halls continued in use till the present century.

 

Gradually the castellated features gave way, as they had done in France, to the encroachments of the Italian details, until, in the splendid mansions of Elizabeth's time. the Renaissance style completely prevailed in all the ornamental features of the design. But many of the characteristic portions of the old plans still held their own. There are many specimens still in existence of noble halls with open timber roofs, an', fine galleries with the distinctive bow windows of English Architecture.

 

These and similar features of the old style lingered through the reigns of the Stewarts, and it was not till the end of the seventeenth century that they were entirely swamped by the cold symmetry of the Classic style.

 

Besides the private dining-rooms and drawing-rooms, there were a study for the lord and a boudoir for the lady, a private chapel, and numerous bedrooms. These were frequently arranged in a tower adjoining the hall. The dormitory was often in the roof, and sometimes over the hall.

 

The apartments thus gradually increased in number and importance, till, in the time of Elizabeth, they became as numerous and varied as they are now.

 

The decoration of the interior also progressed rapidly. The arras was replaced, in the time of Henry VIII with wainscot panelling, frequently carved with the linen pattern. This covered the lower part of the walls, while above it was pargeted with plaster, ornamented with the heads of the Caesars and similar figures, while Italian details and ornaments gradually crept in. Inscriptions, texts of Scripture, mottoes, etc., were of frequent use in the fifteenth century. At this date glass for windows was still rare in houses. Henry VIII had his casements carried about with him, from one manor to another, and the windows of the different houses were made of the same size, so as to suit the glass casements.

 

Ceilings had usually moulded wooden beams and ribs, in square panels, in the fifteenth century, but plaster was gradually introduced in Henry VIII time, and its use was greatly extended under Elizabeth.

 

Staircases were enlarged, and adorned with curiously carved bannisters and pedestals.

 

The passages were still generally in the thickness of the wall, with doors entering from the window recesses; but there were sometimes galleries formed outside, like cloisters, to give access to the different apartments. These galleries form a fine and characteristic feature of the Elizabethan period.

 

The bow window was introduced about the end of the fourteenth century, and soon became a very favourite and characteristic feature of English Architecture.

 

Fireplaces were usual in all the apartments, but in the hall the reredos or brazier in the centre was still common, and in many halls continued in use till the present century.

 

Gradually the castellated features gave way, as they had done in France, to the encroachments of the Italian details, until, in the splendid mansions of Elizabeth's time. the Renaissance style completely prevailed in all the ornamental features of the design. But many of the characteristic portions of the old plans still held their own. There are many specimens still in existence of noble halls with open timber roofs, an', fine galleries with the distinctive bow windows of English Architecture.

 

These and similar features of the old style lingered through the reigns of the Stewarts, and it was not till the end of the seventeenth century that they were entirely swamped by the cold symmetry of the Classic style.

THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND.

 

FIRST PERIOD- 1200-1300.

 

THE history of our Scottish Castellated and Domestic Architecture is, in its main features, somewhat similar to that of France and England, although to a considerable extent modified by the more unsettled and less prosperous condition of the country. This, however, had the effect of introducing and developing some varieties of style, which give a distinctly native and picturesque character to the later periods of our Domestic Architecture.

 

Examples of the Early Castellated Architecture of Scotland are, unfortunately, by no means so complete or so abundant as those of France and England.

 

There can be no doubt that the earliest fortifications in Scotland were constructed with earthen mounds and wooden palisades, like those of France and England. Of these primitive fortresses numerous remains are to be found in every part of the country. They are usually situated on the tops of the rounded knolls or hills which abound almost everywhere over the land, those sites being selected which are composed of comparatively soft materials, easily dug into for the purpose of forming the ditches and ramparts. Of these ditches and mounds there are usually several rings, extending round the sides of the hill. We shall meet with several instances, as we proceed, in which these early works have been made available in connection with later castles.

 

Artificial "mottes" also exist in various places, but these are supposed to have been for the administration of justice rather than for defence.

