A HISTORY OF WARWICKSHIRE 



tapestry, supposed to have been worked in the eleventh century, gives 

 a curious contemporary representation of the fort at Dinan in the latter 

 country, which greatly helps us to understand the mode of construction 

 and former appearance of such works. In the centre of this interesting 

 needlework picture is seen the conical mound of earth surrounded by 

 its moat, outside of which is a gate guarded by turrets, apparently of 

 wood ; from this gate a ladder-like bridge crosses the moat to a tower, 

 which also appears to be of timber, and is half-way up the side of the 

 mount; above this again is a strong enclosure or keep, the stockades 

 of which encircle the top of the earthwork. Round the inside of this 

 timber palisade runs a fighting platform of earth for the defenders to 

 stand upon, and within the stockaded keep is a timber-built house. 

 Soldiers are seen attacking the fort from without, while others defend 

 it from behind the palisades. This remarkable picture shows that the 

 first defences of these moated mounts were of timber, and not of masonry, 

 which the newly heaped up earth would not be solid enough to bear ; 

 it also explains the object of the rim of earth which is often found, as 

 at Castle Bromwich, round the top of the mount, and which is evidently 

 a portion of the fighting platform within the stockade or keep. The 

 outer court or bailey, so frequently found in England, is not shown in 

 the picture of the Dinan fort. As in the case of the earlier camps, 

 the original timber defences of these moated mount and court castles 

 have long ago disappeared. 



It is not necessary to go outside of Warwickshire for a good 

 example of this particular type of earth fort. For few finer specimens 

 are to be seen anywhere than that at Brinklow, which is also singularly 

 well preserved, with its large moated mount and outer as well as inner 

 courts. Seckington and Castle Bromwich are also excellent examples of 

 these mount and court forts once defended by stockades of timber, neither 

 of them showing any traces of masonry ; smaller and less perfect specimens 

 are to be found at Fillongley and at Kineton. 



While the original forts of this class were undoubtedly protected 

 by timber defences only, many years after they were first constructed, 

 and when the earth had had time to settle down and get solid, some 

 of these moated mounts and their accompanying ramparts were built 

 upon, and became incorporated in mediasval castles of masonry ; the latter 

 are usually based upon the same ground plan of tall keep and outer court 

 or bailey. Locally this has been done at Tamworth, at Warwick, at 

 Kenilworth and in many other instances. 



Although the typical courtyards found attached to these moated 

 mounts are more or less curved and rounded in shape, as at Brinklow 

 and at Seckington, examples are occasionally found of rectangular form ; 

 such are the courts at Tamworth, at Warwick and at Castle Bromwich ; 

 they have been supposed to represent the remains of some earlier for- 

 tress which has been utilized by the makers of the later stronghold. 



Finally, who were the people who first constructed these moated 

 mount and court forts ? Few archaeological questions have been the 



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