CODNOR CASTLE, AND ITS ANCIENT OWNERS. 1 7 



On this side of it stood two engaged rectangular towers, 

 ten feet apart, with a projection of six feet. Tne whole of 

 this block stood out from the court w;ill line seven feet three 

 inches, and the lofty walls at the back were part of the internal 

 masonry. 



The wall between the two courts, with its four circular towers, 

 was clearly at one time the south wall of the original fortress ; the 

 south court being a later addition. Of this enclosure there remains 

 only the western wall, including a latrine and a small flight of 

 steps to an upper room, demolished. 



The main entrance, with the souih wall, has long been de- 

 stroyed, and the eastern side of the courtyard (now a garden) is 

 occupied by a farmhouse, built out of casile materials, probably 

 about the year 1640 



The principal gateway was obviously on the south side, as may 

 be inferred from the direction or trending of the main approaches, 

 and probably occupied a position somewhere opposite the southern 

 extremity of the farmhouse where the ground begins to fall. The 

 entrance to the second or inner court is now blocked, but the 

 jambs may still be seen. They are of an early character. The 

 crenells in the round towers are very interesting, the extremities 

 of the arms being expanded into a triangular form. The wall 

 between the two towers on tlie western side of this gateway 

 exhibits masonry of two periods ; the basement has a triple 

 plinth moulding, and is probably coeval with the towers on each 

 side, whilst the charming little window of a single-light above, 

 recently injured by the loss of a cusp, is of the geometrical 

 style, and may have been constructed about 1350, or a little 

 earlier. 



It is said that no less than six farmsteads have been built out 

 of materials obtained from this castle. The best squared stones 

 would naturally be the first selected, and, consequently, the best 

 built portions of the fabric (in this case the oldest) were the first 

 to be demolished and carted away. The substantial fartnhouse 

 built on the spot after the castle ceased to be inhabited, is an 

 illustration of my last observation. Some farm buildings a little 



