A HISTORY OF SURREY 



6 acres. The mound is about 90 ft. across at the 

 top and about 200 ft. across the base, while its height 

 is about 30 ft. from the ditch to the east, as it now 

 is, or about 40 ft. from the lower ground to the 

 west. It was made by cutting a ditch through a spur 

 of the chalk hill and piling the debris upon the west 

 end of the spur. 



The outworks of the castle reached to what is now 

 called Quarry Hill House in Quarry Street. Close 

 to this are the remains of a sally port. The outer 

 walls continued round by the south and south-east and 

 east, inclosing the present bowling-green. The limits 

 are marked by the boundary of the extra-parochial 

 precincts. The curving line of Castle Street marks 

 the outer walls to the north. On the west it is 

 probable that an outer ward included Quarry Street, 

 abutting upon the steep declivity above the river. 

 By the steps which lead up here from the river to 

 Quarry Street is the jamb of an ancient stone door- 

 way. At the south-west angle, by Quarry Hill 

 House, it is obvious that the castle ditch, now 

 occupied by a greenhouse, has been abruptly broken 

 off by the street crossing it. It ran across the street, 

 no doubt, so that this way into Guildford came through 

 the outer ward of the castle. 



The principal building now on the castle site is 

 square keep of early 12th-century date, near which are 

 a few remains of a shell keep of earlier date," an 

 artificial mound on which these stand, and fragments 

 of the outer buildings, some of which are possibly a 

 part of the hall, and are, so far as they can be dated, 

 of about the same period as the keep. The entrance 

 from Quarry Street is through a mediaeval gateway 

 known as the Castle Arch, adjoining which on the 

 north side is a building also in part of mediaeval date, 

 but much altered in the I jth century, and now used 

 as the head quarters of the Surrey Archaeological 

 Society. On the higher ground to the east of it are 

 considerable remains of I2th and 13th-century build- 

 ing, unfortunately too fragmentary to be identified, 

 but doubtless representing the palace of which so 

 many details are preserved in the documents quoted. 



The keep consists of an approximately square 

 structure about 42 ft. each way, and is set a little 

 west of north, and at the east of the top of the 

 mound. It is built of Bargate stone rubble in thin 

 slabs with some flint rubble as a core, and externally 

 irregularly placed bands of herring-bone work in 

 Bargate stone, some bands of scappled flints, and a 

 certain amount of ashlar mainly in Bargate stone but 

 with a little chalk. The lower part of the east wall 

 has been repaired in modern times. 



Externally the four faces are broken by broad 

 angle and central pilaster buttresses running the whole 

 height of the keep. The angle buttresses appear to 

 have been carried slightly higher than the rest 

 of the wall, while over the north-west angle was a 

 turret over the vice. The doors and windows were 

 all originally quoined with dressed Bargate stone, 

 which in some cases has been replaced by brickwork, 

 apparently in the lyth century. On the north and 

 east of the tower the ground falls away rather rapidly, 

 and the pilaster buttresses spring from a battered 

 plinth faced in part with ashlar. The original 

 access to the mound was under the north side of 

 the keep, and on the face of the latter the remains of 

 the spring of an arch which spanned the entrance are 



visible. The tower was originally divided into four 

 stories, but the lowest one has been filled in nearly 

 up to the level of the floor, the beam-holes of which 

 remain. This, with the present ground floor, formed 

 a basement, the main entrance being on the first 

 floor. The foundations of the east wall of the keep 

 are on the natural ground at the foot of the mound ; 

 those of the other three walls, which terminate with 

 an interior set-off, are in the artificial mound. 



The ground floor is entered by a rough opening 

 made at a recent date in the west wall. There are 

 two windows, one in the north and one in the 

 south walls, both of which have round heads with 

 internal splays and semicircular rear arches which are 

 sloped up from inside to outside. The walls are of 

 rough rubble in flint and Bargate stone with a care- 

 fully laid inside facing of thin stones which in places 

 has been hacked away. Portions of the plaster 



SCALE or Ion 



PLAN OF GUILDFORD CASTLE KEEP 



adhere to the south wall. In the north wall is cut 

 a rough fireplace, a flue for which has been contrived 

 in the thickness of the wall. 



The entrance, on the west, has a very slightly 

 pointed door of two orders, the outer of which is 

 flush with the face of the pilaster buttress on this 

 side. The door leads into a passage with parallel 

 sides through the thickness of the wall, and is 

 faced with wide jointed ashlar which shows diagonal 

 tooling. It has a rough pointed barrel-vault. South 

 of this is the door to a wall chamber, all the 

 worked stones of which have been picked out. 

 North of it is a small rou'id-headed door to a 

 chamber in the thickness of the wall. The north 

 and south walls are offset at this level for the wood 

 floor which once existed. In the middle of the north 

 wall is an opening with a segmental head, the jambs 

 of which are much cut about, which opens into a 

 long narrow barrel-vaulted chamber or passage in the 



' Shell Keep of Guildford Cajtle,' Sarr. Arch. Coll. xvi. 

 556 