 

Another class of fortification, very common in the north, and peculiar to Scotland, is the Broch or Burgh. This consists of a round wall enclosing an open court. The wall is always of great thickness, and is built with dry rubble stones, without mortar or cement of any kind. A straight staircase and several small apartments are formed in the thickness of the wall. The entrance door is low and narrow, and was evidently so built for defence. From the door a narrow passage leads through the wall. frequently with a guard-room on one side. The origin and date of the brochs is unknown, but they are supposed to be the work of the native Celts. They have probably some affinity with the early dry-stone churches and cells of Ireland. These brochs may perhaps be the northern form of the wooden burghs, which the Norsemen in France and England built on the top of their " mottes ;--- but in Scotland, where stone abounded, they were constructed in stone instead of timber. If so, and if the brochs represent the usual form of the early castles of Scotland, it might be supposed that they would have a material influence on the subsequent forms of construction. We have, however, not been able to trace any connection between them and the arrangements of the earliest castles built with stone and lime. But in the towers of a later date, as we shall see, the tendency to hollow out the walls with innumerable small apartments is carried to an extreme length, which may possibly be a tradition from these ancient brochs. It is probable that the building of castles with stone and lime was introduced into Scotland, as into England, by the Normans. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries the pressure of the Normans in England drove the Saxon nobility northwards, and these were followed by numerous Normans, who were welcomed at the Scottish Court, and obtained large domains in the country. It was no doubt the policy of these adventurers to establish themselves in the same position as the native chiefs who had to make way for them. They would thus naturally take possession of such strongholds as they found, which probably consisted of an enclosing wall on some naturally strong site, or of an area surrounded with a ditch and palisaded mound, with a natural or artificial height within on which the dwelling of the chief, usually built in wood, would be placed. This course was often adopted by the Normans in England, and it may be remarked that their position in England under the Confessor is very similar to their position in Scotland in the twelfth century. Many Normans, encouraged by the Confessor, had settled in England, but it was not till after the Conquest that the Normans took root in the country and began to build castles in their own style. So likewise in Scotland the Norman nobles do not appear to have built castles in their own style for at least a century after their first arrival.

 

But whatever the early castles of the Norman Period in Scotland were, they have all disappeared. They have probably for the most part been remodelled into the castles of a later period, or have been demolished in the frequent sieges of those stormy times. But although no original Norman castles are to be found in Scotland, the rectangular keeps of the Normans have formed the model after which most of our Scotch castles have been constructed. During the three or four centuries succeeding the War of Independence, there is a constant succession of castles built upon the Norman model, which present us with a faithful likeness of their originals.

 

This was also the case in the north of England: wherever and when ever a strong tower was required, the plan of the old Norman keep was adopted.

 

There is ample historical evidence of the construction of castles in Scotland in the twelfth century. Alexander I and David I are well known as great church-builders, and it is on record that they also erected many royal castles. The great feudatories also followed their example, and erected castles on their domains. It is most likely, however, that these consisted chiefly of earthworks, defended with wooden palisades or rough walls of uncemented stone-work.

 

It is, no doubt, remarkable that while many fine specimens of ecclesiastical architecture of the twelfth century remain, there is not one example of the civil or military architecture of the period to be found in the country. On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that the Norman walls were of such solid construction that, had any been built in Scotland at that period, they would probably have still survived.

 

The thirteenth century was an exceptionally prosperous one in Scotland. Alexanders II. and III whose reigns were long and comparatively peaceful, being little engaged in war with England, had leisure to establish a settled government in their kingdom. They also encouraged Englishmen and Normans to settle in Scotland; and the trade of the country, both with England and the Continent, seems to have been considerable. Hill Burton is of opinion that the country was comparatively wealthy at this period, and more prosperous than it ever was till after the union with England.

 

It is, therefore, quite natural that some signs of this unwonted prosperity should be traceable in the castles of the nobles of the period, and we shall see that this was the case.

 

While friendly with the south, Alexanders II. and III were greatly engaged in contests in the north and in the western islands, which they were desirous to rescue from the Norsemen. Alexander ii. died at Kerrara in 1249, while engaged in one of these expeditions.

 

In order to secure the dominions thus reclaimed, castles were built. Thus we find that William the Lion built the two castles of Edindour and Dunskaith, near Cromarty, in 1179, for repressing insurrection in Ross. Urquhart Castle, on Loch Ness, was also originally a royal castle. Dunstaffnage and Inverlochy, which still exist, belong to the thirteenth century,-having the great walls of enceinte strengthened with round towers, which distinguish that period.

