Tonbridge Castle and its Lords

( 12 ) TONBBIDGE OASTLE AND ITS LOBDS. BY J. E. WADMORE, A.R.I.B.A. ALTHOUGH we may gain much useful information from Lambard, Hasted, Eurley, and others, who have written on this subject, yet I venture to think that there are historical points and features in connection with this building, and the remarkable mound within it, which will be found fresh and interesting. I propose therefore to give an account of the mound and castle, as far as may be from pre-historic times, in connection with the Lords of the Castle and its successive owners. THE MOUND. Some years since, Dr. Fleming, who then resided at the castle, discovered on the mound a coin of Constantine, minted at Treves. Eew will be disposed to dispute the inference, that the mound existed previously to the coins resting upon it. We must not, however, hastily assume that the mound is of Boman origin, either as regards date or construction. The numerous earthworks and camps which are even now to be found scattered over the British islands are mainly of pre-historic date, although some mounds may be considered Saxon, and others Danish. Many are even now familiarly spoken of as Caesar's or Yespasian's camps, like those at East Hampstead (Berks), Folkestone, Amesbury, and Bensbury at Wimbledon. Yet these are in no case to be confounded with Boman TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. 13 camps, which in the times of the Consulate were always square, although under the Emperors both square and oblong shapes were used.* These British camps or burys are of all shapes and sizes, taking their form and configuration from the hill-tops on which they were generally placed. Such, for instance, are Oldbury near Ightham, and Bigbury near Canterbury. They formed the oppida, or towns where the tribes resided ; where they raised their scanty crops of corn, or drove in their cattle for defence. As the tribes increased, other hills were seized upon, and fortified; where they approached the plain, some other means were necessary to insure their safety. The streams and rivers were made use of and fortified; beside them they constructed artificial mounds or outposts. The method was simple. Two circles were drawn, one within the other; and the ground excavated from between these circles was piled up in the centre till it formed a mound. The excavation formed a fosse or ditch. A trench was then excavated between the fosse and the river, and when the river bank was cut through the water flowed into the fosse. Some of these mounds remain in much the same state now as when originally constructed; such are Billing's Mound in Northamptonshire, and Pleshey in Essex. Others, at Oxford, Warwick, and Tonbridge, have been incorporated with later fortifications. The word don or ton in Saxon denotes a town; and burig a fort, from whence we derive the present name of Tonbrigge or Tonbridge. These mounds were originally protected with a * Eoy's Military Antiquities; Historia de Castris, ed. by P. A. Schilius; Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities, art. Castra; Dr. Bruce's History of the Boman Wall, ld< TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. wooden stockade on the top, which was reached by a wooden bridge and a narrow stepped path, while the fosse was protected with "prceustas sudes," as Csesar calls them, driven in below high-water mark. Erom such a position the garrison would have the control of the whole of the river and country adjacent; and from the top they could by beacon light warn the neighbouring oppida of approaching danger, or obtain needful reinforcement. The Tonbridge mound at the base is about 267 yards in circumference, tapering with an angle of 38° to 83 yards at the top, which is about 65 feet above the river level. The mound con-. tains some 35,000 cubic yards of earth, which must have cost much time and labour in those early times with the imperfect means at hand to form so large a structure. At the present time such a mound would cost about £1750. These mounds are not perfectly circular, but generally are slightly oval in plan, and fortified with a stockade. In Anglo-Saxon times, and under the Heptarchy, the primitive abaltis was replaced by a substantial stone wall (to some extent the result of previous Boman civilization), such as that which Ida is said to have erected A.D. 547, when "he builded Bamborough, which was first surrounded by a hedge, and afterwards with a stone wall."