Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/32

INTRODUCTION solid strength, to attest the vigour and power of their originators. But in England, as in Northern Gaul, after the tenth century, the Roman manner of building was but little followed. Some examples, however, remain where Roman workmanship and materials have been closely imitated.

Colchester Castle, in Essex, for example (Fig. 6), has so great a resemblance to Roman work, that it was for long supposed to be a Roman building, and to have been erected as a shrine for some Pagan deity. There seems now, however, to be no question as to its being a Norman castle, built largely, like the priory adjoining, with bricks formed in imitation of the Roman pattern. The Norman entrance doorway, shown on the sketch, is a later addition; the original keep probably dates from the end of the eleventh century. The entrance door was then, no doubt, on the first floor, immediately over the inserted Norman doorway. The extent of the building and its lowness are very unusual Norman features, but these may have been suggested by some previous Roman work on the site. The exterior walls were cased with ashlar, which has been to a great extent stripped off, and thus the interior construction of the masonry becomes visible, showing courses of bricks or tiles binding the rubblework together.

. 7.—Colchester Castle. Interior.

The sketch of the interior of the keep (Fig. 7) gives a fine example of the "herring-bone" method of building with brick, derived from Roman times, and not uncommon in Norman brick-work, as at Guildford Castle and elsewhere.