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WARWICK QUITE
apart from
its history, Warwick Castle itself satisfies our ideas about the
surroundings
of mediæval chivalry, partly because it is so well maintained by the
present
Earls, and partly on account of its architectural features. It is a
castle of
bold effects and sweeping lines, in many ways more French than English
in its
inspiration. The massive strength of the barbican and gatehouse is
relieved by
the tall towers behind, connected high in the air by a graceful stone
arch;
Guy’s Tower and Cæsar’s Tower, both polygonal, stand like tall
sentinels at the
flanks of the northern curtain wall; and, on the southern side, the
broad sweep
of the palace itself extends along the bank of the Avon, which flows
below past
the ruins of the old bridge. Certainly, if Warwick could still boast
the shell
keep upon the mound at the western end of the enceinte, it would be
known as
one of the most splendid of European castles. Warwick,
in common
with most of the English castles, has been ascribed to the Romans. The
later
twelfth-century circular keep at Conisborough was, according to a
triumphant
antiquary, “built and in use in Pagan times,” and he even found within
it “a
niche for an idol”; and Restormel was “even of earlier date than
Conisborough
itself.” From the same source we learn that the Norman keep at Norwich
is “a
most noble specimen of Saxon architecture,” for “certain it is that all
its
ornaments are in the true Saxon style,” while Colchester was the work
of Edward
the Elder. So, in
consideration especially of the ground plan of War wick, one is
doubtful also
of its ascription to Ethelfleda, “the lady of the Mercians,” as a part
of the
reconquest of the Danelaw carried out under Alfred’s successors.
Possibly the
mound was thrown up by the Saxons, though more likely the Saxon
defensive work
took the form of a stockade around the town of Warwick. The actual
castle, as
we see it — in the Norman form of a mound surmounted by a keep with a
walled
enclosure adjacent to it — was undoubtedly founded by William the
Conqueror on
his way north after the siege of Exeter. But the connection between
Ethelfleda
and William lies in the fact that Warwick is one of an almost complete
series
of castles on or near the county towns. The shire system, which spread
through
England with the expansion of Wessex, was taken over for military,
judicial,
and fiscal purposes by the adaptable Normans. The ground
plan of
Warwick is, in fact, surprisingly Norman. The earliest of its
buildings, as
they stand to-day, probably does not go back before the end of the
thirteenth
century, and one might expect a score of modifications in the ground
plan to
have been introduced by the active Earls of Warwick, who would be in a
position
to profit by the experiences of the Crusades and foreign wars. Perhaps
the
absence of the keep (the ruins of which were noted, however, by Leland,
the Tudor
antiquarian) is a case in point. It may have been gutted in Tudor
times; but,
on the other hand, it may have gradually fallen into disrepair when the
strength of the curtain walls began to be of more importance than the
strength
of the citadel. For the rest, the situation of the domestic buildings
along the
east wall of the enclosure is in keeping with the dispositions of a
Norman
mound-and-bailey castle. In the
elaboration
of the barbican and the projection of the corner towers the ground plan
betrays
work of post-Norman builders which is unmistakable in elevation. The
military
aspect of Warwick continued to be emphasized during a period in which
other
English castles were becoming palaces and manor houses, and the
manifestation
of a French tradition at Warwick reflects the fact that the science of
castellation was being for gotten in this country. The founder of the
present
building is believed to have been Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
who led
the English vanguard at Poitiers. He died in 1369 of a disease
contracted
during the campaign, and the work carried on by his son was completed
in 1394. The most
commanding
features are the two polygonal towers on the flanks of the northern
curtain
wall. In every characteristic they approximate to the French tradition
inaugurated
by Philip Augustus. Guy’s Tower, 128 feet high, may be contrasted with
that of
the contemporary rectangular towers at Raby, the loftiest of which is
only 81
feet high, and depends for its strength upon the thickness of its
walls. Guy’s
Tower and Cæsar’s Tower have more strategic value. Their parapets are
boldly
corbelled outwards with a row of machicolations, and they are provided
with
central turrets rising some distance above the level of the rampart
walk. The
floors of both towers are strongly vaulted as though to enable them to
bear the
weight of siege engines. It is interesting, by the way, to notice that
castle
towers sank with the increased use of artillery. The weight of the gun,
the
shock of its recoil, the low trajectory of its fire, led to the
introduction of
the low drum tower, which finally sank to the bastion perfected by
Vauban in
France, so that the high towers of Warwick mark the perfection of a
mediæval
tradition that was soon to die out. The
barbican and
gatehouse in the same curtain wall complete an inspiring picture. The
barbican
is flanked by drum towers pierced with cruciform loops. On the heavy
iron hooks
which stud the towers, wool sacks are said to have been hung as a
defence
against musketry in Warwick’s last defence against the Roundheads. The
archway
of the barbican contains a portcullis, still in working order, and
heavy double
doors. The barbican passage, resembling that of Alnwick, is long and
narrow,
with galleries in its walls, so that an almost inviolable protection is
given
to the gatehouse, above and behind which is the building called the
Clock
Tower, joined by an upper story and by a stone bridge at the level of
the
ramparts. Of the
other
towers, the Bear and Clarence Towers on the west side are either ruined
or
unfinished. But the history of Warwick’s purely military fortifications
does
not end with the Middle Ages, for the gatehouse on the western curtain
and the
Water Gate between the mound and the domestic buildings are both of the
seventeenth century, and both have stood a siege. The older
Warwick
was a pivotal point in the Evesham campaign, and in 1321 the Earls of
Hereford
and Lancaster held it against the monarchy. But the present structure
is bound
up with the families of Beauchamp, Earls of Warwick, the Nevilles, and
the
Grevilles, who now hold the title. The story of the King Maker besieged
in such
a castle as this would make interesting reading, but, unfortunately,
the Wars
of the Roses were a series of campaigns in open country with few
sieges. James I
granted
Warwick to Sir Fulke Greville, the ancestor of the present owner, who
spent
large sums in restoration, and only just in time. For, in the Civil
Wars,
Warwick was on the Parliamentary side and besieged by Lords Northampton
and
Derby. In this case, as in many others during the Civil Wars, the
splendid
promise given by artillery at Bamburgh was belied. No immediate breach
was made
in the strong walls, and although Sir Edward Peto, captain of the
garrison,
hoisted a winding sheet and a Bible expressing both his expectations
and his
trust, the garrison was successfully relieved by Greville, who was
himself
shortly afterwards killed at Lichfield. The
domestic
buildings are largely of the late fourteenth century. The internal
decorations were
carried out in Stuart days, except for those parts which were gutted by
fire
one hundred years ago. The hall lost in the fire its old furnishings,
but the
Grevilles were assisted by the whole nation to rebuild the historic
residence.
In the course of this restoration the roof was raised, the old
clerestory
windows restored, and the polished floor of red and white marble was
brought
from Venice. Fortunately the priceless collection of paintings, the
fruit of
many a Grand Tour in the eighteenth century, was preserved from the
flames, and
only a portion of the collection of armour was destroyed. Warwick
Castle,
then, is simple in plan, but ideally picturesque. It has grace
combined with
its strength. It is an ornament to a beautiful county, and a curious
example of
an English castle in which the military and domestic aspects are held
in a just
and natural balance. |