Page:The histories of Launceston and Dunheved, in the county of Cornwall.djvu/252

 228 THE CASTLE. was evidently worked from a projecting wooden gate-house above. Considerable portions of the first and second walls of the Keep still remain. John Leland, who died in 1552, says, in his Itinerary, "The large and auncient Castelle of Launstun stondith on the knappe of the hill, by south a litle from the paroche chirch. Much of this castel yet stondith, and the moles that the kepe stondith on ys large, and of a terrible highth, and the arx of it, having 3 severale wardes, is the strongest, but not the biggest, that ever I saw in any auncient work in Englande." The descent from the keep towards the keep court was by steps, on the western slope of the mound. This stair- way was a covered passage, roofed with lead. It was 7 feet wide, and its side walls were 3 feet 6 inches thick. It had two or three narrow landings, and there were loopholes in the walls. At the bottom of the stairs, 55 feet down, was a Guard Tower, the remains of which now form a picturesque por- tion of the ruins of the Castle. This tower was partly of horseshoe shape, and partly square. There were apparently three rooms in it, one above the other, each lighted by a loophole. Outside the first floor, on the north-west, at a few feet distance, was a small parapeted defence. The Keep Court wall joined the Guard Tower. This wall continued westward for about 250 feet, in a line with the staircase walls just described, and a part of it is still standing. It was 36 feet high, and 4 feet 6 inches thick. External to this wall, on the south and south-east, was the Castle Dyke, a wet ditch ; and, beyond that, the Base Court, the site of the modern town. Inside the wall was a wide vallum or terrace. In the wall, close to the Guard Tower, was a postern doorway, through which, in case of sudden alarm, the inhabitants of the town might quickly pass to the Keep by crossing a sliding drawbridge, which spanned the dyke at this point. About 130 feet further