Page:The histories of Launceston and Dunheved, in the county of Cornwall.djvu/270

 242 THE CASTLE. ing corbels, or in holes and open spaces, and were thus altogether independent of the walls. Although the Castle was made fit for the earl's residence within twenty years of the Conquest, it was not continuously occupied by any person. Sometimes its holder was the reigning monarch ; at other times the earldom was granted to an absentee. Hence this castle too soon decayed and became ruinous. In a paper on ancient castles, written for the Saturday Magazine in 1833, it is said that "few castles in our country are of older date than the Conquest ; for, although some such structures existed in the periods of the Saxons, the Romans, and possibly even the early Britons, they had by that time, owing to neglect or invasion, been reduced to such a state of decay as to be but of little use for the pur- poses of defence. . . . As soon as William the First had established his authority, he lost no time in building castles throughout England, and in repairing and enlarging such as he found here. . . . The number of castles towards the end of Stephen's reign amounted to one thousand one hundred and fifteen." The same writer further says : " The first outwork of an ancient castle was the Barbican. This was a watch tower for the purpose of noticing any approach from a distance, and was usually advanced beyond the ditch, at the edge of which it joined the drawbridge. The next work was the castle ditch or moat, which was wet or dry according to the circumstances of the place, the former being preferred. When it was dry there were sometimes underground passages, through which the cavalry could sally. Over the moat, by means of the drawbridge, you passed to the ballium or bayley, a space immediately within the outer wall. This latter was called the wall of the ballium, and was generally flanked with towers, and had an embattled parapet. The entrance into the ballium was by a strong gate between two towers, secured by a portcullis or falling door. . . . Over the gate were rooms for the