The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1805-09-05 00:00:00

HISTORY OF .fl 7! NT CASTLES M LYGLANI, The early British fortifications seen ta have been little more than mere Intrenchments of earth. Cre alr, however, penetrated not far enough to know the true nature of the British fortresses ; and his work " fle Reda Gullies" seems only to have de scribed the lowland camp. In all parts of England there are are a vast namher of stron.7 intrenchmems of a very peculiar kind, situated chiefly on the tops of natur 41 hills, 2nd which can be attributed to none of the different people who have ever dwelt in the adjacent country, but the ancient Britons. 'that they may have been used at diffrrent times, and r,r. copied on emergencies by the subsequent inhabi tants of the island, is more than probable; hut there are many and undoubted reasons for deeming them strong posts and fastnesses of the aboriginal settlers, where they lodged their wives, formed their garrisons, and made their stand. That the Britons were accustomed to lot tity such places, we arc expressly told by Tacitus, who, describing the itr mg holds resorted to by Carafficus, says. " funs montibus arduis, et si qua clementer accedi pote rant, in medum valli 121X1 pr.estruit One of the mast important of these fastnesses in eur own country, is the Herefordshire heasnn„ situ ated on the very summit of one of the highest of the Malvern hills. It has been by turns attvihured to the Rnmans, the Saxons, and the Danes ; but its construetina as a strong hold, slices it was designed fur something more than temporary use ; perhaps as a security for the whole adjacent country on any emergency. Anothrir of these fortresses is at Wulf, in Staffordshire: it is placed on the summit of a hill, is surrounded by two deep ditches, and has a rampart formed of stones. Other instances are ad duced by 4r. Pennant in his " Tose is Wa/er," and by Mr. King in the first volume of the " Mu niments Antiglia ;" but a stronger than all. perhaps. is given by Mr. Gough, in the " Additive* is Cam den," who :hews, that the t ue Case Caredoe, the very fortress we have alluded to in the sentence quoted, which, if not the royal seat of Cara. acus, seems to hare been at leaat his fortress, was in Shropshire, two miles smith et Clar, arid three from Coral. The description of it is magnificent. ()t the same kind t f fortresses were l'emnaen-Maur in Caernarvonshire, Warton Crag; in Lancashire, Old Oswe:try in Shropshire, the irregular incampment of Maidin Cole, nigh Dorchester, and probably Old Sarum, whose charailler was new modelled by the Itornms. The British mode of warfare appears to have se , eeived but :itch, alteration from the intrniu&ion of the Roman italics. Till fiu4lly subdued. their princes 'hewed abilities both in the command of . armies and in the conduct of a war: they chose . their ground jaclicinusly ; formed able plans of ac . live operation, and availed themselves of all the advantaimrs of I •eat knowledge; bit: to the fartresses described, if we m4y rely on the testimonies of our old. writers, they d•d not very frequently retire. . Of the Roman trulitary works in this county..-. the greater part were temporary; many, however. were station.ry posts; and a fear. to the retention of which the greatest importance was attached, became walled aura. Cesar (Ds Bra Gall. 1. vii./ de scribes one of his camps as fortified very much in vie manner of a welled city. A few of the Ro man stat;ons in our own country assist in throwing light on the description ; and, in shot:, such as were so surrounded, appear to have been the link of con beftion between the British earth-work and the feu dal castle. Richhorough, Poetchester, and Pevenrey, are the three greatest fortresses the Romans have left us. itichbotough, the earliest in order of time, is the corn pletest ruin ; and is el!cided on by Mr. King, as yet eshibitiag all the principal parts of one of the very greatest and most perfea of the stationary camps. It is supposed to have been begun in the year 43, in the reign of Claudius ; but nut to have been com pleted tilt 