The lower ward, no doubt, had its walls along the summit of the earthworks, and these probably were low, by reason of the height of the bank and the depth of the ditch beyond. There was a gatehouse at the land entrance at the north-west angle, and a water-gate at the south-western, where also was the passage between the two wards. Very likely there was a postern at the south-eastern angle, where is now a footway.
There is a general resemblance, as regards the mound and bank, between these arrangements and those at Wallingford, Wareham, and Tamworth, and with what is related of the castle of Worcester.
HERTFORD CASTLE.
THE Castle of Hertford not only is of high antiquity, but the date of its foundation is on record. The Saxon Chronicle relates that in the year 913, Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, threw up two Burhs at Hertford, one at Martinmas, on the north bank of the river, and, later on, one on the south bank, between three of the rivers which here unite. The former of these works has long been laid low, and no trace of it is visible, but the latter has been preserved by its incorporation into the later castle. The mound, standing on the edge of the river Lea, is indeed shorn of its original dimensions, but it remains, and attached to it is the base court with its exterior ditch, once of great breadth and depth, the invariable accompaniment of the mound, and with it constituting the Burh.
Hertford
Edward’s Burhs may have been preceded by an earlier earthwork, for Hertford is reputed to stand on the site of a chief town of the Trinobantes, the British occupants of the district north of this part of the Thames. The Britons, however, if they here established a stronghold, are more likely to have placed it upon one of the adjacent heights, where are several excellent positions for an entrenchment. Probably the existence of a British settlement in a neighbourhood so well protected by its watercourses attracted the invading settlers, for here the East Saxon kings are said to have had a residence, and to this place Archbishop Theodore, consecrated in 668, convened a synod of the national Church in 673.
The Danes overran this part of England more than once, and the camp at Danesbury was probably their work. Also, they are thought to have had a camp upon Port Hill, of which, however, it is said that no traces are now to be seen. It was upon the river Lea, between Hertford and Waltham, that Alfred rendered the Danish fleet useless by blocking up the river, and so preventing their return. It is on record that this was effected, not by actually throwing a dam across the stream, but by the far more scientific process of cutting a number of channels for its waters, each too shallow to allow the vessels to float down. By this means the retreat of the Danes to the Thames was cut off, and they were fain to march inland to the Severn at Bridgenorth.
In 913 the protection afforded by the Hertford Burhs seems to have attracted inhabitants, who occupied both banks of the river Lea, and the town thus situate was raised by Edward into a royal Burgh, held of the Crown by burgage tenure. Hertford was so held of the Confessor, and so accepted by the Conqueror, and entered in Domesday, which, however, as was not uncommon, makes no mention of the castle, nor, indeed, of the churches. William is said to have strengthened the castle, and he gave it in charge to Peter de Valoignes, one of his followers, who transmitted it to his son Roger, and he to his two sons in succession, Peter and Robert. The male line closed with Robert, whose daughter and heiress, Gunnora de Valoignes, married Robert Fitz-Walter. The charge of the castle does not seem to have descended, but to have been resumed, possibly as a male fief, by the Crown.