Here, at the entrance to the great gatehouse, the moat was generally wide, deep, and filled with water. Supposing that the drawbridge was down (a most unlikely circumstance), the enemy on approaching the gates was confronted by the massive portcullis, and at least two pairs of double timber gates beyond it, and whilst forcing the former he would be within the range of heavy stones and every kind of dangerous and unpleasant missile dropped or thrown from the machicolations situated between the flanking towers almost on a level with the battlements above. The massive and studded oak doors were constructed of a material which was not easily fired, and they were barred with oak beams of the strength and almost the consistency of steel. Even when these were burnt or battered down the invaders would encounter a flanking fusilade from the lateral passages.
On the other hand, if the drawbridge was up, it formed in itself an extremely formidable barrier, because by means of chains passing through holes in the wall it was drawn close to the gate-house tower and within the recess specially made to receive it, leaving the under side of the bridge flush with the surface of the gate-house wall.
It may be doubted whether anything in the whole range of military architecture furnishes a more perfect system of defence than the gateway, walls, ditches, moats, and drawbridges of a mediaeval castle; and it seems probable that it would have proved invulnerable against a direct attack from without had not the discovery of gunpowder put a new and terrible weapon in the hands of the attacking force.
Elaborate precautions were taken to secure the walls of mediaeval castles from attack. Experience proved that the massive masonry of Norman times was inadequate. A new principle was universally adopted. The plan of the castle was so arranged that every part of the enclosing wall was commanded by means of mural towers. These additions not only added to the passive strength of the work, but also when placed within a bow-shot distance enabled the defenders, themselves protected, to enfilade the intermediate curtain. Again, the use of curved walls and mural towers gave free scope for constructive skill and favoured the economical use of building materials.
Rye.—Wall and gates were built by Edward III. Of these the Landgate remains. The Ypres Tower, a work of the time of King Stephen, also survives. The first wall was built in the time of Richard I, and of this there are no traces, whilst of the wall built by Edward III one finds very few traces.
Winchelsea.—This town also was formerly walled and defended by strong gates. Of the latter three still survive, viz., Strand Gate, New Gate, and Land Gate.
Hastings.—This was the first castle built in England by the Normans after the Norman Conquest, and, in accordance with the plan of other fortresses of the period, consisted of a mound (shown in the Bayeux tapestry) and two, if not three, attached baileys. One of the baileys, called “Ladies Parlour,” is of rather small size, comprising little more than one acre, a circumstance which has led Mr. Harold Sands, F.S.A., an eminent authority on castles, to infer that it could not have been the outer bailey. His inference was confirmed by the discovery of the traces of another, and much larger, bailey, containing about five acres, situated on the eastern and northern sides.
The masonry part of the castle was probably erected in the years 1171 and 1172. Further important parts of the castle were subsequently built, notably in 1173-4, etc. The fall of the sandstone cliff, due to the inroads of the sea, has destroyed a very large part of these works, and what remains is a comparatively small part of the area of the castle.