Warwick Castle 
own defencive situation, exceeds, it is hard to be 
determined. At our hist ascending entrance wee 
passed over a large bridge and then through a strong 
double gate into a fayre courte leaning on either hand, 
a strong and lofty defensible tower, namely, Julius 
Caesar’s on tbe left and Guy of Warwicke’s on the 
right. 
“The castle is seated on the sayd river Avon. By 
it a second Eden, wherein is a most stately mount, 
which overtops and commands a great part of her 
owne and some part of four adjacent shires; and the 
whole hill and declining brow is so planted and fur¬ 
nished with beech, birch, and severall sorts of plum- 
trees, as it is more delightful and pleasant to ascend. 
“ By this large and pleasant peece of ground, which 
is adorned with all kind of delightful and shady 
walks and arbors, pleasant groves and wildernesses, 
fruitful trees, delicious bowers, oderiferous herbes 
and fragrant 
flowers, b e - 
tweene the river 
and the high 
rocky {founda¬ 
tions of the Cas¬ 
tle, on the south 
side thereof, 
there are many 
rare and curious 
fish ponds, all 
made and hewn 
out of the solid 
rock of {free¬ 
stone, like cis¬ 
terns of lead, 
which are levell 
with the river, 
and sup ply’d 
with great store 
O 
THE CEDAR 
of good fish. 
“This sump¬ 
tuous stately building, this most pleasant gar¬ 
den, and these most delightful fish ponds were 
made thus rare and excellent at the cost and 
charges of that worthy and famous knight, her late 
owner and inhabitant, Sir Fulke Greville. And as 
at the last Castle (Kenilworth), we met with the high 
armor of that warrior Guy of Warwicke for his body, 
so here we saw that for bis horn, his fearful! sword 
and dagger, the larger rib and tooth of the wild bore, 
which they call a dangerous beast that frequented 
the woods, the hills, and the rocks thereabout, which 
he encountered withall, and slew, if report passe for 
credit. ”* 
I make no apology for extracting this long quota¬ 
tion from the excellent observations of “the Captain, 
Lieutenant, and Ancient’’ of the worshipful Nor¬ 
wich Company. Their descriptive powers were so 
good, that the picture they drew for us forms a very 
accurate sketch of what we see to-day. 
Admirably adapted for defensive purposes is the 
site of this castle, which crowns a lofty hill. Passing 
the porter’s lodge we ascend the steep slope of the 
carriage drive which has been cut through the solid 
rock and is overhung with trees. Suddenly, as we 
gain the outer court of the castle, we see before us a 
grand view of tbe stupendous walls of the fortress 
with its lofty towers. A deep moat adds to the 
strength of the fortifications, formerly spanned by a 
drawbridge. There is a noble double gateway clad 
with ivy, flanked by towers. The portcullis still re¬ 
mains, and the four holes through which heated 
sand or burning pitch could be poured upon incon¬ 
venient visitors to discourage their attentions. 
Entering the 
courtyard, we 
see on the left 
Caesar’s Power 
and the front of 
the habitable 
portion of the 
castle, some- 
what modern¬ 
ised, an exten¬ 
sive restoration 
of the Great 
Hall having 
been necessita¬ 
ted by the disas¬ 
trous lire which 
broke out in 
1871. On the 
right stands 
Guy’s Tower, 
drawing-room the Bear and 
Clarence Tow¬ 
ers and the strong walls guarding the inner bailey 
court. A beautiful stretch of greensward covers the 
courtyard, and in front is the mound or keep where 
once stood the Norman fortress, and where Ethel- 
fleda, the daughter of Alfred, raised her Saxon strong¬ 
hold. 
These towers are worthy of close inspection. 
Caesar’s Tower has nothing Roman about it except 
its name. Nor can it claim Norman origin. It was 
built, as I have said, by Tbomas de Beauchamp in 
the 14th century. Its plan is polygonal with curved 
faces and machicolated withoverhanging battlements. 
Its height is T47 feet. The base projects widely. 
There are four storeys. Its most interesting feature 
is the strong vaulted dungeon, the walls of which 
* The legends connected with Guy, Earl of Warwick, who lived in the 9th century, are full of romantic interest. The minstrels in the Middle Ages used to tell of how he fought the 
Danish chieftain Colbrand, went as a pilgriuuto the Holy Land, slew the dun cow, a ferocious beast, and a huge wild boar, and retired from the world, ending his life in a hermit's cave 
which still bears his name, Guy’s Cliff. 
2 93 
