Attached to this keep ward is another ward, whose rampart is generally attributed to Saxon times. We are not in a position positively to deny that the Saxons had an inner earthwork on the highest part of the ground within their burh. But considering that small citadels are unusual in Saxon earthworks: considering also that this bailey is attached to the motte in the usual manner of a Norman bailey, and that its size corresponds to the usual size of an original Norman bailey in an important place, it does not seem unreasonable to suppose that this was the original bailey attached to the Conqueror’s motte. Its shape is singular, part of it being nearly square, while at the S.E. corner a large oval loop is thrown out, so as to enclose the Roman Pharos and the Saxon church. The outline of the bailey certainly suggests that it was built after the Pharos and the church, and was built with reference primarily to the keep or motte ward. The nature of the ground, and the necessity of enclosing the church and the Roman tower within the immediate bailey of the castle, which would otherwise have been commanded by them, were the other factors which decided the unusual shape of the bailey.
On this earthwork the foundations of a rubble wall were formerly to be traced,[405] probably built by Henry II., as considerable sums for “the wall of the castle” are mentioned in his accounts.[406] Whether there are still any remains of this curtain we are unable to say, but so many of the features of the middle ward have been swept away by modern alterations, and the difficulty of examining what remains, owing to military restrictions, is so great, that little can be said about it, and we find that most authorities observe a judicious silence on the subject. But as the carriage of stone is expressly mentioned in Henry II.’s accounts, we may with great probability assign to him the transformation of the original wooden castle of William into a castle of stone; while the transformation of the Anglo-Saxon borough into a stone enceinte was the work of Henry III.’s reign.
We think the evidence suggests that this burh or outer rampart was in existence when the Conqueror came to Dover, crowned in all probability with a stockade and towers of wood. It may possibly have been a British or even a Roman earthwork originally (though its outline does not suggest Roman work); or it may have been built by Harold as a city of refuge for the inhabitants of the port.[407] The Saxon church which it encloses, and which has long been attributed to the earliest days of Saxon Christianity, is now pronounced by the best authorities to be comparatively late in the style.[408]
The size of the inner castle of Dover appears to be about 6 acres, reckoning the keep ward at 2, and the bailey at about 4.
The value of the town of Dover had trebled at the time of the Survey, in spite of the burning of the town at William’s first advent.[409]
Dudley, Staffs.
Dunster, Somerset.
Fig. 15.