205, under the duraion of the Emperor Severus. That in the Roman times there must Lave been many other such walled stations, 14 MAO than probable. The Saxons, in the course of their long wars with the Britons, destroyed many of the fortsscations that had been thus ereaetl ; and, after their final settlement, neglected to repair those that remained, or to build any of their own. By these weans, the country became open and defenceless; which greatly facilitated the incursions of the Danes, who met with little obstruaion from fortified places. That there was, however, something like a castle at Bamborough, in NorthuMberland, ereaed early in the 61h century, we have the concurrent tes timony of historians. A castle at Cottle. in Dor setshire, is said to have existed in the days of Edgar. Portchester Castle, during this pet it'd, undoubtedly retained its desig nation ; and Mr. King endeavours to prove, that the fortress of Casdeton, in Derby shire, is of as high ant;quity. Alfred the Great secu.s to have been the first of the Anglo.Sason Kings wl.o was sensible of the de fenceless state td which the c uniry, in this polio, had been redeced.—Asser tells us, that, when he ha-1 red iced the Danes, he spent much of his time in re pairing the ruined walls of L‘indoti, a4d in tiuild mg forts in the most convenient places ; hut, that to doing this, he met with much opposition and trouble, from the indolence of his peal. le. Elfleda, his he roic daughter, inherited the wisdom of her tether ; and not only fought many battles against the Danes ; but, if Henry of Huntingdon way be believed, in the then space of thsee years built no less than eight fortresses of tolerable etrength. 'nom this time, the ereOion, reparation, and defence of castles, be came a public cobjelt of attention, and one of the three services to which all the lands of England were stibjetled. When we mike!, however, on the low ebb to which the arts were then reduced,. we shall not es peel to find these castles either strong or beautiful. Yet, though to us they may appear exceedmg weak and artless, they affiriled no less advantage and security to their defenders than the most regular fortifications of the present day can do to their de scendent:. They were n u Illy taken by sudden awicilts ; by wounding and killing their de fender; with stones, arrows, darts, and spears ; by sealing their walls, and bursting open their gatt s, or setting then' on Ire. Among the strongest and most c noun, however, of the Saxon castles, we loop 01.,that of Colchester, which appears to • et ' -• early in the tenth ceintiry, by Ed `‘d X ) llorne bare called this venerable f4:4-- • \ ? *rife: ruin, Roman ; others hive talkd it British ; but Camden, and the generality of the be,t writers, have as sihed it to the Saxons. But the deficiency of strong posts throughout thi country was still observable ; and to thi, we muse probably attribute the defeat of liar .Id ; since, without them. it became nece,sary that all should be risked upon the is►ue of a single battle. William the Conqueror, it appears, saw the del,s, and, like 4 skilful general, supplied it. He seams to hare raised them in abundance ; and throe which were not entirely new, he appears to have newly model led The Norman system of cactellation, it should seem, materiaily differed from the Saxon ; and, as in the civil, so in the military architedure of the time, the proportions of the ♦arious parts appear to have been enlarged. The general shape or plan was far less simple than ameng the Saxons, and de pended entirely upon the caprice of the architeds, or on the ground intended to he occupied. The towers, it we may judge from our castelia ed ruins, were not confined to any particular figure, hut in the or iginal parts of the same building appear to have been square, or round, or polygonal, as suited the fancy of the builder. It has ben supposed by some, that, indifferent parts of the kingdom, our ancient castles are marked by an appropriate charades; but this appears nut generally to have been the case. The truth is, that a great number of the strongest kind were