Page:Medieval Military Architecture in England (volume 1).djvu/395

 Castle Rising, Norfolk. 365 upon its eastern or Norfolk shore. Half a mile north of the village a large tract of low land is traversed by the Babingley river, and it is evident that before this part of the country was drained and re- claimed by tillage, the approaches to the village upon at least three sides, the north, west and east, must have been almost impracticable. These considerations probably governed those who chose Rising as a residence. The soil is light and sandy, like that of the Dunes of Holland, but contains just enough of vegetable mould to support a growth of turf. The trees are chiefly ash and willow of very large size, and upon the slopes of the castle are some noble and very ancient thorns. The richness of the vegetation in and about the village is in favourable contrast with the dreary and barren heath land by which it is surrounded. The earthworks are on a large scale, and probably the remains of a great English residence, the centre of a large estate ; circumstances which no doubt led to the adaptation of this position for the Norman fortress whence the village has derived the prefix to its more ancient name. The central and principal division of the fortress is composed of an irregular oval area about 67 yards east and west by 80 yards north and south, contained within a broad and lofty bank, which, in its turn, is surrounded by a very formidable ditch. Outside this ditch, covering the east face, is a subsidiary work, also within a bank and ditch. It is in form nearly a parallelogram, but its sides are somewhat irregularly convex, and its angles rounded. Its north end is about 60 yards and its south 70 yards broad, and its length of front 90 yards ; but the ends are inclined, so that where it abuts upon the main ditch it is about 80 yards. This is balanced by a corresponding earthwork on the west point of the central work. This earthwork is about 100 yards north and south by 30 yards broad, and is also contained within a bank and ditch. The ditches of these earthworks do not actually run into the main ditch. A narrow causeway of earth is left between them. The whole exterior girth of the ditch is reported to be 10,803 yards. The central earthwork is about 30 feet high from the inclosed area, and outside is about 60 feet above the bottom of the ditch. It is about 15 feet wide at the top, and, being composed of light soil, has a considerable slope. The banks of the outworks are not so high, being about 20 feet inside and 40 feet outside. Those to the east are, however, higher, and at the points nearly as high as those of the centre. The westward work is altogether of a lighter character, though still of great strength. The works cover about 13 acres. They are wholly artificial. The main entrance was from the north, along the edge of the counterscarp of the main ditch, and it thus entered the eastern out- work. Near its centre the road crossed the ditch by a bridge, and entered the central ward by a notch in its eastern bank. The western outwork seems to have been entered from the central ward by steps up and down the bank, connected probably with a t