COCKERMOUTH CASTLE.

The basement of the gatehouse-chamber, 21 feet broad by 29 feet deep, and about 10 feet high, is quite plain, and without loops. It is entered in the west wall, from the upper ward, by a flight of twelve steps, beneath a lancet doorway. The covering of this room was the timber floor of the gatehouse. The first floor, also 21 feet by 29 feet, has in its side walls two doorways, of 3 feet opening, and acutely pointed, which led into the lateral chambers. In its west wall, but near the north end, is the inner gateway, piercing a wall 9 feet thick, and opening into the upper ward. This passage is vaulted. It has no portcullis, and but one rebate for a door. In the north side of the passage a narrow, shoulder-headed door leads into a small vaulted lodge, looped towards the upper ward.

Entering this ward, on the left, is the door descending to the basement, and further on, right and left, are two doors, each lancet, and at the top of flights of twelve steps, which descended into the basements of the lateral chambers. The gatehouse had an upper floor, now mostly gone.

There were two lateral chambers on each side of the gatehouse, parted by an east-and-west cross-wall, now destroyed. The large spaces thus formed are not quite rectangular. That on the north averages about 26 feet east and west by about 35 feet north and south; and that on the south is a mean square of about 35 feet. Of the four chambers by which these spaces were occupied, the basements of the two next the gatehouse were covered with a pointed vault. Except these, the floors above were timber. The walls of the southern rooms are mostly destroyed, those of the northern are tolerably perfect, and show the windows and fireplaces of a first and second floor, with small mural chambers in the north-east angle. The southern chamber abutted upon the curtain, in which is seen a rude round-headed arch, now a postern, but which has a Norman aspect, and looks as though intended originally for the recess of a loop. The small square bell-turret, of about 18 feet by 10 feet, at the south-west angle of this chamber, stands upon and slightly projects from the exterior of the curtain. The basement looks of the age of the curtain; the superstructure, of that of the cross buildings and inner gatehouse.

At the other or north end of the cross buildings is the kitchen tower, a very remarkable structure. In plan it is nearly rectangular. It is composed of a basement and a first floor. The basement is reached from the upper ward by fifteen descending steps, down a vaulted passage in the wall, at the head of which is a round-headed door of Decorated date. The chamber is about 30 feet square, having a central octagonal pier without base or cap, whence spring eight ribs meeting eight other ribs which spring from corbels in the angles and form responds in the centre of each face. Each of the four bays thus formed is again spanned by ribs springing diagonally from the responds. There are no ridge-ribs, and the vaulting spaces are filled up with rubble. The arches are pointed, and the vault about 20 feet high. In the two eastern spaces are square-headed loops, opening on the lower ward and now concealed by a modern building. In the north wall is a small water-drain. This chamber was probably a cellar, introduced and vaulted to place the stone floor of the kitchen on the level of the hall. It is called a chapel, but bears no indication of having been intended or ever used as such.

Above the cellar is the kitchen, the floor of which is level with that of the hall, and about 10 feet above that of the upper ward. In plan it is rather rhomboidal than rectangular. The two eastern angles are right angles, that to the north-west acute, and that to the south-west obtuse. The north and east sides measure 35 feet and 37 feet, and the opposite sides 29 feet and 38 feet respectively. In the south wall are two fireplaces, 11 feet broad by 2 feet deep, with remains of stone hoods, and with square vertical funnels running up a common shaft at the inner end of each fireplace. The funnels also receive those from the fireplaces in the rooms to the south, the whole forming one stack. Over these fireplaces, high up in the south wall, is a large long loop, square headed, and about 2 feet wide. In the east wall are two other loops of the same width, and about 24 feet long, crossed by a transom, square headed, but placed within shoulder-headed recesses. These openings are clearly intended to carry off the vapour. North of these loops is a small door, whence a narrow mural stair ascends 10 feet to a second door that opened upon a gallery along the north wall.

In the centre of the north wall is a bold pier, 7 feet wide by 4 feet deep, from which spring laterally two pointed arches, thus forming two recesses. The soffits are ribbed, one with two and one with three ribs, plainly chamfered. In each recess is a loop, square headed, and opening on the curtain, and above, 10 feet from the floor, is a string which supported the floor of a timber gallery, which ran along this north side, and was carried out in front of the pier, and thus overlooked the culinary operations. It was entered at the east end from the door already mentioned. In its west end was another door, opening into a mural chamber, not now accessible, but which may have communicated with the hall. Above the gallery were two other loops. At the gallery level the pier is pierced by two narrow passages, with round-headed doors, which lead to a small chamber in the curtain, probably a garderobe. Below, the lateral faces of the pier are hollowed, as for cupboards.

The west wall of the kitchen is now chiefly occupied by a large lofty arch, of 15 feet span, and about 30 feet high, evidently a modern insertion together with the wall above, and opening into what was the hall. On the south side of it are traces of a part of the old buttery-hatch. To the north is the only door of the kitchen, 4 feet broad, and shoulder headed, and which opened from the lower end of the hall. It is curious that so large a kitchen should have had no other outlet. Grose gives a drawing taken in 1774, which shows this west wall of the kitchen before the great arch was inserted. The wall contains an immense hole or gap, above which, on the outside, is the weather moulding of the high-pitched roof of the hall. The kitchen was very lofty, and had an open timber roof the corbels of the hammer-beams of which remain. Above was the parapet, one side of which belonged to the outer curtain.

Abutting from the west wall of the kitchen, in the rebuilding of which the moulding showing the pitch of the hall roof has been removed, was the east, or lower end of the hall, a building 30 feet wide by about 50 feet long, of which the curtain formed the north side. The south wall is levelled nearly to the ground, but its foundations show its exterior buttresses, and the place of the door in the basement near the east end of the wall. The western wall, dividing it from the withdrawing-room, is gone. The basement below the hall seems to have been about 10 feet high. It was covered by the timber floor. The entrance was in the south wall, close to the east end, probably by an interior stair. One jamb of the doorway remains, richly moulded in the Decorated style, though much decayed. The hall had three large windows in the north wall, which is strengthened outside by three buttresses, evidently added to the older wall when the hall was built. The windows are of the fashion so common in the halls of Decorated castles. They are of two lights trefoiled, with a transom, and in the head a quatrefoil. That next the east end has a stone window-seat, and the others may have been so provided. Outside, the windows have a good drip-stone. Probably the fireplace was in the south wall. In the east wall, near the south end, is a large plain trefoil-headed recess, not even chamfered, resembling a large piscina, with a stone shelf. It was possibly intended to place the dishes upon when received from the adjacent buttery-hatch. South of this a small door leads into a well-stair, which led to the roof, and is lighted by a small and very neat foliated circle. The cant or filling up of the adjacent angle of the kitchen is produced by this staircase. The hall had an open timber roof, some of the corbels of which remain.