 

Professor Cosmo limes, in his Scotland in the Middle Ages, mentions the following fortresses as existing in the thirteenth century, viz., Duffus and Bocharm in Moray; Ruthven and Lochindorb in Badenoch; Strathbogie, Fyvie, Inverurie, Kildrummie, and others in Aberdeenshire; Kincardine, Brechin, Redcastle, Forfar, Glammis, Leuchars, Craill, St. Andrews, on the east coast ; Dumbarton, Bothwell, Douglas, Rothesay, Turnberry, in the west; Edinburgh, Stirling, Linlithgow, Dunbar, Yester, Roxburgh, Jedburgh, Lamberton, Morton, Dalswinton, Lochmaben, Congleton, in the centre and south, besides many others.

 

Most of these have either disappeared or have been entirely remodelled, but a sufficient number remain to enable us to follow their design, which we shall find resembles in idea, though inferior in degree to, that of the contemporary buildings in France and England.

 

The general idea of these thirteenth-century Scotch castles is that of a large fortified enclosure. The plan is usually quadrilateral, but more or less irregular, so as to suit the site. There are however some striking exceptions to this rule, as for instance the Castle of Rothesay, the plan of which is oval, and Caerlaverock Castle, which is triangular. The curtain walls are about 7 to 9 feet in thickness by 20 to 30 feet high. The angles are frequently provided with round or square towers, and no doubt these and the curtains had parapets with embrasures for defence, and rampart walks all round the walls. But these have now in almost every instance disappeared. The entrance gateway was always wide, and seems to have been generally provided with a portcullis. There is sometimes also a postern door.

 

It is impossible to say what the arrangement of the buildings within the enclosing walls may have been, as they have almost entirely perished. The angle towers seem to have been used as the dwellings of the garrison, as they are frequently provided with garde-robes in the thickness of the wall, but there were probably other buildings within the enclosure with roofs leaning against the curtains. At Rothesay a large chapel still survives, while at Lochindorb a ruinous building is also called the chapel, and it is very probable that other castles contained a similar edifice.

 

The sites selected for this class of castle vary greatly. They are, however, generally built on rather low-lying ground, and trust more to water than to lofty sites for their security. Thus we find Lochmaben and Lochindorb situated, the latter on a natural island, and the former on a peninsula cut off` by ditches, so as to convert it into an island. Kinclaven and Inverlochy are both placed near rivers, and were no doubt defended with moats filled with water. Rothesay is on low ground surrounded by a wide and deep fosse filled with water. Castle Roy and Dunstaffnage, again, are on rocky sites, but raised only a few feet above the general level of the ground. Tarbert is situated on the top of a low rocky hill overlooking the sea.

 

The large area contained within the walls was no doubt intended to receive and harbour the population of a district, with their flocks and possessions, in time of danger. They are, for the most part, rude imitations of the thirteenth-century castles of France or the Edwardian castles of England; but some of the finer examples, such as Bothwell, Kildrummie and Dirleton, present a wonderfully close resemblance both in design and workmanship to the more splendid military buildings of the south. These have all the characteristics of the French castles of the thirteenth century. They are enclosed with high curtains, defended at intervals with round and square towers, each forming a separate post, and each so placed as to flank and defend the adjoining walls and towers, while one of the towers is of larger size than the others, and forms the donjon or place of strength for the shelter of the lord and his retainers in case of siege.

 

It is not easy to determine the date of most of these early Scottish castles; but we have distinct information with regard to the building of others. Thus Tarbert was added to by King Robert Bruce, and must therefore have existed before his time, while Lochindorb, Bothwell, and Kildrummie were probably enlarged during the English occupation. There can be no doubt, however, but that several of the castles of this first period are of older date than the War of Independence, as they are referred to as existing in Wallace's time.

 

SECOND PERIOD-1300-1400.

