Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 2.djvu/331

 CAWDOR CASTLE 315 FOURTH PERIOD above the extended accommodation which, as at Craigmillar, has been from time to time erected against the enclosing walls ; the internal courtyards ; the deep defensive moat, still crossed by its drawbridge ; the gateway, protected by its iron-grated gate and loopholed walls, and surmounted with its belfry, are all features which combine to impress the beholder with a lively sense of the power and grandeur of an ancient mediaeval fortress. But most of these features, striking as they are, represent the traditions rather than the reality of an ancient fortalice. The portions of the existing erections which prominently meet the eye belong chiefly to the seventeenth century, and we have therefore classed this edifice with the castles of the Fourth Period, although some of the walls are undoubtedly of an earlier date. FIG. 766. Cawdor Castle. Plan of First Floor. The castle probably occupies the site of a more ancient place of strength. It stands on the steep and rocky bank of the Cawdor Burn, a tributary of the river Nairn, and has been cut off from the level ground on the landward side by a dry ditch, some parts of which still remain. The keep (Fig. 765), which is 45 feet in length by 34 feet in width, occupies the highest point of the site, and has been surrounded with a wall of enceinte built 011 the edge of the rock on the side next the river (Fig. 772), and close to the ditch on the other sides. Some portions of this ancient wall of enceinte are probably still preserved, and are incor- porated in the extended constructions, as will be afterwards pointed out. The property belonged from an early date to the Calders of Calder, to whom a licence to build a castle was granted in 1454. A more