* Although these forts were a great improvement, they were still but a poor and insufficient barrier against the oft-repeated raids of the Danes. In the time of Archbishop iElfric, A.D. 999— " An army landed in Kent,f which went up along the Medway to Eochester; and the Kentish men came down and met them, and * J. Stevenson's Church Historians of England, vol. ii., part i., p, 9, t Ibid., p. 79. TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. 15 there stoutly joined battle ; but, alas! they too quickly yielded and fled for want of support. And the Danish men had possession of the place of carnage, and they took horse and rode whithersoever they would." When William the Norman landed at Pevensey they were equally unable to oppose his advance after the fatal defeat at Battle. EICHABD FITZ GILBERT alias D E TONBKIDGE. Amongst the number of nobles who accompanied "William and assisted in his conquest of England were three of his own blood relations—his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, subsequently created Earl of Kent; and the two sons of Gilbert Crispin,* Comte de Brionne, whose father, Geoffery, Comte d'Bu, was the natural son of the first Eichard, Duke of Normandy. The two Fitz Gilberts, Eichard and Baldwin, being conspicuous for their bravery in the field, were liberally rewarded by the Conqueror with grants of honours and lands. Eichard was at first rewarded with the Manor of Benfieldf in Northampton; whence, says Dugdale, but quite erroneously, he was called " de Bienfaite." Eichard was appointed, conjointly with William de Warren, Chief Justice in England, and appears to have successfully fought against and subdued the Earls of Hereford, Northumberland, and Norfolk, when they rose in rebellion against the king. When Domesday Book was compiled, A.D. 1086, we find Eichard Fitz Gilbert's name entered as Eichard de Tonbridge, from the possessions he had then acquired in Kent in exchange for others which he had held in Normandy. The following account of this transaction is given by Eobert de Monte in his History of King Henry I. : " From remote times this fortress J (the Castle of Brionne) was one of those in which the Dukes of Normandy had a residence, and kept it in their own hands, with the sole exception that the second Eichard had given it to Count Geoffry, bis natural brother, and his son Count Gilbert had held it after him; but when he was slain it had reverted into possession of the Dukes of Normandy. Eoger the son of Eichard (Fitz Gilbert) laid claim to that castle on the ground that it had been formerly held by his grandfather, Count Gilbert There are many old people who say that Eoger's father, Eichard Fitz Gilbert de Tonbridge, had long ago received the * Dugdale's Baronage, pp. 206, 207. t Dug., Bar., p. 206. Baker's Northampton, vol. i., p. 7. 6 William I. | J. Stevenson's Clmrck Historians of England, vol. v., part i., p. 14 16 TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. town of Tonbridge, in England, in exchange for this same castle; for they say that the leuga of Brionne, in the first instance, was measured round with a line, and that the same line was carried across into England, where it enclosed the same quantity of ground which formed the leuga of Tonbridge; so that the district (or lowey) of Tonbridge embraces the same number of miles as that of Brionne." From this statement it would appear that the town and lowey of Tonbridge was then of sufficient importance for Eichard Fitz Gilbert to give up for it his claim to one of the royal castles of Normandy. Brionne is situate in the department of Eure, on the banks of the Eeille, between Bee and Pont Audemer, in a beautiful country full of historical interest. The remains of a castle are still to be seen at Brionne. At the famous meeting, held on Penenden Heath in A.D. 1070, we find recorded the name of Eichard de Tonbridge.* The exchange of Brionne for Tonbridge had therefore been effected prior to this. In 1086, when the survey recorded in Domesday Book was completed, Eichard de Tonbridge was possessed of Hailing, Barming, and other lands in the parishes of Ashe, Aylesford, Beckenham, Cooling, Eynesford, Frindsbury, Farningham, Leybourn, Meopham, Milton, Northfleet, Lullingstone, Otford, Southfleet, Swanscomb, and Wrotham, all in Kent; besides these, he held no less than thirty-eight lordships in Surrey, thirty-five in Essex, three in Cambridge, one in Hereford, sixteen in Wilts, one in Devon, and ninety-five in Suffolk; and, in addition to the before-mentioned lands, he held thirteen burgages in Ipswich, of