 

WITH the close of the thirteenth century, the style of castles consisting of great walls of enceinte strengthened with massive towers comes to an end. The invasion of Edward I in 1296, and the disturbances of the fourteenth century, destroyed the prosperity of the preceding period. There is thus a great gap between the style of the thirteenth-century buildings and those which succeeded them in the course of the fourteenth century, and we have to traverse a very long period ere we meet with castles of the size and elegance of those we have just been considering. The thirteenth-century buildings of Scotland thus form a very distinctly marked period in the architectural history of the country, and constitute the first period of Scotch castellated architecture.

 

During the fourteenth century the country was in a state of complete exhaustion, consequent on the great struggle for national independence, and was not in a condition to engage in extensive building operations. Besides, the policy of Bruce was opposed to the building of large castles, as these were found liable to be taken by the enemy, and to afford him a secure footing in the country. Bruce's policy was to destroy everything before an army of invasion, and leave it only a barren countryto occupy-a policy, the wisdom of which, in the relative position of Scotland and England, was often proved subsequently by the starving out of the invaders.

 

The castle erected or extended by Bruce at Tarbert was exceptional, being for the specific purpose of keeping the Highlands and Islands in order, and to provide security for the garrison. The castle of Lochmaben, and some others, were also preserved, from their occupying special positions, which it was necessary for strategic purposes to fortify.

 

For the above reasons we find only few and small remains of castles or domestic buildings erected in the fourteenth century, or at least till near the close of the century. The dwellings of the peasantry were mere lints, which were easily replaced after the storm of an invasion was past. The houses in the towns, also, at this period, and for long after, seem to have been constructed chiefly of wood, and were frequently destroyed either by accidental fires or by the enemy.

 

The mansions of the nobility in the country, being constantly liable to be attacked and burnt, were necessarily built of stone; while from the impoverished condition of the barons at this time, they were of the simplest form. All that was required was a stronghold sufficient to accommodate the owner's family and personal retainers, and to protect them from sudden attack. The square towers or Norman keeps which had become familiar to the Scots in their frequent invasions of the northern counties of England, naturally became their model, and all the castles of this period preserved to us are built on this plan. These castles consist of a square or oblong tower, with thick walls built sometimes with ashlar and sometimes with rubble-work, and defended from the parapet at the roof, the angles of which are rounded, or more generally projected on corbels in the form of round open bartizans. The parapets and bartizans have frequently open machicolations, but sometimes merely corbels without openings, and sometimes the parapet is carried up flush with the wall, without projection or stringcourse. The keeps of this period sometimes depart from the original Norman model to the extent of having a small wing added at one corner, so as to give the building the shape of the letter L. Such keeps are described as being built on the L plan.

 

The ground floor is always vaulted with a plain tunnel vault, generally semicircular, though occasionally pointed, and was used as a store-room, or as a stable for the protection of cattle, a loft for the domestics sleeping in being generally formed in the vault.

 

There is frequently no communication from the ground floor to the first floor, except by a hatch in the vault. The principal entrance to the tower is usually on the first or second floor level, and was approached by a movable stair or ladder. The hall occupies the whole of the first floor, and is usually vaulted with a plain semicircular or pointed barrel vault. This is generally divided with a wooden floor into two stories in the height, as is apparent from the rows of corbels which almost invariably run along each side to carry the upper floor. The windows and fireplaces which occur at the level of the upper chamber in the vault also show, where they are introduced, that it was occupied as rooms, and was not merely a gallery, as is sometimes thought. Above this there is a second story containing the private apartments of the lord and his family, and there is also usually an upper chamber, either in the roof or vaulted, so as to carry the roof.

 

The roof is generally constructed with stone slabs, well dressed and grooved into one another, and resting on the vault beneath. The gutter is also formed with dressed stones, every alternate stone having a drain through the parapet with a projecting gargoyle, either plain or carved in the form of an animal, like those of the churches. The chimney-stacks are carried up on the inside face of the thick walls, so as to allow a free parapet walk all round for defence. There are sometimes a few, and sometimes a great many, small chambers formed in the thickness of the walls, which were used as bed-places, garde-robes, etc. The access to the upper floors and the roof is nearly always by a newel stair at one corner in the thickness of the wall.

 

A tower thus constructed almost entirely of stone was well calculated to resist the effects of siege and fire, so common in those times; and even if taken by assault, was not easily so much damaged but that it could readily be restored again.

