CHEPSTOW CASTLE AND BRIDGE.
From the right bank of the Wye.
Plan of Chepstow Castle.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN.
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1. Entrance Gateway. 2. Marten’s Tower. 3. Well. 4. First Court. 5. Rooms above the Vaulted Chamber. 6. Second Court. |
7. Hall, or Chapel. 8. Third Court. 9. Sunken Way and Drawbridge. 10. Fourth Court. 11. Sunken Way and Bridge. 12. Perpendicular Cliff. |
The grand entrance is defended by two circular towers of unequal proportions, with double gates, portcullises, and a port-hole, through which boiling water or metallic fluids could be discharged on the heads of the besiegers. The massive door, covered with iron bolts and clasps, is a genuine relic of the feudal stronghold. The knocker now in use is an old four-pound shot. This introduces us to the great court, sixty yards long by twenty broad, and presenting the appearance of a tranquil garden. The walls are covered with a luxuriant mantle of ivy, through which the old masonry appears only at intervals; and here the owl finds himself in undisturbed possession, unless when roused by the choir of numberless birds that flit from tree to tree, or nestle among the leaves. The lover of solitude could hardly find a retreat more suited to his taste. The area, interspersed with trees, and covered with a fine grassy carpet, is annually converted into a flower and fruit show, for the encouragement of horticulture, under the patronage of the noble owner.