built about the reign of Stephen ; and they multiplied to such an inordinate extent, that, as Camden says, in the reign of Henry 11. we had no less than 1,113. One of the most complete of these, which were principally baronial, was Berkeley Castle; and its ancient strength and magnificence may be yet gathered from its relics. The different altera tions that have taken place since it was in a state of defence, may be found in 11,glatas " History of Giooresterabire." The particular description of a Norman castle may be seen in Mr. Dallaway's 4. Heraldic Loyal r ice ;" and the char after of oui castles in the differ ent centuries may perhaps be in part gathered from the following specimens. Norl.am Ca.tle, built in I ; described in the blasters' .f Durham," irborough in 1135. Conway and Ceerphilly, by our first Edward. On: of the towers of Alnwick in 13.50. Lumley in 1389. Tho great tower at the north east corner of Warwick Castle in 1591, at the expense of 59M ss. td.—And Castor, in Nor folk, early in the filttenth century., The follow ng description, however, taken principally from 13r. Henry's " Riat ,r of k.Mghtliti," will be fou. a i generally applicable to what ate called the castles of the middle ages: " The situation of ancient castles was usually on an eminence, and near a river. the whole site of the castle was surrounded by a deep and broad ditch, sometimes dry, and sometimes filled with water. On t h e edge of this stood the wall, about eight or ten feet thick, and between twenty and thirty feet high, with a parapet, and a kind of em brasures, called crenelles, on the top. On this wall, at proper distances, were built square towns, two or three stories high, containing apartments for the principal officers ; and adjoining to these were lodgings for the common set yams or retainers, gra napes, storehouses. and other necessary offices. On the top of the wall, and on the flat roofs of these buildings, stood the delenders of the castle when it WAS b:steged, and thence discharged arrcres, darts, and stones, on the besiegers. &fore the great gate was MS outwork, called a barbican, cr antemural, which was a strong and high wall, with turret., de signed tar the &fence of the gale and drawbri Igo. The gnu was also defended by a tower on each side, and rooms over the passage, which was closed by thj(k tAding-doors of oak, often plotted with iron, Ad by an iron portcullis, or grate, let down from above. Within this outward wall was a large open space or court, called the outer bayley, in which stood commonly a church or chapel. Within this outer bayley was another ditch,wall, and gate, with their towers. inclosing the inner bayley; within which was the principal hill and tower, called the keep or dungeon. TM: tower, the pa ' lace of the Prince or Baron, and residence of the constable or glen nor, was a large square fabric, four or five stories high, having sm ill windows very thick walls, wlrch rendered the apartments within it dark and gloomy. In it was the great hall, in which the owner displayed his hospitality, sty eatertaining his numerous friends and followers. he lower part consisted of dark rooms or vaults, often used for the confinement of prisoners; and hence it ha been inferred this principal tower de rived its name of dungeon." To these &nervations we may add, that among the feudal castles, the gatehouse was use favourite mark of dignity ; and that the keep, as a super eminent tower, appears to have been forgotten ' about the time. of Edward 111. Spenser's descrip tion of the barbican, too, gives additional light " Fault Quern s " h. ii. watt la. u. 15). .0m the carbieau a Porter we, Day and sighs daily keeotng este, as.l ward; N r vied, nor weld. mote passe out of the gate, klut il> gae4 sr.t. anJ wan due regard ; Dterrers of secrets he rum thence &Wed. Bantam of fol y and idaurs crynes; II slar:usi-Le I inteht low,' and eel. be bard When cause requyed, but never out of t i me; Early and late it rung, at seeilas i t and at rime " The old passes into our castles were usually arched bridges of stone. Drawbridges seem to have made their appealance