94 A R C H I T I 
clofed with thick folding doors of oak, often plated with 
iron, and with an iron portcullis or grate let down from 
above. Within this outward wall was a large open fpace 
or court, called, in the larged and moll perfeft caftles, 
the outer bayle, or baltium, in which flood commonly a 
church or chapel. On the infide of this outer bayle was 
another ditch, wall, gate, and towers, incloling the inner 
bayle or court, within w hich the chief tower or keep was 
built. This was a very large fquare fabric, four op five 
dories high, having fmall windows in prodigious thick 
walls, which rendered the apartments within it dark and 
gloomy. This great tower was the palace of the prince, 
prelate, or baron, to w hom the caftle belonged, and the 
refidence of the conllable or governor. Under ground 
were difmal dark vaults, for the confinement of prifoners, 
which made it fometimes be called the dungeon. In this 
building alfo was the great hall, in which the owner dif- 
played his hofpitality, by entertaining his numerous friends 
and follow ers. At one end of the great halls of cadles, 
palaces, and monafteries, there was a place raifed a little 
above the reft of the floor, called the dels, where the chief 
table flood, at which perfons of the highefl rank dined. 
Though there were unqueftionably great variations in the 
ftruclure of caftles, yet the mod perfect and magnificent 
of them feem to have been conftruCted nearly on the above 
plan. Such, to give one example, was the famous caftle 
of Bedford, as appears from the following account of the 
manner in which it was taken by Henry III. in 1224. The 
caftle was taken by four airaults. “ In the firft was taken 
the barbican ; in the fecond the outer ballia ; at the third 
atrack, the wall by the old tower was thrown down by the 
miners, w here, with great danger, they pollefled them- 
felves of the inner ballia, through a chink ; at the fourth 
aflault the miners let fire to the tower, fo that the finoke 
burl! out, and the tower itfelf was cloven to that degree, 
as to ftiew vifibly fome broad chinks: whereupon the ene¬ 
my furrendered.” 
To mod of thefe caftles were annexed large fubterra- 
neous palfages or caverns under ground, dug from the 
low eft vault in the interior of the caftle, quite under the 
foundation, and continued perhaps to the diftance of half 
a mile in a direCt line, ferving not only for a place of fe- 
curity in times of danger, but alfo for a means of efcape, 
whenever a caftle ftiould be ftormed and taken by an ene¬ 
my. The principal ftru&ure of this kind now remaining 
in England, from which might be collected an adequate 
idea of the magnitude and fplendour of thefe princely fa¬ 
brics, is the caftle of Windfor, an attentive infpeCtion of 
w hich will amply repay the time and labour of every cri¬ 
tical enquirer into the rudiments of the Norman Gothic 
architecture. 
On the lea-coafts of Scotland we generally find the 
ftrongeft and molt ancient, as well as the mod impregnable, 
caftles. Thefe had to defend themfelves from the invafion 
of the foreign enemy, as well as the attacks of the do- 
meftic foe. Thus we find the barons, whofe lands extended 
to the fea-coaft, perched, like the eagle, on the mod inac- 
ceflible rocks that lay within their pofteffions. Of this 
kind were Slains caftle, Tantallon, and Dunotter, on the 
eaft coaft; and Dunveganin the illeof Sky, with Dunolly, 
on the weft coaft. Thefe mull have been mod uncomfor¬ 
table retreats, except to a barbarous people, or when a 
prefling danger forced the baron to feek his fafety in the 
only poftible retreat left him. 
Very fimilar to thefe, as being ereCted on the fummit of 
a lofty and circular hill, was the caftle of Old Sarum, of 
which we obtain the following account from Blefenfis and 
Camden. “ Old Sarum is a place expofed to the wind, 
barren, dry, and folitary ; a tower is there, as in Siloam, by 
which the inhabitants have fora longtime been enflaved.” 
