| 'A private fortress ... would seem even stranger to us now than it seemed to our forefathers when Richard the son of Scrob raised the first castle on English ground' (Norm. Conq., v. 640). | 'It was the first fortress which was raised in England for the indulgence of private insolence and greed, and not for the protection of Englishmen; it was to be the first of many, and the evil deeds which Richard's men wrought were a foretaste of the evil times when fortresses such as his were common in the land' (Norman Britain, p. 64). |
Mr Hunt, therefore, survives to defend the position.
[24] Vol. ii., p. 345.
[25] Vol. i., p. 747.
[26] About 849; Alfret Machtiern, 868; Alfritus tyrannus, 871; Alfrit presbyter, 872; filius Alurit, 879.
[27] Gesta Stephani.
[28] iii. (2nd ed.) 780; iv. 214.
[29] See the Lindsey Survey.
[30] Ramsey Cartulary, iii. 167.
[31] Ramsey Cartulary, i. 208, ii. 74. Domesday, i. 346b.