 

The accommodation of these towers is very circumscribed, and was soon felt to be so. There could be no privacy where one hall served as living-room and sleeping-room for the retainers and domestics, and where there was not even provision for the separation of the sexes. Accordingly, although the above form of tower was long retained in the smaller peles, we soon find efforts made to improve the accommodation of the larger keeps built at this time. This was done by adding to the square or oblong block a small projection or wing at one corner, which gave at least one additional room on each floor. A larger number was often obtained by making the ceilings lower, and thus introducing more rooms in the height of the wing than in the tower. This addition permitted the lord to have a private room, where he could receive visitors, apart from his retainers, besides supplying one or two separate bedrooms on the upper floors. In course of time, other modifications of the square keep were adopted, so as to provide additional accommodation, but it is remarkable how long and how persistently this form is adhered to. It may always be assumed in examining these old towers that the presence of numerous apartments (particularly when a distinct kitchen can be discovered) indicates that the building, or at least the part of it containing these apartments, is not amongst the early examples.

 

Although specially characteristic of the fourteenth century, the simple style of keep above described continued to be erected during the fifteenth and subsequent centuries, and so plain and devoid of ornament are almost all these keeps, that it is often difficult to determine their exact age. Another circumstance which adds to this difficulty is that the same model of keep tower is common to all periods from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. There are, however, sometimes a few mouldings or enrichments, or some slight modifications of the plan, which, together with historical evidence, enable the age of many to be approximately ascertained.

 

There can scarcely be a doubt that all these keeps had, like their Norman prototypes, a courtyard connected with them, enclosed with a good wall, although few specimens now remain. This court or barmkin was essential to contain the stables and other offices, and gave considerable additional security by protecting the keep from sudden assault.

 

In some instances these courtyards were of considerable extent, with walls of enceinte, defended with towers, on the same general idea as the thirteenth-century castles above described, although greatly reduced in dimensions, and wanting in the skilful disposition of the towers and curtains for mutual defence. As the country improved, and manners became more refined, buildings providing enlarged accommodation were extended round the inside of the walls of the courtyard, large windows were opened in them, and finally the walls of enceinte became absorbed in the buildings. These gradually dropped their castellated character, and assumed that of a mansion built round a quadrangle, precisely as happened at an earlier period in France and England, and, as we have observed, was the case at Bothwell. This, however, did not occur generally in Scotland till the sixteenth century. But during the fifteenth century we find several of the larger castles designed from the first upon the plan of buildings surrounding a courtyard, as will in due course be pointed out. Throughout the course of the architectural history of Scotland we find the two types of plan above described continuing to prevail together, viz., first, the simple quadrilateral keep or house, surrounded by a wall enclosing a courtyard ; and, second, the castle, consisting chiefly of a wall of enceinte, with towers and other buildings connected with it, until in course of time both these types developed into the mansion built round a quadrangle : the keep plan, by adding buildings round the wall of the courtyard; and the castle plan, by omitting the towers and reducing the wall of enceinte and piercing it with openings, so as to form the outer wall of apartments built round the court. But we shall find that the keep plan, pure and simple, was also much adhered to in later times, and formed the model on which many of our mansions (even as late as the seventeenth century) are planned.

 

Examples of the quadrilateral keep of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are very numerous all over the country.

 

As above mentioned, it is difficult to fix the exact date of many of these keeps, but we shall now describe first some of the simple towers or keeps which seem undoubtedly to belong to the fourteenth century.

 

THIRD PERIOD- 1400-1542.

 

The third period of Scotch castellated architecture commenced with the fifteenth century. About that time a few castles began to be erected on a different model from that of the keep-tower. These consisted of buildings surrounding a courtyard or quadrangle. The great castle of Doune, built by the Regent Murdoch, Duke of Albany (about 1400-1424), is of this description. The powerful castle of Tantallon, which also belonged to the Duke of Albany, and the rebuilding of Dirleton and Caerlaverock (both destroyed by Edward I.), were likewise carried out on this plan.

