Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/62

 INTRODUCTION 42 13TH CENT. CASTLES' establishments, were reared within the enceinte ; but these buildings, formerly detached, were now connected with covered corridors. The end of the thirteenth century and part of the fourteenth is, however, marked by the erection of the great castles of the Edwardian period. These consist of lofty fortified walls enclosing one or more courtyards ; there are generally two, called the outer and inner wards. These walls are flanked and strengthened by towers, generally round, and rising high above the curtains. These round towers were introduced about the middle of the Early English period. The keeps erected at this time are also frequently round, and strengthened with buttresses, like Conisborough. The door is usually on the first floor, and is entered by an external stair of stone or wood, or by a drawbridge, and is frequently defended by a portcullis. The battlements are provided at first with wooden hoards, and after- wards with stone corbels and parapets. Carnarvon Castle (Fig. 33), in North Wales, is one of the finest of the Edwardian castles. It is of great extent, and in plan is shaped some- what like an hour-glass, to suit the form of the site. The enceinte is of great height and strength, and contains three tiers of defences, viz., two galleries with loop-holes in the thickness of the walls, and the parapet walk above. The towers are here octagonal in form. The sketch shows the Eagle Tower, which is the largest, and seems to have been intended as a kind of redoubt. This castle was begun by Edward i. in 1283, and finished by Edward n. in 1322. The similar great castles of Conway, Beaumaris, Harlech, and Caerphilly were built about the same time to keep Wales in subjection. FIG. 34. Pevensey Castle, Sussex. Pevensey has already been referred to as exhibiting Roman work in its outer walls. But within the Roman walls a portion of the site was in Saxon times cut off by a deep ditch, and a motte erected within this defence.