220 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[July, 



year the castle at Ilarlecli was bejjun, and that at Criccaeth 

 repaired. That the works at Caernarvon were in progress, 19 

 Kdw. I (1291). Tlint little had been done besides the town walls 

 and the fosse round the future castle, when Edw. 1. visited the 

 town, for the first time, Ist Ajiril, 12S1. That his son, the Prince 

 of AV'ales, was born there on the 2Jth of the same month, but by 

 no pos3it)ility in the Eajrle Tower, as usually asserted. That after 

 little profircss in the 19th and 21st years, what liad been erected 

 was rendered useless l)y Madoc's insurrection, in the 2,'ird year 

 (ly9>), and the works were begxin anew from the north-east anjrle, 

 and thence aloiifr the soutliern side. That the records and the 

 change in the masonry showed the north side to be of diflereiit 

 afjes — the earlit^st some time lietween 23 and 29 Edw. I. That tlie 

 Eagle Tower was tlie work of Edw. II., as shown by reconls 

 expressly relating to its erection, and by the form and character of 

 its mouldings. That it was roofed in the month of November. 

 1316; floored in February, 1317; and the eagle was i)laced on the 

 battlement the first week of March. That the upper portion of the 

 north side of the castle, entrance-gate, &c., were finished 13 

 Edw. II (1320), and the royal effigy fixed there the last week of 

 April, in the same year. 



This detailed statement of the progress of the works entirely 

 controverted the general opinion, that Caernarvon Castle was con- 

 structed in the short space of twelve months, and proved that the 

 present buildings were the labour of 38 years, and being carried on 

 from 1281 to 1.322, even extended into two reigns. The early pro- 

 gress of Conway was traced in a similar manner, and an account 

 was also given of the actual state of the thirteen royal castles in 

 North and South Wales, 17 Edw. III. (13+3), which had been 

 granted by him to his son, the Black Prince, when a large sum was 

 estimated to be re([uired for repairs, nearly half of which was 

 essential for the castles of North Wales. 



Many of the extracts from the calendars, expense rolls, and other 

 documents, quoted in the course of the paper, were highly inte- 

 resting, from the precise way in which they exhibited the indus- 

 trial economy of the time, the rate of wages, the price of material, 

 and the method of carrying on large works; and the paper itself 

 was illustrated by several plans and drawings of a large size. 



Mr. Hartshorne having concluded his paper, Mr. Cockerell, 

 the Chairman, said — " All present will, I am sure, join gladly in re- 

 turning thanks to the Rev. Mr. Hartshorne, for the very luminous 

 discourse he has given us on the Castles of Great Britain, and 

 more especially on those of the time of the two first Edwards. 

 To a great country, rich in historical associations, such a subject 

 must, at all times, be deeply interesting, and it is one well worthy 

 the consideration of the antiquary and the historian, as illustrating 

 a portion of our national architecture. It is, moreover, especially 

 interesting to us, as revealing the relative state of the art of 

 building, and of our own profession in those early times, as well as 

 the rate of wages, and the condition of the working community. VVe 

 are greatly indebted to our reverend friend for investigating the 

 very minute and authentic resources which he has opened to us; 

 and in expressing our obligations to him, permit me to say, that I 

 do not know which to admire most, the elegance, or the perspi- 

 cacity with which he has presented to us this curious lore, which 

 tends in so renuirkable a degree to illustrate the state and position 

 of our art in the middle ages." 



Mr. Donaldson: "The Institute is much indebted to our reverend 

 friend, for making its members acquainted with these remarkable 

 documents, relating to the construction of this interesting group of 

 castles. That no body of men could, I believe, appreciate better 

 than this body, the importance of the information he has placed 

 before us, will, 1 think be acknowledged when I state, that about 

 ten years ago, the Institute offered its medal for the best restora- 

 tion of an am-ient castle, and that we possess a very skilful set of 

 plans representing the castle of Sheriff Hutton, designed by Mr. 

