Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 1 (of 2)

by George Thomas Clark

Two lines of square putlog-holes are seen on the exterior of the keep. They ascend in a spiral, or a right-handed screw, and indicate the manner in which the building was constructed. Horizontal beams, projecting from the upper row, carried the inclined plane or roadway up which the materials were dragged, and these were supported by struts, the feet of which rested in the lower row.

There remains to be described only the chemise, or work designed to cover the base of the keep from the operations of the miner. It has been seen that the base of the keep was solid, and that it stood in a paved fosse, about 20 feet broad, with vertical sides. The exterior side, or counterscarp, of this fosse was a wall, about 8 feet thick, which divided it from the main exterior ditch of the ward, and rose to the level of the first floor of the keep, say 30 feet. The ordinary ascent to its rampart walk was by a stair within the wall, commencing on the right near the keep entrance. It was also reached from the first floor of the keep by a slight bridge, such as was employed at Rochester, and probably in one or two places in the Tower of London. There was also an access from the other end of the wall, from the rooms over the great gateway.

Outside of and at the base of the salient half of this wall was built against it, at the level of the bottom of the exterior ditch, a covered way or gallery, intended to act as a countermine, and still more completely to frustrate attempts against the keep. The gallery is entered from either end, and in its centre rises a sort of buttress against the wall, in which was contained a wooden stair, by which the people on the rampart could communicate with those in the gallery. In the gallery also was a well, for the use of the kitchens, and in the substance of the wall a garderobe.

From the bottom of the keep ditch issued a postern, defended by gate, portcullis, and machicolation, the two latter connected with a small chamber in the wall; from this a wooden bridge led, in the ditch, to a postern in the west and outer wall of the outer ward.

The castle and town, being of one date and from one design, may be regarded as representing a thirteenth-century fortress of the first class, and of the strongest character, in which the internal arrangements, though palatial, were made completely subordinate to the military character and security of the place. The great feature of the castle is the keep, which commands the whole, in every part, and from its size and strength could be held with confidence after all the other defences had been taken.

The additions of the fifteenth century, consisting of state-rooms, a hall, and various upper stories, intended for the state and attendants of a court, though not extending to the keep, in some degree injure the military character of the place, and take off from the predominating grandeur of that great central feature. These, however, have for the most part fallen away, and what remains is chiefly original work, so that the appearance of the keep and inner ward is in many respects as they were designed by the great baron, who contemned any title less than king, and was content with the severe simplicity of that of “Sire de Coucy.”

The castle in 1652 fell into the hands of Mazarin, who employed Metezeau, son of him who threw up the famous dyke at Rochelle, to render it indefensible. The engineer blew the chemise wall outwards into the ditch, and exploded a heavy charge of powder in each of the towers. The effect of this upon the keep was to clear out the vaulted stages, and to leave the cylinder like the tube of a vast cannon. Thus, with one or two vertical fissures, it stood till our day; but now these have been closed with great care and judgment, and the cylinder has been hooped with iron, in a manner that is scarcely to be observed, and will preserve it indefinitely.

Those who wish to understand the details of this most curious place, and to acquire a complete and comprehensive view of it as a military work, would do well to read the masterly exposition of M. Le Duc, sold upon the spot, and given also in his “Dictionnaire,” under the articles of “Château” and “Donjon.”

The town is also worth a visit. It contains a good church, and its southern gatehouse is a very massive structure. The portal is very narrow, about 9 feet, acutely pointed, and it opens between two drum towers of one-third projection, and of about 100 feet diameter and 60 feet high. The short curtain between them, occupied below by the gateway, above is convex in plan, and supports two bold brackets, upon which lies a stout beam, a part of the original bretasche, and a rare, if not a solitary, instance of a part of such a structure remaining in place.

The drawbridge is replaced by a causeway, but at the base of the gateway are two large square holes, nearly where the axle of the bridge would rest, but closely resembling drains, which they can scarcely be. There are no marks of external defences, save the bretasche. Probably the bridge, when up, acted as a gate. Within the passage, on each side, is a large lateral loop, then two portcullises, and between them a large machicolation. Within the second grate is a gate, and within this the passage is vaulted for about 16 feet. Then follows an open space, of which the roof was of timber, and then a vault. The inner end of the passage is injured, and repaired. Above, over the portal, is a fireplace of enormous size.