Besides the liberties of the parks, chases and free warrens, belonging to the castle and manor of Tattershall, it also appears in the several grants of Henry the third, Henry the fourth, Henry the seventh, Henry the eighth, and in the grant of the liberties of Richmond fee, whereof the castle and manor of Tattershall is a part, that to the said castle and manor also belong the liberties of stallage, tolls of markets and fairs, together with the privilege for all tenants and inhabitants of Tattershall to be discharged of any tolls in fairs and markets abroad; also the sole liberties of fishing, fowling, hawking, and hunting, in all the said manor, chases and the precincts of them; also suits of courts baron, waifs, estrays, treasure trove, goods and chattels of felons, fugitives, men outlawed, and felones de se, deodands, bondmen, villains, with their sequels; and also that neither the sheriff of the county, nor his bailiff shall arrest within the said manor, and that no distress taken therein shall be delivered, nor replevins granted by the sheriff, but only by the steward of the lord of the said manor.
THE CASTLE.
About two hundred and fifty yards south-west of the town stands the remains of the castle, a stately edifice, erected by the Lord Treasurer Cromwell, about the year 1440.
William of Worcester states, that the Lord Treasurer expended in building the principal and other towers of this castle above four thousand marks; his household there consisted of one hundred persons, and his suite, when he rode to London, commonly of one hundred and twenty horsemen; and his annual expenditure was about £5000. [86]
This castle was originally intended as a place of defence, and was surrounded by two fosses, the inner one faced with brick, great part of which is now remaining. Formerly it was of great extent, but was dilapidated in the civil wars between the unfortunate Charles the first and his parliament: for the damages thereby sustained, Theophilus, fourth Earl of Lincoln, petitioned parliament in the year 1649.
The part now remaining, is a rectangular brick tower of exquisite workmanship, about one hundred feet in height, divided into four stories, and flanked by four octagonal turrets; and is raised on ponderous arches, forming spacious vaults, which extend through the angles of the building, into the bases of the turrets. [87] Under the crown of these vaults was a deep well, which is now filled up.
The walls are of great thickness, particularly that on the east side, in which are several galleries and narrow rooms, arched in a curious manner, through which communications were obtained with the principal apartments in the several stories, from the great stairs in the south-east turret. The east wall also contains the chimnies.
The windows are of the pointed order, well-proportioned, and contain tracery; those on the south, west, and north sides are large, and from them the principal apartments received light; those on the east are smaller, being designed to give light only to the rooms and galleries in that wall.
The main walls were carried to the top of the fourth story, where the tower was covered by a grand platform, or flat roof, which, together with the several floors, is entirely destroyed. Surrounding this part of the tower are very deep machicolations, upon which, and part of the main walls, is a parapet of great thickness, with arches, intended to protect the persons employed over the machicolations. Upon these arches is a second platform, enclosed with a parapet and embrasures; above which the embattled turrets rise to a considerable height; three of them terminating in cones covered with lead. The cone on the fourth turret is demolished.