 

During the reigns of the first five Jameses the larger castles and royal palaces were all built or enlarged into castles with courtyards or quadrangles. Of these, fine examples existed in the palaces of Linlithgow, Stirling, Falkland, Holyrood, and Edinburgh Castle, although most of them have now been greatly altered.

 

The same general features are observable in the earlier and later examples of this period, but the details, whether ornamental or useful, become gradually more refined as time advances.

 

In the earlier castles, such as Doune and Tantallon, one part of the buildings forms a keep; but it is on quite a different plan from the simple Norman parallelogram. It is larger in extent, and contains increased accommodation on each floor, having towers attached, both for defence, and also to furnish additional apartments. The keep thus forms an independent and commodious residence. It is practically detached from the other portions of the castle. It has a separate entrance, and is capable of separate defence. The other buildings surrounding the quadrangle contain large reception or banqueting halls, the chapel, staterooms for visitors, the kitchen, offices, etc.

 

The gateway is generally through part of the building. At Doune and Tantallon it passes through the keep under the hall. The long vaulted passage thus formed is useful, inasmuch as it may be strongly defended with gates, portcullis, etc., as well as from apertures in the vault.

 

These edifices have a considerable resemblance to similar castles in France of about the same date. At Pierrefonds, for instance, the keep is a large building or residence capable of being detached from the rest of the castle. The entrance is under part of the buildings adjoining the keep, and is flanked by a large round tower similar to though on a larger scale than that at Doune.

 

In the later examples of these castles with quadrangles the defensive features are gradually reduced in importance, although never abandoned, and the buildings assume somewhat the appearance of the contemporary mansions in England. At Linlithgow and Stirling palaces, for example, the state and domestic apartments are more fully developed than in the earlier castles, and a richer and more fanciful design takes the place of the grander though more rugged architecture of defence of Doune and Tantallon. In these later edifices, especially at Linlithgow, may be observed a gradual assimilation to the contemporary English style of architecture, and in the early part of the sixteenth century (as at Stirling and Falkland) there are distinct traces of the approaching advent of the Renaissance. This is very observable in the palace at Stirling, built about 1500, where the classic ornament begins to be applied to the old forms, and where grotesque imitations of classic sculpture are for the first time introduced. These novelties are said to have been executed by foreign workmen, which is not improbable.

 

The above style of castles with quadrangles marks a distinct period in the history of Scottish architecture, commencing with the fifteenth century, and ending with the death of James v., in 1542. It thus exactly corresponds with the reigns of the first five Jameses, and forms the third period of our Scottish Castellated and Domestic Architecture. The castles with quadrangles of this period distinguish it from the preceding period, in which, as we have seen, there were no such castles.

 

They also distinguish it from the succeeding period, for although there were numerous castles with quadrangles after the above date, we shall see as we proceed that they were marked by features which distinguish them from those of the third period.

 

This period, like every other period of Scotch architecture, contains, in addition to the castles with quadrangles above referred to, a large number of contemporary castles built on the old keep plan.

 

A considerable number of buildings were also converted into castles with quadrangles by additions made to old keeps in the form of buildings surrounding a courtyard, in the same way as those of the first period which we have already considered, such as Crichton, Craigmillar, Castle Campbell, etc. The castles of this period, however, whether on the “courtyard " plan or the “keep" plan, have all a strong similarity of detail, and are quite distinguishable from those of the preceding and succeeding periods.

 

The keeps of this period still continue to retain the simple quadrilateral plan. This is sometimes modified (as in the previous period) by the addition of a wing at one corner, in order to provide extended accommodation. As formerly, the ground floor is vaulted and contains stores. The hall occupies the whole of the first floor, the wing, when there is one, containing the owner's private room. In the exceptional case of Borthwick Castle there are two such wings, whereby greatly enlarged accommodation is obtained.

 

A separate kitchen is frequently to be observed, timidly introduced at first, and more distinctly developed in later specimens.

 

The entrance door is usually on the first floor, and the staircases are almost always narrow newel ones, generally in the thickness of the wall. When there is a wing, the entrance door is commonly in the re-entering angle, where it is well situated for defence. In later examples a turret is introduced into the re-entering angle of the wing, containing the entrance door on the ground level and the staircase, which is thus conveniently placed for giving access to the rooms both in the main building and the wing. These doorways were generally furnished with oaken doors, strengthened with strong bars running in grooves formed in the walls. The entrances were also frequently provided in addition with iron-grated gates or "yetts" (which were subjects of legislation), and the windows were secured with strong iron-grated stanchions.