as early as the four teenth century, but were not much used till the time of Henry VIII. So early as the time of Edward 111. castle archi teehoe seems to have been a little on the decline; for it is principally in that reign that its strength and solidity were first sacrificed to convenience ; and in the reign of Henry VIII. it had descended from the lofty towers, which, displayed at Caernar von, Conway, and Caerphilly, awed the beholder, to the block houses of Calshot, Hurst, Santlnwn, Sandgate, and South Sea; and even such as these were doomed, within a few years, to shroud their insignificance within delusive banks of turf. 'the most complete and 4cnuine model, perhaps, of what a castellated mansion was in the days of Henry VIII. may be gathered from the ruins of Cowdray House, in Sussex. hiondAy morning, the I n Regiment of Royal East India Volunteers, with their fieldpieces, under the msm.ind of Colonel MIL. Ls, were reviewed on (ox Ileath,by Brigadier-General He Ir, and went through their different maneuvrin aid evolutions with great precincts:. NATAL INTELLIGENCE►. _ • DOVell, SePT. 3. This morning, almost the whole of the Caiais and , Boulogne squadrons passed to the eastward, for the Downs, in conserptence of the Wind veering about to the 3. S. E.; and in the course of the day, !'Unite and normortalde frigates, two gun-brigs, and a sloop of war, passed from the westward for the Downs. Nothing appears to have been done on the French coast for some days past. Between two and three o'clock, p.m. Sir Sidney Smith, accompanied by Major Clubley, of the East York, and some other Gelplemi.n, repaired on board the Derpei-ale: gun-brig, lying in these roa.is, to take a peep into Boulogne. They are expeCied to return with the morniug's tide. It was generally understood, that Sir Sidney was to have gone to Rarnsgate this day, in his newly construfted gun.boats; hut I have been informed, he has desired some material alterations to be made in them, previous to any Natter experiments, particu larly in the larger one, called the Gemini; this vessel is to carry four masts, with sprit-sails, instead of square sails, which will make her work much more ea►y, and are more appropriate to the management of this kind of vessel. Two Americans, several colliers, and other small craft, have passed this place, this afternoon. bound to the Eastward. The evening has been rather hazy and much in clined to rain, so that we had but an impedes!" view of the opposite coast. fl AL, Uri. 3 . An ived mnst of the cruisers, blown from their re• spenive cruising stations off the French coast, by the strong westerly winds, and TCIII4III in the Downs wish the bbips per List PORTSMOUTH. AUOLAT 3. Dropped down to St. Helen's, the Arai sloop of war, bound to the coast of Africa. PC'. MOUTH, SEPT. 2. Since my last, arrived the Naza.d sloop of sear, Captain Neve. By her we have a report of the Comb;ned Squadron being becalmed three days, off Cape Finisterre ; they were met by an Americar, apparently steering for Cadiz. This intelligence being communicated to Sir R. Calder, be imme diately made all sail after them. The Goliath and Raitamable were ordered to rein fotce Sir R. Calder, but did not arrive before the Admiral left his station. The Goliath looked into Ferrol harbour, where they saw only one ship of the line, and she was dismatted. The Ilammod‘e was in company with the Gd:sth when they discovered three corvettes; La l'orthe was chased by the Gars/314 hours, and when she struck, the ThisonaLk was in chase of the other two ; the Goliath has rejriiiteil the fleet off Breit, and sent in her prize this morning. Sailed the Cat-knit yr brig, and rlerriatiarrarniee gate ; also the Raja/ gun-vessel, and Sea Jas. t; of 112 guns. • A thIOCTII. StPT. I. Arrived the Aucklind packet, Capt. Schttylor, from Lisbon, in eight days passage, with dispatches; brings an account that the Haleyan sloop of war, arrived there just before she sailed, giving intelli gence of her having fallen in wirh the combined ffiet on the 18th ult. off Cape St. Vincent's, sup• posed to be bound to the Mediterranean ; this