By Tom Burgess, Esq., F.S.A. 313 



mound at Tamworth ; but the remains above have a strange simi- 

 larity to the Normau Castle which the Marmions built on that 

 famous site. At the first glance at the Castle of Devizes as it stands, 

 its marvellously strong position strikes even the unprofessional eye. 

 Its steep mounds, deep ditch, the strength of its outward rampart, 

 and the mighty slopes that form the glacis beyond, show that nature 

 had assisted art in making it impregnable in days when gunpowder 

 was not. When we come to examine it in detail, and with the 

 evidences revealed by the spade, we can see that its strength was 

 not overrated by the historians who first recorded its existence. We 

 are told that the Castle of Devizes owes its existence to Roger, 

 Bishop of Salisbury, the Chancellor and Treasurer of Henry the 

 First, and we find it mentioned by contemporaneous and successive 

 writers as " the most splendid fortress in Europe ; " but as far 

 as I can learn the only description of the castle is that given by 

 Leland, and the indications of repairs enumerated in the Close Rolls. 

 We know, however, the general plan of a Norman Castle, to have 

 but little difficulty in describing it. Norman keeps were of more 

 than one kind. When situated on low-lying ground, the site was 

 fixed so that its water defences should be extensive and complete. 

 The keeps, in these instances, were almost univerally square or 

 rectangulai', with square turrets on each corner, more or less pro- 

 minent. The set-off" was prominent and sharp, and so arranged 

 that a missile from above would rebound on the heads or breasts of 

 the assailants. The basement story was devoted to military stores 

 and was barely lighted. The ground-floor between the towers 

 formed the common hall and garrison room, and above it was the 

 great chamber of the lord. The entrance to the keep in the early 

 castles was by a staircase in what is termed a fore building, and 

 which may yet be seen in Rochester, and it was so arranged that 

 only one or two persons could enter abreast, so that it could be easily 

 defended. In one corner turret the well was generally situated, 

 which communicated with the second floor ; in the opposite turret 

 was the garde robe and rubbish receptacles, and the other turrets 

 were devoted to staircases, one being reserved for the lord and his 

 family, and the other for the garrison. The windows on the lower 