 Sharp, jmi., then of V'ork, and accompanied by a learned disserta- 

 tion u|ion the relation the different iiarts of the castle bear to each 

 other. The reverend gentleman, admirable as was his paper, has 

 stojiped short on the threshold. He has given us the dates and 

 cost, and its progressive development; but it would be still more 

 interesting, if possible, were he to give us an account of the conec- 

 tion of the different parts of the castle, with the reference they 

 bear to each other, and the reasons for the differences which exist 

 between them — why one tower should project more than another — 

 why some should be polygonal, some round, aiul some of complex 

 configurations — why, in short, there should be such differences 

 under similar circumstances as those apparent in the examples now 

 <lisplaycd on our wall. It would be interesting to know how far 



the builders of these castles were acquainted with that well known 

 rule of fortification, by which the inner gate was so placed that, as 

 the attacking warriors apjjroached, the sides of their column were 

 inevitably exposed to the assault of the defenders. It would also 

 be interesting to understand the reasons for the different modes of 

 defence adopted in various castles — the difference in their internal 

 arrangements— whether any rule guided the mode of placing the 

 apartments of tlie family of the lord of the castle, his domestic 

 servants, his military retainers, and the stores, commissariat or 

 warlike. It would, moreover, be desirable to know, what was the 

 proper position of the keep; whether it ought to be part of the 

 defence of the enceinte, or in the centre of the court, and whether, 

 at different jieriods, and in different parts of the country it assumed 

 diverse jiositions. Again, it would be interesting to know if there 

 was any particular locality for the great hall, or chapel, in the 

 castle; which was generally placed in the inner parts, and which 

 nearer the enceinte; whether the enceinte itself was always a large 

 continuous wall like that of Alnwick; and, what in short, was the 

 purpose of every portion intended to serve in these great military 

 defences. Many of us now present, who have visited Greece, 

 cannot, I think, help drawing a comparison between the castles now 

 exhibited to us and the Acropolis of Athens, and the other ancient 

 cities of that country; and in so doing, we find several points which 

 appear to me to be analogous, as the high walls forming the 

 enceinte, and the central building inclosed within it — in the one 

 instance, the great temple — in the other, the Norman keep. It is 

 interesting to find these features of the ancient Grecian Acropolis 

 repeated in our own mediaeval fortresses. It will be observed that 

 many, if not most of the castles here illustrated have an outer and 

 inner ballium or court, here termed baly. It has occurred to 

 me, that possibly the Old Bailey of London may derive its name 

 from having been a ballium or court attached to New Gate, which 

 anciently stood at the end of Newgate-street. I leave it to City 

 antiquaries to enquire into this presumed coincidence. I hope the 

 reverend gentleman, who is deeply versed in this subject, will 

 consent another time to instruct us further by taking a larger 

 sphere, and making us better acquainted with the military spirit of 

 those e.arly times. I should like to have some comparisioii of the 

 cost of erecting these Edwardian castles and those of modern times, 

 such as Penrhyn castle, or the alterations at Windsor castle. In- 

 deed it might not be uninstructive to compare the outlay on our 

 modern Houses of Parliament with that on the buildings so ably 

 brought before us to night." Mr. Donaldson concluded by moving 

 a vote of thanks to Mr. Hartshorne. 



Mr. TiTE, in seconding the vote of thanks, said — "I also must 

 express a hope that our reverend friend will hereafter carry his 

 historical inquiry a little further, and explain what has often struck 

 me as very singular — viz., the poverty of the Scottish castles, as 

 compared with the grandeur and magnificence of those of \Vales. 

 All the Scottish castles together, could, I believe, be put within the 

 enceinte of Caernarvon Castle; while Bute Castle might be 

 ensconced in the Eagle Tower. I do not know whether the 

 reverend gentleman has confined his researches in the Pipe Rolls 

 exclusively to these castles, or whether, indeed, those ancient 

 records contain any account of the building of the Scottish castles. 

 I would also ask a question with regard to the keeps. There is no 

 keep proper at either Caernarvon or Conway; at least no such keep 

 as the tower at Norwich Castle, and in other Norman castles, to 

 which the defender of the building could retreat as a stronghold 

 when the enceinte was taken. How is that omission to be 

 accounted for? There was, no doubt, a similarity in the cliaracter 

 of the erections for defence in Greece, as for instance at Mycenfe 

 and at Athens, and that of the buildings now before us. There was 

 the bold escarpment, or wall built upon the summit of a natural 

 escarpment, as in these Norman castles; and in all, great skill was 

 shown ill the way in which the natural irregularity of the ground 

 was turned to advantage. It would be interesting to know the 

 mode of construction employed in the erection of some of these 

 great towers, as well as the thickness of the walls compared with 

 the area they inclose; whether the walls are of solid stone, or 

 merely ashlar filled in with concrete, and bonded; and in short, 

 their general mode of construction, as in all such enormous super- 

 structures great care is requisite to prevent settlements and other 

 evil consequences. I must say, it struck me that 8d. a-day to the 

 clerk of the works was a large amount of pay, as compared with 

 that of the workmen, and particularly, when we consider that 30 

 or 41) ye.irs were expended in the erection of these buildings, 

 instead of 30 or +0 mouths, as in the jiresent times. I think we are 

 much indebted to our reverend friend for the great industry and 

 talent he has disjjlayed iu his able paper." 