sloop of war was convoy to three sail of vessels from Gib raltar, bound to Lisbon, which the enemy captured and burned. The Bacon escaped by her superior sailing. Arrived the Priat Ir Wales puke-, Capt. Told. from Lisbon, she was captured on the 14th tilt. by the Prince of Pear", Spanish privateer, and retaken on the 13th off Vigo, by the Pusiltlfe sloop of war. HA %MICH. SEPT. 3. The Aurliand packet, Capt. Hammond, sailed this morning, with the mails of the 30th. for liusum. HULL, stPT. Captain SAS% of the Y is.erra, who arrived here on Wednesday morning from Oantzic, reports, that he has only been eight d .ys from Elsinore ; where he left a large fl et of ships, which espeilled to sail for England on the following day. Flt‘ll LLOYU'S LIST. fiat •, Sart ;3 --Paved by the Prasldee.t, (Arnett, (n a% Ten. nife ; Errcd rua , Mayer, f %ante; I.)arntnea losa'leth, from S:.%ekhnlm ; Ata4l A;wss, anal the rwe Sidon. A , e 1,1%, front N0tway,.....h,.11,A, th e Aud en ... l4 11.,elay. In Al:wa. A1', , ,.. Off Dnee,—The Jenne, Cl7it•;. from Afrk" ; Sena Fidrs, from I, , ,ghern ; and the Belitde.e, William, , (tofu Phi. ...lei ph .o: At 11.1blin—...The Pare, Thompson, from Now York. At Cork—Toe Lltli.4Evans; amt the Alive, Peters, firm Load At I.l4llol—The E•set, fletti : and the tfo;., Rafts, Ibri,n Lo 4.01; Assol.em, D e 13.1* F ume , and the (nun Cork ; 8 dem u o., NIOSIVA.I), orul th- \10.1.-sts, coda, lroni kizneal. Al nat.— rite Pcnryn, Humble; Sally, Sinclois; and the —, (mm Trieste: Prier.. Gs; A liohton, %tad ; Minerva, Franklin; tVaymouth, W. dm; t John and Mary, Taylor; May, Swan; Success, Parry; and the %lento?, /kitten'. from London. COBN.EXCIiAtit:II. Wa•c Ls u .t, Strr. 4. The fresh arrivals of Wisest to-day 414 feu ; Put the quer . My on hare' being *NW large, adder, .c the rece It reltrrsun., cause. a degree of stagsiatrios to this trait, and the is. vales effected at phis.ent, ass: at t further e•duftinn in seine Barley is rather cheque Mrlsand Whste Peas vary but httle ; but g ant, and those dearer. There sts a tuler.ble g sal supply of Oars, and but few of first quality, •bolt feels b el i es p ut . ; suer Ke a n See.t Wiest/lie. Toone ray Fluor as b : •ncath. ell: RSA r pimp: OF tirdAlfs. Wheat. 374 50 69.. 704. 7Ji ui Rye (now) 4 i 46.. 01 . Barite). .5.7•.38.. 0.1 Matt . its id. 0; White Peas 41;.. Si.U4 t P 4. 42. 44. ndl 111.61 114 45 51, Or. Tick 8e..... 4.).. dit•. Od. o.si• y 4.1. 91. rolandls 53• 94. OJ Rape J7 41'. 0. . Fine Elmat 6O 63..0'. NA • oul . 55 6 6. 0,1. COURSI OF EXCIIANUE, Twasear, Saar 3 %rosetel , 4.ll) ... • At 7 t U• ( voila.. 62 Lie. Pic. Ditto at Sight .. 4 10 1.0.15t0 6Ol R otterfaor, a.f... •II 17 2 U. Opiate 61 11.robrirgii SS 5 2111 I Po.hlon l3l Mena Pans Si It I.IV. •1! LI •••15 Chttn Sou leautt .... Cells Metro! Billsoa Leghorn N•tllitt Gana Dublin on Loretto. r Ang..3o; 11) a 121 Belfast on !Amnion Cat. 30) Gi Belfast ea baba= (Ditto) 6•I dap. I. • • Piscouiq! carcEREAG ff. Tire Committee who conduced the late Eleaj oa of the Comity of Down, on behAlf of the Colonel MeAde, have plablis'ied an Ad !•eti. iA answer to the, observations contained in Visconnt Castlerealth's public tidies., upon his declining azy tatther contest for that county. The foll ovi i an est:A from it : .I rt is Th e N 011 e Lord says, Upon a careful in. spetii-n of the flegistry of the county, in ias r mrst defetive state, it a pp ear i ng probable ih sot maiarity, small certainly in itself, hut nevertheless sufficient to determine the fate of the eleftion, was likely to remain, on the termination of the poll, favour if my opp roar ; I have thought it die. (4 the freeholders at the comity (under the advice of my friends) to abstain from giving them farther, and, AS ! conceive, unnecessary trouble, on th e occasion.' In reply to which, the Commi ttee of opinion, that his Lordship must have been egro ginusly misinformed, or has merely seized on as a plausible pretext for retiring from the Ma i . ings ; fur they are prepared to prove, that the R. gistry of Freeholders was defence, to a no , greater extent, among the friends of Colonel than