The ancient caftle was founded on the extreme point or 
termination of a high hill, which commands an extenfive 
profpell. The whole fortrefs was ereCted of a circular 
figure, and occupied a fpace of near two thoufand feet 
diameter: but the ancient city ftood to the fouth-weft of 
e T U R E. 
the caftle, and, as it were, under its ramparts. The caftle 
was fortified by a deep entrenchment, with a very ftrong 
wall upon its inner ramparts, confifting of flint, chalk, and 
rubble, cafed on the outfide with hewn ftone, as may be 
feen by a part Hill remaining towards the north. It had 
two entrances, the principal towards the fouth-eaft, guard¬ 
ed by a mole without, but fo near it, as to admit but of a 
very narrow paflage. The outer was to the fouth-weft, 
for bringing water to the garrifon from the river Avon, 
which runs through the vale below, at the diftHnce of 
about half a mile. Near the north entrance, in the large 
area within, are part of the foundations of the church ; 
likevvife the traces of many other buildings. This large 
area was divided into parts by entrenchments, with ram¬ 
parts thrown up. At the centre, bounded by the prece¬ 
ding entrenchment, there is another enclofure, guarded 
with a deep entrenchment and very high rampart inwards, 
having upon its fummit the vilible traces of a wall, with 
the remains of a portal towards the fouth-eaft, and of a 
watch-tower towards the north-weft, which may, therefore, 
be reckoned the citadel. Here alfo are difcovered other 
foundations of ruined ftruCtures. Not far fouthward from 
the old watch-tower, a remarkable fubterraneous paflage 
has been lately difcovered. The earth and timber by 
which the mouth of it was before concealed having been 
loofened by the thawing of a deep fnovv, the whole fud- 
denly fell in, difclofing a vault cut in the folid chalk, that 
extends from the edge of the outer area of the caftle to 
the depth of more than forty yards, and runs nearly pa¬ 
rallel to tlie declivity on the outfide. Towards the bot¬ 
tom there are traces of fteps, which might probably con¬ 
tinue ftill farther than the prefent termination of the paflage, 
though whether the latter was intended for a lally-port, or 
whether it conducted to fome fubterraneous apartment, it 
is difficult to determine. 
No mention is made when or by whom this caftle was 
founded, but it certainly was of very ancient date. It 
appears, by Dugdale’s Baronage, that the caftle of Old 
Sarum was given, in the year 1447, to one of the lord 
Stourtons, at that time treafurer of the houfehold of Hen¬ 
ry VI. It mull then have been detached from the earldom, 
and in the crown; for, upon being reprefented fo ruinous 
as to yield no benefit to the king, the patent fays, it was 
granted (25th Henry VI.) to John lord Stourton, in fee, 
together with the banks, ditches, walls, and gardens, there¬ 
unto belonging, to be held by fealty, at the rent of 3s. 4ft. 
per annum. It came again into the gift of the crown, in 
queen Mary’s reign, by the attainder of Charles lord. 
Stourton, who was executed for the murder of Mr. Hart- 
gill and his fon, (who were Proteftants,) at his own table. 
We find it in the reign of James I. in the poffieffion of Sir 
Robert Cecil, fecond fon of lord Burleigh, who was then 
created earl of Salilbury, whofe defcendant, earl James, 
fold the manor of Old Sarum, in 1690, to governor Pitt, 
for 1500I. The governor’s nephew, the great earl of 
Chatham, was born at the manor houfe, and his defcend¬ 
ant, Thomas Pitt lord Camelford, fucceeded to it. The 
buildings and all the outworks were in good repair in the 
reign of king Stephen ; as its ftyle of architecture was al¬ 
ways deemed very curious. 
Of MODERN or PRACTICAL ARCHITECTURE. 
In the fifteenth and fixteenth centuries, when learning 
of all kinds began to revive, the civil architecture of the 
Greeks and Romans was recalled, as it were, into new 
life. The firft improvements in it began in Italy, and 
owed their exiftence to the many ruins of the ancient Gre¬ 
cian ftruCtures that were to be found in that country, from 
whence an improved method of building was gradually 
brought into the other countries of Europe. And though 
the Italians for a long time retained the fuperiority as ar¬ 
chitects over the other European nations ; yet, as men of 
genius began to travel from all quarters into Italy, where 
they had an opportunity of infpeCting into the originals 
from whence the Italians copied, architects quickly fprung 
up 