which Clare was one —hence we find him described as Eichard de Clare.f THE NORMAN CASTLE. At this time Tonbridge Castle presented an entirely different aspect from that which it afterwards assumed. The mound, to which I have before alluded, was crowned with a substantial stone fortress, strengthened at regular intervals with buttresses, and embattled with a stone parapet. The interior buildings were covered with a vaulted stone roof, and served as a platform for the defence. Light and air were obtained from a small circular opening in the centre, which was left uncovered for this purpose; similar to that of the Eound Tower at Windsor Castle, which was enlarged by * Thorpe's Reg. Roff, pp. 28, 33. f Camden, Britannia (P. Holland's folio, 1610), p. 462. TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LOBDS. 17 William II., and raised to an additional height by George IV. One low semi-circular doorway,* with Norman shafts, caps, and bases, gave access to the interior, which was approached by a short flight of steps. A wooden bridge, supported on stone piers, formed a narrow roadway across the moat, beyond which a space of about two acres was enclosed with a stockade, fosse, and rampart. The building of the keep was only one story in height, strengthened with buttresses at regular intervals. The parapet was embattled, and a low parapet ran round inside, the offices being underneath, while the centre was reserved for light and air. THE CASTLE BESIEGED AND CAPTUBED A.D. 1088. No sooner had William Eufus succeeded to the throne of England, than a dispute arose between him and his brother Eobert, to whom a larger part of the Normans, at the head of whom was Bishop Odo,t attached themselves. Odo and his followers marched into Kent pillaging the vills, and, having fortified Eochester, placed Gilbert Fitz Eichard in command at Tonbridge, while he himself retired to Eochester, and sent messengers to Eobert to invite him over. William at once assembled an army, intending to march to Eochester, where he heard that the rebels were assembled in force. But finding that the castle of Tonbridge held out, he besieged it, and after two days forced Gilbert, who was wounded, to surrender, together with his father Eichard de Tonbridge, who is said to have been with him. Placing the castle in charge of a guard, he accepted the fealty of the inhabitants, and started for Eochester; but finding that Odo had fled to Pevensey, he turned his steps thither. Other accounts state that the castle was destroyed; this is improbable, or he could not have garrisoned it before leaving; and on the surrender of the castles at Pevensey and Eochester, Odo and his friends fled into Normandy. Eichard de Tonbridge and Baldwin his brother were afterwards taken prisoners at Oourci in Normandy, and, according to * The cap of one of the Norman oolumns was lying on the ground near the top of the mound some ten or twelve years since; it has, however, now disappeared; but its fellow was found embedded in the foundation of some old building at Eerox Hall, and may now be seen on the lawn. • t Elorenoe of Worcester, in Stevenson's Ch. Hist, of Engl., vol. ii., parti., p. 309. VOL. XVI. C 1 8 TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. Dr. Fleming,* Eichard died in captivity about A.D. 1091. Dugdalef erroneously tells us that he was slain in an ambush in South Wales, in the reign of Henry I. By his wife Eohais,J daughter of Walter Gifford, Earl of Buckingham, Eichard de Tonbridge left five sons and one daughter. Of the sons, Eobert married Matilda the daughter of Simon, Count of Humard; Eichard entered the monastery at Bee; Walter (who founded Tintern Abbey) and Eoger both died without issue; and Gilbert Fitz Eichard de Tonbridge married Adeliza, daughter of the Count of Claremont.§ Gilbert obtained the greater part of his father's lands in England, and is said to have resided frequently at Tonbridge. He allowed himself to get entangled in a conspiracy with Eobert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, to assassinate the King by laying in wait for him as he passed through a wood; but, repenting of the part he had taken, he besought the King's pardon and prevented the mischief. On another occasion he took part in the rebellion of Eobert, Earl of Morton. |j Gilbert Fitz Eichard, who married the daughter and heiress of the Count of Claremont, had by her four sons, Eichard de Clare, Gilbert de Clare, Walter, and Eobert. Gilbert de Clare was surnamed the Strongbow, and in the 10th of Henry I. he besought the King to give him lands in Wales (Cadogan ap Blethyn), and he soon induced the inhabitants of that country to surrender. Here he built two castles,lf and made raids on the lands of his uncles Eoger and Walter; he was subsequently created Earl of Pembroke. Strongbow had nothing to do with Tonbridge Castle. Eichard de Clare, brother of Gilbert the Strongbow, became possessed of Tonbridge Castle, and married a sister of Ealph, Earl of Chester.