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joined in the same manner, was the external wall, very strong and defended at 

 frequent intervals by massive towers, a steep escarpment and two moats. But 

 the fortress which in the days of the Mortimers had laughed a siege to scorn was 

 easily invested by the members of the club who crossed the moat, no longer even 

 " a brochet some time dry " as Leland found it, and entered the walls through 

 many a gaping breach which time rather than violence had effected. 



"Within the lowest, or outermost, ward of the castle an agreeable surprise 

 awaited the antiquarians of the party. In erecting a small shed a few days 

 previous to their visit, the discovery had been made of an arched chamber 

 occupying the basement of one of the angle towers to the left of the entrance 

 gateway. By the courtesy of Mr, Harrison, of the Greenhill farm, who made the 

 discovery, every facility was afforded for the examination of the vault, access to 

 which was gained by a flight of roughly hewn steps. At the foot of these is a 

 square-headed trefoil arch, the jambs of which are almost as perfect as when first 

 chiselled ; and within a few feet is a second and similar archway, admitting by 

 rather a precipitous descent to a dark chamber of some four yards square. The 

 roof is groined and in admirable preservation ; the walls bear traces of plaster, 

 and in them may be seen, at a height of four feet from the ground, the remains 

 of two stout iron staples. It is evident from the position of the hinges that the 

 door opened inwards ; and this fact, combined with the position of the chamber 

 in the outer wall, rather favours the supposition that it was used as a cellar, 

 though at times it may have served as a strong room for prisoners. The date of 

 this part of the castle is probably the same as that of the gateway, and both may 

 be referred to the latter part of the Edwardian era. Adjoining this cellar or 

 dungeon is a similar chamber, which, however, had not been opened, and was 

 said to have a wooden roof. In excavating the steps some fragments of stag's 

 horn, bolts, hinges, and an old lock were found, and among the tiles exhumed was 

 one bearing the old royal arms, gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or. 

 There can be little doubt that beneath the soil in the outermost ward many inter- 

 esting objects of antiquity lie buried, for this portion of the castlolnust have been 

 occupied as late as 1579 (when Sir Robert Harley was born within its walls) and 

 fell into gradual ruin, which was only consummated when the Parliamentarians 

 dismantled the whole fabric in 1643. 



So extensive and fragmentary are now the ruins of this once grand fortress, 

 that much of its beauty and picturesque effect is lost. It is a study for the 

 antiquarian rather than for the artist. Its chief interest lies in its history, and 

 to realise its former importance the imagination must be called upon, and the 

 history of the Mortimers and their royal descendants. The naturalists roamed 

 as long as time permitted about its ivy-clad ruins. Some of the stems of the 

 ivy trees are of monstrous dimensions. They examined its unconnected masonry, 

 and wondered where the varied stones were brought from to enrich the more 

 modern parts of the old building. They peopled once again in imagination its 

 walls, its terraces, and its court-yards, with its ancient warriors, its lords, and 

 its ladies. Edward IV. and all his gay court of lords and ladies, with the Lady 



