i88i-i882.] 123 



the Peel-houses of the Scottish border. They present some fea- 

 tures of interest however, for we can trace in them the appH- 

 cation of the same ideas and principles of construction as guided 

 the Normans in their larger works. The great castle with its 

 strong walled enclosure, its bastion, or angle towers, its barbi- 

 can, portcullis, drawbridge, and postern gate, and its massive 

 central keep, from which some great baron and his host of re- 

 tainers overawed half a county, is here replaced by a single mo- 

 dest tower, wherein the knight and his half dozen men at arms, 

 found security for themselves, and maintained England's power 

 over as many square miles. Of these twenty-seven castles, 

 stated to have been built by de Courcy's followers, all are now 

 more or less ruinous, and of some barely a trace remains. In- 

 deed, as will subsequently be seen, it is doubtful whether we 

 can point with certainty to any remaining castle, as being ac- 

 tually of de Courcy's age. The most perfect which the reader 

 had seen, are those at Ardglass, Kilclief, Audley's Castle and 

 Castle Ward, both near Strangford, and Kirkistown Castle, about 

 the centre of the Ards. The three former, viz. — Ardglass, 

 Kilclief, and Audley's Castle, are so much alike, that they are 

 evidently either by the same builder, or have been built upon 

 some recognised plan or model. Audley's Castle may be taken 

 first, as it is rather the simplest. The plan is a square of above 

 thirty feet, with two horns, or square projection in front, be- 

 tween which, high up, an arch springs, which at the first glance 

 suggests the idea of having been intended for a portcullis. 

 This is not so, — a portcullis is to close a gateway, and there is 

 no gateway here, only a narrow side door in one of the projec- 

 tions. From the door a winding stone stair leads to the top of 

 the building. 



Amongst the resources of attack in those days, fire played an 

 important part, and this was guarded against by the ground 

 floor being solidly vaulted over, the great thickness of the walls 

 resisting the thrust which the barrel or wagon-top shaped vault 

 would necessarily produce. The ground floor would be used 

 chiefly for storage. The next floor was occupied probably by 