** He in A.D. 1124 translated the monks from his castle at Clare to St. Augustine's Church at Stoke, and bestowed a rent out of Baldock in Bedfordshire on the Knights Templars. He also founded and endowed the Priory of St. Mary Magdalene at Tonbridge for monks of the Order of St. Augustine.ft He is described * Dr. I. P. Fleming's Tonbridge Castle, p. 10. t Dugdale, Bar., p. 207. X Stevenson's Ch. Hist, of Engl., vol. v., part i., p. 32. § Ibid, || Dugdale, Baronage, p. 207. IT Camden, Britannia, p. 462. ** Stevenson's Ch. Hist., vol. v., part i., pp. 32 and 34. ft Dugdale, Bar., p. 210. Dugdale, Mon., vol, ii,, p. 258. Arck. Cant., Vol. XIV., p. 327. TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. 19 as " being a man remarkable for his singular excellence, the hereditary possessor of lands and castles innumerable. He entered into treaty with the chief men in Wales for the performance of certain duties for which he held hostages, and had so brought the country to a state of peace and fertility, which contrasted most favourably with England." " Having made a request to the King of some importance, and meeting with a direct refusal, he retraced his steps into Wales, attended by a large retinue, with the intention of waging war against him, when he fell into an ambush of those very Welshmen, and was lamentably slain on the 17 th of the Kalends of May. His body was carried to Gloucester and honourably buried in the chapter-house of the brethren A.D. 1136."* Amongst many bequests, he gave xxs per annum to the monks of Lewes, from the Tolls of Tonbridge for eight days preceding the Feast of St. Pancras. His wife, sister of the Earl of Chester, after his death, fled for refuge to one of his strongest castles, where she suffered great straights for some time ; until Milo, the governor of the city of Gloucester, by the command of the King, made his way over mountains and through forests, and gallantly rescued her. Eichard de Clare, by this lady, the sister of Ealph, Earl of Chester, left two sons, Gilbert and Eoger. Gilbert took part in the wars of King Stephen, and some confusion consequently arises between this Gilbert and his uncle Gilbert the Strongbow. f From Eobert de Monte we learn that the younger Gilbert died without issue in 1152, and was buried in the cell at Clare which Gilbert, his grandfather, had given to the monks of Bec.J His brother Eoger succeeded him. When Thomas Becket had been consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury he proceeded to carry out his favourite scheme of restoring and reducing to their primitive state " those rights and dignities of the Church of which the civil power had deprived her."§ " He demanded from the King the restoration of the lordship of the Castle of Eochester, and of the Tower of Saltwood and Hethe ; * Stevenson's Ch. Hist., Florence of Worcester, vol. ii„ part i., p. 350. t Dugdale, Bar., p. 210. % R. de Monte. Stevenson's Ch. Hist., vol. iv., part ii., p. 732. A note gives the date as 1153. Dugdale (p. 210) says 1151. § Gervase's History of the Archbishops of Canterbury. Stevenson's Ch. Hist., vol. v., part i., p. 331. c 2 2 0 TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. also the land of William de Eos ;* a service of seven knights; and other things of the same sort. He demanded from the Earl of Clare the homage of the Castle of Tonbridge, with the district adjacent, which is commonly styled the bailie. Hence it came to pass, says the historian, that many persons prejudiced the mind of the King against him."t From this we may infer that Eoger had failed to do homage on Becket's enthronization. The rights for which Archbishop Becket contended were shortly after his death restored to the See of Canterbury, and Archbishop Hubert,f the Chancellor of King John, regained the homage of the Earl of Clare for Tonbridge Castle, and other rights which had been lost. Eoger, Earl of Clare, Lord of Tonbridge, died in 1173. He married Matilda, daughter of James de St. Hillary, and left one son named Eichard, who was Earl of