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 masonry had to be cut through, and much earth removed, and this, with every aid, was found to be a very tedious and expensive operation. The defence of such a keep was its passive strength alone. The loops were nothing in its defence; the roof being on a slope and of shingle would support no military engine and no great store of stones or heavy missiles. The narrow doorway did not allow of a sally in force, and when seriously attacked the garrison had no resource but to trust to the thickness of their walls, their ample supply of water, their magazines of provisions, and thus patiently to await relief

Such are the details of the rectangular Norman keeps, of which we have in England about fifty extant or well-recorded examples, dating from the year 1078, when the White Tower was begun, to about the year 1180, to which may be attributed the keep of Helmsley.

LIST (approximative) OF RECTANGULAR KEEPS IN ENGLAND. Cheshire. — Chester. Cornwall. — Carnbrè (?) Cumberland. — Carlisle. Derbyshire. — Castleton. Devon. — Okehampton (?). Dorset. — Corfe, Sherborne. Durham. — Norham. Essex. — Colchester, Hedingham, Walden. Gloucestershire. — Bristol (destroyed). Hants. — Christchurch, Porchester, Wolvesey. Hereford. — Goderich. Kent. — Canterbury, Dover, Mailing, Rochester, Thurnham. Lancashire. — Clitheroe, Lancaster. Middlesex. — The Tower. Monmouth. — Chepstow. Norfolk. — Bungay, Castle Rising, Mileham, Norwich. Northumberland. — Bamburgh, Mitford, Newcastle, Prudhoe. Nottingham. — Nottingham (destroyed). Salop. — Bridgnorth, Clun, Ludlow, Wattlesborough. Somerset. — Taunton. Surrey. — Guildford. Sussex. — Bramber. Wales. — Ogmore, Penllyne. Warwickshire. — Kenilworth. Westmoreland. — Appleby, Brough, Brougham. Yorkshire. — Bowes, Helmsley, Middleham, Normanby (?), Richmond, Scarborough.