REPORT OF MEETINGS FOR 1907 191 



in that direction that they consisted of great works or screens 

 flanked by stron{^ round towers. In England the process 

 of expansion went on; but in Scotland it suddenly stopped, 

 castle-building reverting to the simple square tower, which 

 was a novel feature in England two hundred years earlier."* 

 So impressive are these walls on account of their height and 

 thickness that they have given rise to a local proverb that to 

 "ding doun Tantallon " would prove as great a feat as to 

 "big a brig to the Bass." In the space so enclosed buildings 

 were probably continued all round the quadrangle, some of 

 the more recent of these constructed upon vaulted cellars 

 being still distinguishable on the North side. A work of 

 reconstruction at the instance of James V. has contributed not 

 a little to their formidable aspect, the original gateway having 

 been blocked up with a wall in front, and embrasures for 

 guns having been formed at each side to sweep the ditch and 

 protect the curtains. The character of the stone quarried 

 for this purpose can readily be distinguished from the fine- 

 grained freestone originally employed. A few years ago a 

 well, the surface of whose water lies 106 feet below the 

 level of the courtyard, was discovered by the custodian, and 

 in all probability supplied the needs of the garrison. 



The exact date and the circumstances of the erection of the 

 Castle are unknown. It comes into prominence 

 Historical with the rising fortunes of the family of Douglas, 

 Notes. who gained possession of the barony of North 



Berwick about 1371, and whose emblem of the 

 bloody heart crumbles on the stone shield above the entrance. 

 On its forfeiture by Douglas in 1479, Archibald, 5th Earl of 

 Angus — familiarly known as "Bell the Cat" — received a grant 

 of it from James III. The next Earl, after his marriage 

 with the Queen-mother of James V. and the forfeiture of 

 the custody of the youthful king, betook himself to this 

 stronghold, where he defied the whole opposing forces of the 

 realm. His audacity led to its being besieged by the King 

 in 1528, who failing to reduce it with his available artillery 

 raised the siege, and thereafter during the absence of Angus 



History of Scotland, Vol. in. 