Clare, Gloucester, and Hertford, and died A.D. 1207. He left by his wife Amicia,§ daughter and sole heiress of the Earl of Gloucester, one daughter, Eose, who married Eoger de Mowbray, and one son, Gilbert, who married his third-cousin, Isabella, one of the five daughters and coheirs of William le Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. The young Earl Gilbert attended the conference of barons and nobles held at Bury St. Edmunds)] against King John, for the purpose of demanding a confirmation of their rights and privileges, which ultimately resulted in the concession of Magna Charta at Eunnymede. John sought to evade this by procuring a bull from the Pope anathematizing the barons ; and one Falcasius was instructed by him to seize the Castle of Tonbridge, on the King's behalf, which he did in December 1215. Nor was the castle restored to its rightful owner until after the death of King John. In 1200 Hugh de Pecham was constable of the castle, and of him one*|[ Eustace Fitz William complained to King John in April A.D. 1200 that he had been taken and imprisoned by force five days in Tonbridge Castle, and despoiled of his goods and chattels to the value of vij marks. * Tithes of bis land in Wrotham were given by Geoffrey de Ros to the monks of St. Andrew's, Rochester. Hasted, vol. v., p. 18. t Gervase's History of the Archbishops in Stevenson's Church Hist, of Engl., vol. v., part i., p. 331. % Gervase's History of the Archbishops, ibid., pp. 345, 346. A.D. 1200. § Dugdale's Baronage, p. 211. || Lambard, 422-3; Fleming, p. 14; Holinshed, vol. ii., p. 368. % Furley's Weald of Kent, vol. i., p. 381. TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. 21 Gilbert, Earl of Gloster and Hertford, in 1230* accompanied King Henry III. into Brittany, with a large army commanded by Otho, Earl Marshal, and the Earl of Chester, to invade the territory of King Lewis of France, where he died within that year. By his wife Isabella, Gilbert leftf three sons, Eichard, William, and Gilbert, and three daughters, Amicia, Agnes, and Isabella. Isabella married Eobert de Bruce, and Amicia became the wife of Baldwin de Eedvers, Earl of Devon. Earl Gilbert was succeeded in his estates and honours by Eichard, at that time only eight years of age, who, being in the King's wardship, was given in charge to Sir Peter de Eoches,J Bishop of Winchester. At the same time the King gave the custody of the Castle of Tonbridge into the hands of Hubert de Burgh, who was appointed Chief Justiciary, and afterwards Earl of Kent. The arrangements made by the King for the wardship of Eichard de Clare, and the custody of the castle, appear to have given umbrage to the Archbishop,§ who (circa A.D. 1230) made a formal complaint to the King that the Chief Justiciary had, on the death of the late Earl, seized the Castle and Lowey of Tonbridge, which he claimed as a fief of the archbishopric. To this the King replied, that the wardship of right belonged to him, and it was his prerogative to dispose of it as he might think fit. This answer displeased the indignant prelate, who proceeded forthwith to excommunicate the wrongful detainers of the lands ; then he set out to carry his complaint to Eome. Upon this the King and the Earl of Kent sent proctors to Gregory IX., who consented to act as arbitrator in the matter between them, and gave his award in favour of the Archbishop. Although the primate hastened back, he was not permitted to enjoy his triumph; he was taken ill on the way, and died A.D. 1231. In 1237 Eichard de Clare, the young Earl of Gloucester, was espoused to Matilda, || the daughter and sole heir of John de Laci, or Santhia,^f Earl of Lincoln; and two years afterwards his mother, Isabella, departed this life (A..D. 1239), and was buried at Beaulieu. Her heart was enshrined at Tewkesbury, and her bowels buried at Missenden, Bucks. In the following year Eichard came of age, * Robert of Gloucester, Stevenson's Ch. Hist., vol. v., part i., p. 354. t Dugdale, Bar., p. 211. % Robert of Gloucester, Stevenson's Ch. Hist., vol. v., part i., p. 354. § Furley^ Weald, vol. ii., p. 68. || Dugdale, Bar., pp. 211, 212. IT Robert of Gloucester, Stevenson's Ch. Hist., vol. v., part i., p. 357. 