A flint wall may be of any age, but the remains of the gates, which a few years ago showed round-headed arches, prove this inclosure to be of early date, probably one of the earliest additions to the castle, and made by Henry I. No doubt, before the construction of the outer ward, the wall of the Bel was produced so as to unite with those of the castle. M. Deville has discovered a part of this wall worked into the great curtain of the outer ward, which lies in its line, and may still be seen.
Looking to the history of this castle, and to the evidence afforded by its remains, it seems probable that the keep is the oldest part of the masonry, and the work of the Conqueror’s uncle, Guillaume d’Arques, between the years 1039–1043, and it is supposed to be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, of the rectangular Norman keeps known. The chronicle of Normandy, cited by M. Deville, says of William, “Si fist faire une tour moult forte, audessus du chastel d’Arques”; as though there had been an earlier castle, which the aspect of the earthworks renders highly probable.
To the Conqueror or his immediate successor must be attributed the enceinte of the inner ward and the formation of the galleries. The ditch may be much older than the western masonry. The inner ward no doubt formed part of the original plan, and it is only the occasional appearance of round turrets upon the wall that leads to the opinion that any time intervened between the actual construction of the keep and of its surroundings.
The southern entrance, with its gate and two flanking towers, and one or two of the other mural towers or buttresses, seem to be additions, but of the Norman period, probably the work of the Conqueror’s son, King Henry I., who, about 1123, seems also to have enclosed the Bel. Robert de Thorigny—called also “Du Mont,” from his abbacy of Mont St. Michael—a Norman chronicler of the twelfth century, says that King Henry I. “fortified admirably the castle of Arques with walls and a tower.” This has been held to show that the whole structure was the work of Henry, who reigned from 1105 to 1135, and the extreme boldness of the buttresses and superincumbent constructions of the keep no doubt favour this view; but, as M. Deville remarks in the same passage, similar reference is made to Gisors, Falaise, and other castles, known to be of earlier date.
M. Deville is disposed to attribute the southern gate to Charles V., as he finds a record of 1367, charging cost of transport of 6 “nances” of stone, each of 16 to 18 “tonneaux,” from the river to the castle, for the masonry of the new bridge and the new gate of the castle. This material was taken by the king’s direction from the dismantled “manoir” of Veules or Weulles, at St. Valery-en-Caux. The accounts of 1378–80 mention the tower on the bridge behind the keep, its drawbridge, axles, ties, “vergues” or levers 18 feet long, and its beams of 9 feet. This was probably the southern drawbridge and gate, including the opening of the communication between this and the basement of the keep. These works are attributed to Charles V. about 1378–80. He probably only pierced the existing central tower, not otherwise altering or rebuilding it.
The next considerable work was the outer ward, which may be attributed to the fifteenth century, subsequently to the general use of brick and the introduction of siege artillery. It is singular that no record of this very considerable work should be preserved, for it included not only the outer ward, a castle in itself, with its enormous towers and massive curtains, but the extension of the very formidable ditch, the repair of the older walls and towers, and finally the fitting up and vaulting of the keep. All this is supposed to have been the work of Francis I., and it is said that the date of 1553 was inscribed upon some of the additions to the keep.
Henry IV., during his occupation of the castle in 1589, may have constructed quarters in the inner ward and repaired what was amiss in the old building; but more probably his traces are to be found in the field works which crown the adjacent hills, and along the high ground towards Dieppe.
It has been thought that the ditch of the castle is a remain of an older fortification, such a work as the early Northmen or still earlier Celts might have constructed. No doubt this was usually the case with the sites of the great Norman castles, both in Normandy and in England, and the position of Arques is a tempting one. There is, however, no positive evidence of an earlier encampment.
It will be observed that the keep is so placed as to command both the inner ward and the most exposed side of the castle,—that along the level ridge of the promontory. It was perfectly capable of holding out when all else was taken, and finally, if threatened with fire or starvation, its garrison had a possible escape by the galleries.
This castle is the triumph of Norman skill. Often attacked, it was never taken by storm. Without being a royal residence it was visited in peace or in war by our Norman kings, from the Conqueror to John, and by most of the kings of France, from Henry I. to Henry IV.; and, after a lapse of 800 years, its oldest parts are still those best worth attention, and are at least as well preserved as the additions of far later date.