The House appears to be of three distinct periods, Edward II., Henry VII., and Elizabeth. The Hall is of the first period; it has a slender stone arch to carry the roof and contains many ancient features; some of the original shingles, for example, are still in existence, though a modern roof covers them. Other objects are a Chapel, original, and the Gateway Tower with the gateway itself and the doors.
There are many examples in England of the simple manorial hall of purely domestic type whose owners found it expedient, at some critical period, to fortify in some manner, and these additions are of the greatest interest to the antiquarian. Perhaps the best example to be found is that of Stokesay, near Ludlow, which is a unique specimen of a small mansion of the thirteenth century subsequently fortified. The licence is dated 1291, and a stone wall is mentioned; only a few yards remain of this.
A wide ditch surrounds the area, and a high tower, similar to two towers joined together, affords the required defence. It is embattled, the merlons being pierced, while the embrasures have the ancient shutters still depending. It dates from the end of the thirteenth century. The Hall stands adjacent and vies with that at Winchester in being the most perfect example of a thirteenth-century hall remaining to us. It is about 50 feet long by 30 wide and over 30 feet in height. The windows are in the E.E. style, and the corbels carrying the roof are of the same period. The lord's apartment overlooked the Hall. It has been occupied by the de Says, the Verduns, and ten generations of the Ludlows, the first of whom built the crenellated parts. The prompt surrender of the Cavalier garrison to the Parliamentarian army is no doubt responsible for the fact that no destruction of the House occurred at that critical time.
The examples given of the Castellated Mansion and fortified Manor-House are necessarily meagre in number, and many more, such as Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire, Sudley in Gloucestershire, Wingfield Manor, Derbyshire; Hilton, Durham; Hampton Court, Hereford; Whitton, Durham, etc., call for remark if the exigencies of space permitted.
[CHAPTER X]
THE CASTLES OF SCOTLAND
Prehistoric and other Earthworks.—The numerous remains of strongholds and defensive works of a prehistoric character readily fall as a rule under one of the divisions used in describing the English examples. They are usually of a circular or oval formation, and where irregular the shape has been determined by the site.
The Hill-forts, known as Vitrified Forts, are, however, not represented in England, and, although found in a few places upon the Continent, appear to have been chiefly developed in Scotland. By some means, not definitely determined as yet, the walls of these strongholds have been subjected to intense heat, whereby the stones have become plastic, and amalgamated when cool into one coherent mass. It is unnecessary to dilate upon the obvious advantages which a homogeneous defence of this nature would possess. These forts chiefly lie in a broad band between the Moray Firth and Argyle and Wigtown, and are generally constructed of igneous rocks; when provided with a suitable flux of alkali in the form of wood-ashes or seaweed a comparatively moderate heat would be sufficient to cause fusion. The walls of Vitrified Forts are of about half the thickness of unvitrified, and appear to belong to the Late Celtic Age.