2 2 TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. and was taken out of ward. In 1241* his son Gilbert was born and in 1246 his son Bevis. ERECTION OP THE EXISTING CASTLE. At this period of our history, viz. during the earlier part of Earl Richard's life, it is probable that extensive additions were made to the external defences of the castle, either by Hubert de Burgh, in his capacity of guardian, or by the young Earl of Clare, on his coming of age. To prevent further encroachments on the part of the Archbishops of Canterbury, the circular castle or donjon was converted into a Norman fortress, after the model of those first constructed in Normandy by Richard I., such as Roche Guyonf and Chateau Gaillard. Up to this date the earlier Saxon or Danish forts, such as Oxford, Windsor, Warwick, Tonbridge, had retained their circular form, being simply strengthened with a rampart and fosse; while the Norman castles, such as London, Rochester, Colchester, and others, erected immediately after the Conquest, were of more imposing pretensions, and square in plan. The system now introduced was to retain the earlier donjon or keep as part of more extensive defences, by making a strong port| or entrance, flanked with semicircular towers, carrying a curtain wall or covered way to communicate with the mound, and continuing the wall round the irregular area of the outer ballium, flanked at the angles with bastions. In the case of Tonbridge, the water was carried round the mound, * Robert of Gloucester, Stevenson's Ch, Hist., vol. v., p. 358. t Viollet le Duo, Diet, de VArchitecture, vol. iii., pp. 81, 96, vide Chateau. X Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire is singularly like that of Tonbridge, both in configuration and port defenoes, and is of the same date. mm to 4V- & 1 ^#= :™er: ^pownD(jN.,panf^- '\uuf r ,30L_ , .iP. .^o. jSftftrgr J.F.Wadmore del. C F. Knll Pkolo I.itt.i '....ct.i'i E e ^otiiinW ^ ( M J A ^.JGni ^ ^(JIROXXP. j3»»^. 0 " H ' D . •4Jf WofSwiA T UP O)>. B^MUP Ut an oHnrrtflpoff ,>*• I * > • j i f i . - fL ^"J I t|M* . i < * g 1 6 g . r 6 E T i.r",AVlin.JI';,'lf)l TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. 23 passing under the wall through an arched opening below the water level. By this means the moat might, if needful, be rendered available for the defence of the keep. I t will be seen by a reference to the Plans that the walls of the port are splayed off at the outer angles, so as to throw off missiles at an obtuse angle. The port was further strengthened by a drawbridge, passing over the moat, and a heavy portcullis, raised by counter weights. In the groining over the entrance, square openings were left for the emission of boiling oil, pitch, or other means of defence, should the assailants succeed in getting so far. The foundations of the port spring direct from a bed of sandstone rock, without footings; the lower portion of the interior is filled in, solid, with earth and stones; and there is a low arched donjon, to be used either as a prison or for stores, below the ground level. In the central passage-way are two arched openings, further protected with stout door and portcullis, leading direct into the guard-rooms, from which winding stone stairs led in the rear to the several floors. The risers being over ten inches in height make the ascent rather laborious. The ground rooms are each lighted from narrow openings, 2 | to 3 inches wide externally, expanding with splayed reveals to form a convenient bay inside. On the first floor there are three divisions. Erom the central one the portcullis was worked, and there were kept stores for the siege; it also served as a passage of communication between the adjoining chambers, each of which had similar openings for light, and a good weathered chimney-opening in each; in 2 4 TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. one of these the iron dogs still remain. The righthand room opens on to a passage leading to the stairs, and by a side door to a covered way, and ascending steps to the keep. There are also stone latrines by the side, which discharge into the moat. The construction of the narrow window-openings deserves attention; we there see the skilful way in which light was admitted, without exposing those within (see plan and section). Should an arrow or crossbow-bolt pierce the slit, its further course would be checked by striking directly against the inner discharging arch, and it would drop harmlessly on the sill of the window. The upper floor or third story forms a noble apartment or hall, 62 feet long by 28 feet wide, and 15 feet high. Eour narrow slits give a view of the country outside; while on the inside, overlooking the ballium, are two handsome and well-proportioned twolight windows with mullions and tracery. They stand one on either side of a substantial