 

Above the hall there are generally two upper stories with joisted floors, and there is sometimes a vault over the top story to carry a stone roof The walls vary from 5 to 10 feet in thickness, and wall chambers usually abound. In some instances (notably that of Elphinstone) this feature of the design is carried out in a most elaborate and complicated manner, and the amount of accommodation thereby provided is remarkable.

 

The "pit" or prison is of frequent occurrence. It is generally a small wall chamber with an air-hole in the outer wall. It is entered only from above by an aperture in the vault, which is secured by being covered with a properly-fitting stone.

 

The defences both of the " quadrangle " and " keep" castles of the third period are, as of old, chiefly from the battlements. These vary very much in design, the greater number having bold projecting corbels, with machicolations between, as at Crichton, Dunnottar, and Spynie, while others have only corbels without machicolations, such as Borthwick and Balvaird. Others again have neither corbels nor machicolations, but have the parapet carried up flush with the outer face of the wall, without even a string-course to mark it, such as Liberton Tower. At

Tantallon, and other instances, the parapets rest on a string-course having the form of continuous corbels. Several examples occur of the use of hoards for the defence of the walls, as at Craigmillar, Arbroath Abbey, Preston, etc. In the later examples of the period the corbels are generally more or less ornamental, and in some instances the originally useful corbels begin to be applied as mere ornaments, as at Craignethan, Edzell, and Leven Castles, where the lower of the two rows of corbels under the parapet carries nothing, and is inserted for ornament only.

 

The parapets have almost invariably rounded open bartizans at the angles, carried on a series of corbels, and a good stone gutter or parapet walk all round the building. Those at Borthwick and Balvaird are well preserved.

 

In the later examples, as, for instance, at Ruthven Castle, the bartizans are beginning to be covered in with a roof, so as to form the angle turret, which became so prominent a feature of the later development of the Scotch style of Architecture.

 

During this period artillery began to be employed in the attack and defence of fortified places; and we find indications of the early provision made for its introduction into castles in the large embrasures or portholes so characteristic of the time.

 

There is not usually much ornamentation in the interior. The hall has invariably a large fireplace, the jambs of which are frequently carved with shafts having caps and bases. At Doune Castle the fireplace is. double, and at Linlithgow Palace it is triple, with shafted divisions between. The lintel of the hall fireplaces is moulded, and is sometimes adorned with shields containing coats of arms, etc. In Borthwick and Crichton Castles' and Linlithgow Palace, the fireplaces and other portions of the buildings are unusually richly carved with fifteenth-century foliage. An enriched ambry or a seat is sometimes introduced in the wall of the hall, as at Borthwick, Dirleton, Balvaird, etc.

 

The domestic chapel is not common in the castles of this or the previous period, those of Linlithgow Palace and Craigmillar Castle being somewhat exceptional cases. There are, however, good examples of oratories in window recesses at Doune and Borthwick Castles, and a very fine private oratory occurs at Affleck Castle, Forfarsbire.

 

During this period some castles of an exceptional character were erected, such as those of Hermitage and Crookston. These are founded on the general idea of the keep, but they have rectangular towers added at each of the four angles. Other castles, again, are of an intermediate type between the keep and the castles with quadrangles, the main building being extended with towers and wings so as to form an enlarged residence, and these buildings are carried out with a better style of workmanship than the ordinary keeps. Of these, the castles of Morton, Ravenscraig, and Tullyallan are good examples.

 

The enlargement of ancient keeps by additions was also in some cases carried out in an unusual manner. Thus, at Ruthven Castle, Perth, and the Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, the additions were not made in the form of buildings connected with the keep, and extending round a quadrangle, but by the erection of a separate tower, or other buildings, at another part of the enceinte, and entirely detached from the original keep.

 

……and there endeth the introductories.

I do do enjoy the line drawings of the British castles. Okay, the French ones are good too

 

Thanks Gordon for all that.