134 



The Antiquary, 



[Sept. 1, 



Fcr the Monthly Magazine. 

 THE ANTIQUARY. 



NO. V. 

 0« /i^ HISTORY c/ ANCIENT CASTLES. 



THERE are few brancbes of hifiorical 

 refearch which have been ("o little at- 

 tended to as that which relates to military 

 architefture. The fplendour of our ab- 

 bies and cathedials has engroHed the 

 principal attention ; while our ancient 

 caltles, fo lon^ (he refidence of fortitude, 

 honour, couitefy, and wit, whole hillory 

 and difpr.fnion throw a more than com. 

 mon lioht upon the whole fyftem of our 

 national manners, have been almoft en- 

 tirely neoleiSted. 



Mr. Dunham Whitaker, in the " Hif- 

 tory of VVhailey," fays, " The mnnfions 

 cf our foref.itliers may be arranged ac- 

 cording to the dcfcending-fcile of fjcicty 

 in the following order : — i. The caftle ; 

 a. The caftelet ; 3. The ancient unem- 

 batteltd manor-houfej 4. The greater 

 and lefs unembatieled manfion of Queen 

 Elizabeth and James I. ; 5. The ordinaiy 

 hall-houfe ; 6. The farm ; and 7. The 

 cottage. The origin of the fecond (fays 

 Mr. Whitsker) was chiefly in the border- 

 counties, where no man thought himfelf 

 fecure from marauders in an ordinary 

 dwelling. It was a fingle tower of feveral 

 flories, and ferved its owner for almoll 

 every purpole ; rtrcniily remindir.g us of 

 the Srlt times defcrtbed by Juvenal : — 



'• cum fvigida parvos 



Prsberet fpelunca domos, ignemqus, larem- 



que 

 It pecus, et dorninos communi clauderet um- 

 bra." 



But this ni0()e of fieatingthe fubjcit, 

 however plaufible in its appearance, 

 would be inadequate to its inrent, and 

 would facrlfice much curious and ufeful 

 intelligence to the obfervar.ce of arrange- 

 ment. In itfclf, too, it is not fuflicienily 

 extenfive, fr.ice it embraces in the firft in- 

 Hance oply ihofe cartks which were in- 

 tended for refidence as well a. for defence ; 

 and not only oveilooks'both theBriifh 

 and the Roman cajira, but omiis all men- 

 tion of thofe numerous edific^s which 

 arofe from the time ofEdwird III. to that 

 of Hen: y VII. ; which, while they had 

 loft the real caftelhttd charailer, retained 

 many of its pjculiarlties. 



To give a minute and fuccinft hiftory 

 of ancient cailles here, would be iinpof- ■ 

 fible. We can only prefent the reader 

 with a general outline, ihewing the great- 

 er and more prominent changes which 



marked this feature of our ancient milita- 

 ry charailer ; referviiig the prailices and 

 manners which reigned within them for 

 diftinft confiderstion. 



Till the introduJlion of the feudal fyf- 

 tem, they atFord but little that carr.es 

 with it a lively intereft j but after that 

 period we trace in their hillory the rife, 

 the progrefs, and the decline, of chivalry ; 

 who'e influence was fo confi'erable not 

 only on manners but on literatire. The 

 fubjeil, i.ideed, has been lat ly treated 

 more a: large ; but the generality of read- 

 ers, we prefume, will be belter pleafed 

 with a flioit intelligible effay, than with 

 the ponderous information of four folio 

 voluines. 



The early BritiHi fori ificat ions feem to 

 have been little more than mere intrench- 

 ments of earth. Cxfar, however, pene- 

 trated not far enough to kno«' the true na- 

 ture of the Briiifh fortreiTcs ; and his 

 v.-ork " De Bello Gallico" fetms only to 

 have defcribed the lowland camp. In sll 

 patts of England there are a vaft number 

 of ftrong intrench.ments ot a very peculiar 

 kind, fituated chiefly on the tops of natu- 

 ral hills, and which can be attributed to 

 none of the different people who have ever 

 dwelt in the adjacent country but the an- 

 cient Britons. That they may have been 

 ufed at dilTerent times and occupied on 

 emergencies by the fubfequent inhabitants 

 of the ifland, is more than probable ; but: 

 theie are many and undoubted reafons for 

 deeiTiirg them the iir&ng polls and faft- 

 neflesof the aboriginal lettKrs, where they 

 lodged their wives, formed their garrifons, 

 and inade their (fand. That the Britons 

 were accuftnined to fortify fuch places, 

 we are exprcfsly told by I'acitu?, who, 

 defcribing the ff rong holds reforted to by 

 Cara61acus, fays, " Tunc montibus ar- 

 duis, et fi qua cltmenter accedi poterant, 

 in modum valli faxa praelfruit." 



One of the moft important of thefe faft- 

 neffes in our own country is the Here- 

 fordfliire beacon, fituated on the very fum- 

 mit of one of the highell cf the Malvern 

 hills. It has been by turns attributed to 

 the Romans, the Saxons, and the Danes j 

 but its conflruif ion as a ftrcng hold fhews 

 it was defigi/cd for fomething inore than 

 temporary ufe ; perhaps as a fecurity for 

 the whole adjacent country on any emer- 

 gency. Another of theie fcrtreltes is at 

 BrufF in Staffordfhire : it is placed on the 

 fimimit of a hill, is furrounded by two 

 deep ditches, and has a rampart formed of 

 ffones. 0:l',er ini'ances are adduced by 

 Mr. Pennant in his " Tour in Wales," 

 and by Mr. King in the firll volume of 



the 