weathered chimney opening. The windows are provided with stone seats in the opening of the bay, which is formed out of the thickness of the wall. Erom this apartment there was an arched opening on either side, communicating with the circular stone stairs which gave access to it, and which were continued up to the roof. On the left-hand side, opening out of a narrow passage, a door led direct on to the covered way, or flank wall, protected by two buttresses; as was also the door of the lower story. As this wall was not enfiladed or protected like the one on the side of the keep, it was carried 11 feet higher. The floors and roofs were formed of timber; the solid beams were 12 inches square, as appears by the opening now remaining in the walls, where their ends cnc\V)r.f ir^op. ^vS^vS?-—r 1 1+- .1, -AI -L 1 T -14 "I r rzx: ELEVATION INSIDE ELEVATION OUTSIDE Z PLAN SECTION miLlJ^SJLJbJL^L J.F.Wadmore, del. N?6. C. F KoU, l'hoto Litho London E C NORTH WINDOW IN THE FORT. jjloMittinaf -fcjndm^ % ft iiravu < i ^ j « t > • _ / t a o > | r . • . ) ? . M | ( ^ I ! 1- _1 1 L. . i I'.'A'a.diuoie,dei I /.•'; ^U'u uibo London. E TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. 25 were inserted. The roof was slightly trussed, and covered with lead, forming a terrace, and protected with a crenelated parapet. The stairs were not carried higher than the roof; but they were probably covered by a conical roof, as shewn in the illustration. The door on the second floor, opening on to the covered way to the keep, was not less than 50 feet from the bottom of the moat, which probably held some 5 or 6 feet of water. The sides of the wall are stepped and battered, as they rise out of the mound, and formed a secure passage-way from the port to the keep. The keep was entered by a round arched Norman doorway, the caps of which we have before mentioned. On the south-west side of the keep a similar doorway led on to another covered way, which led down to the south wall on the river, where it was no doubt intended to have terminated in a bastion. Of this wall or bastion no visible remains exist. Along the south wall, or river front, were the domestic buildings, and the remains of a stone staircase and culverts from the latrines still exist. On the southeast there was also a bastion which, falling into decay, was probably rebuilt by one of the Staffords, and so was called the Stafford Tower. This commanded the approaches to the bridge and the town. Halfway between this and the port was a chapel, in another bastion facing east. Of this no remains exist; nor did they in Hasted's time. Mr. King saw some of the remains of the piers supporting the drawbridge, which crossed the moat; and he also mentions a water tower which stood on the south-west, so as to command the sluices and weir.* * Archceologia, vol. vi., pp. 273-290. 2 6 TONBRIDGE CASTLE AND ITS LORDS. The testimony of the masonry and details of the stonework are, in my opinion, quite sufficient to justify one in ascribing the existing remains to this date (A.D. 1220-40). Had the work been earlier, we should have seen the round-headed windows with which one is familiar, either at Rochester or Colchester; had it been later, it would have partaken of the Edwardian character, in which it is entirely wanting. Added to this, we have it on the authority of Lambard* that Henry III. in 1259f gave permission to Richard de Clare to wall and embattle his town of Tonbridge. " Claudare muro et circumvallare," to enclose both the town and castle with a wall, and so unite the two for one common purpose. It would have been clearly of little use to fortify the town without first properly providing for the exigences of the castle. THE TOWN DITCH OR DYKE. The remains of the fosse then constructed is even now clearly to be traced; as may be seen from the accompanying plan, it is over 950 yards in length. Commencing from a small stream on the west of the castle (marked A on plan), it ran in a north-easterly direction for a distance of 330 yards up to the town gate (B), where the port-reeve's dwelling stood. There a bridge crossed the fosse, and led direct into the London Road. Erom thence it ran down Bordyke (probably Broad-dyke or Boro-dyke), bending round to the southeast until it was again crossed by a bridge and gate, called the postern (c), a distance of 330 yards, and, continuing south, terminated with a bastion (D); the * Page 424. t Hasted, vol. v., p. 208, gives the year as 1260. iilfl 1 nj^yi^; /oSlii Wi, ^^awrag y w $ f " W •'•-ll'i'1 •*<*>