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visible. I would ask you to consider, if these escarpments 

 and trenches are not the remains of the original defences of 

 the old borough, the banks which bore the stockades — the 

 ravelin in fact, of the later defences. The oldest plan I 

 have been able to obtain, only shows that the land outside 

 the Priory was part of the domain of the priory, and no 

 fence is there shown. We have many instances, as at 

 York and other places, where the mediceval wall did not 

 follow the more ancient earth-works, and it is not unreason- 

 able to suppose that a larger area might be enclosed 

 particularly near a water defence, ere the idea of walling 

 the town became practicable or necessary. 



We are so apt to associate the fortifications of Warwick 

 with the Castle that we turn thither naturally to see if it 

 affords us any information with respect to the early defences 

 of the town. The most interesting portion now remaining 

 is, first the Mount or donjon in the Castle Yard, and the 

 deep artificial escarpment of the rock near Caesar's tower, 

 which bounds the outer bailey of the old castle, and along 

 which the old road to the town went inside the town wall. 

 The direction of this trench indicates that the defences of 

 the castle were separate from those of the town proper, 

 though the castle guarded the river and southern side of 

 the borough. 



In the course of the many visits I have made to the 

 Castle, I have seen again and again the small circular mound 

 which is situate between the Bear Towers and the mound. 

 It is more than possible that this mound marks the site of a 

 Norman tower, for there are no indications that one was 

 built on the mound itself. The keep itself was probably 

 not far from the present hall, within reach of the castle 

 well. The area enclosed would not be an unusual one, and 



