in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 537 



to the doors, windows, and fireplaces. To prevent the walls of 

 the castle from literally tumbling down, the place of these lintels 

 was supplied some years ago by oak beams, and that of the 

 jambs by common rubble stonework. This gives the whole 

 ruin a mean appearance, and destroys the idea of great age; 

 for no building with wooden lintels can last for centuries. 

 Another circumstance which greatly detracts from its dignity 

 is its being overwhelmed with trees. Such, however, is the 

 height of the walls, and of the well defined portions which 

 occur here and there, for example the gatehouse, that, were it 

 not for the want of the master stones, it would not be difficult 

 to render this a grand and impressive ruin ; and to restore in it 

 one or two rooms, so as to form a habitation for a person to 

 take care of the whole. The views from the castle must, from 

 its elevation, be very extensive ; but it is so shrouded in trees, 

 that we can only see over the precipitous terrace walls to a deep 

 valley, the sides and bottom of which are covered with ancient 

 wood. Immediately within the gatehouse there is an elder tree, 

 the branches of which are covered to their very extremity with 

 Polypodium vulgare, giving it a very singular appearance, which 

 we suppose would be not unlike that of the dank woods of 

 Demerara and other places, where the trees are covered with 

 Orchidacese. In one of the kitchens there is a common maple, 

 which has sprung up out of the floor, and is nearly 50 ft. high ; 

 and in another kitchen there is a large fireplace, with an oven 

 on one side, and a niche for the turnspit to sit in on the other. 

 Such a tree as this maple might remain, provided the floor were 

 cleared out so far as to show distinctly that it was a floor ; but 

 almost all the other trees we would remove, together with as 

 much of the soil and rubbish as would allow us to recognise 

 what the castle had been, the height of the walls in some places, 

 the dimensions of the rooms and their uses in others, and if 

 possible the situation of the staircases ; for the stone steps have 

 been generally removed. From these hints may be derived a 

 knowledge of the principle on which ruins in actual scenery are to 

 be treated, viz. that of showing, by what exists, what has been. To 

 show the height of walls, clear away the rubbish, in some places, 

 to their very base; to show lateral extent, uncover or indicate such 

 fragments of foundations as may have belonged to the building 

 when in a perfect state ; to show the sizes of the rooms, cleat- 

 out their floors; and, to show the whole group of ruins at a dis- 

 tance, remove such of the surrounding trees as may be necessary 

 for that purpose. 



Sharpham ; Durant, Esq. The road from Totness to 



Sharpham is a crooked narrow lane between high banks, in 

 which two carriages can with difficulty pass. If widened and 

 carried along an improved line, which might be almost on a 