those of Lord Cattier: agh, and that, not.a,, standing such defeelive or bad registries, had the county beets polled to the list man, the majority, instead of being small, would have considerably et ceeded the number which now appears in favour of Colonel Meade at the final close of the poll. " Lord Castlereagh further states it to be a con test for which the county at large Was wholly un prepared ' •' and that he cannot b ut cons id er the result a, t he egret of rottumatanees, and by no meaty as the deliberate decision of the county.' It is elf. ficult for the Committee to ascertain what the Noble Lord means, by calling it a contest for which the county was wholly unprepared; but, if he 111' as that the CleniOn WAS Sud Jen and unexpeatui, surely that was a point as highly favourable to his re-erec tion, as it was other wise to his opponent, and who a he did not fail to take advantage of, before it was generally known that he had vacated his sear, try soliciting support, and ob:aining promises foot; many respetable freeholders, who, as they ono had they been apprised that any oppo s i t i on was in tencied, would not have eng tged themselves to him; and by instantly expediting the writ, and bringing on the eletion, thereby evincing an intention of taking the county by iut prioi, and to preclude, as far tits him lay, all possibility of a contest. " in considering the result as t4e 47;4 of cirram. garters, and by no means as the deliberate decisioa of the county, Colonel Meade% Committee are ready to join issue with the Noble Lord ; tor, though he is silent as to the particular circurnstanc.o, yet. if any meaning Call hi put on this peculiar expressian, it can be no other tt•an what the Cammlotee apply to it, namely, the unpopularity of the Noble Lord among all ranks and persuasions of his late constituents, blinded nn their just abhorrence of his unfaithful conduct as their representative, as also, the great superiority of property among his opponents ; these c rcumstauces must ever prevail, and on all similar ocovions in future, as a natural conseqtteace, pro duce similar results ; and the Committee admit, t:tat it cannot be considered as the deliberate decision of the county, for the Noble Lord was folly convinced, at an early period of the eleetion, of is being more prudent for him to retreat and abandon his preten sions (under the adviceolhis friends), than to per. sist in a contest, and come to del•heraie decision, by polling out the county, which would have mini fested to the United Kingdom her L noishio's nen, an J the very large balance in favour of Colonel bleaste, both in numbers and property." YItICF. OF smuts, YESTERUAI. 3 per C-nt Reduced snot 3 per C Itt Consols • per Cent. Navy .......... ........ 119! 69 Short Annuities.... V( 7-T6 Imperial 3 petCe a I).tia An.witiet 9 11; t Uranium 3 !Wm !loud. . Is. 211 ilk. Vectiequer ILO .. U. dia. le. prem. par. English Lottery Tickets M. IN. 001100111 for T. DISH, Stock-brokor. SA 4, Curehin, sod 9, Orshipoess. PRICE OF IRISH STOCICINmARO. RIX Guy. Stock 31 per rent Gov. D•be,iturei 5 ;..r Cent. (fraud Canal Loon, 6 per met" • • SI IMIS. the Right Toesd.y nutrning, in Lower; Hun. Lade Anthem, of a all. Un M 1., the •!d mit. •t Wnlaham, near Rochester, the Lady of Wlll.a.ulll4lmAit, of a daughter. MAKRIAGt. Tee.lay, at I fegninto.ao, Gear Glotice.ter, Ralph Ptic-, tecond , togt n( Srg Charlet Price, Hatt. M P. to Mist C ., arl ata S' , /gr, Hardy r yottagest daughter of tile late Cu'onel Hagtly. DEATHS. Vu Surday, the tat hist at tn., Rectory flaw, at It:idnage, Bucks, the Rev CllArltr4 W , 111.11 Too vit. 71 %Pars of ai;r. br utter to the late General Tonyit, and had bean rector of karinage, 37 years. On Saturday morning far, Mis; I.nuisa Petif2l, eldfN daughter al Mr. H. Peog.l, of Newinguin Place, Sorr:r lu Gralton-tannet, Dublin, Mr. George Gra3don, many years an emin•ut watch-maker. HIGH WATER THIS DAY AT LONDON tIItID(•1'• Mori ....20 nvn afn•r I I I Er,•a....1 non. dtor 11. SALE BY AUCTION. CAIHNF.T AND COACH MAKERS, AND OTHERS. SINGLE HORSE CH MSES AND HARNESS. BY MR. WILSON, At the late Mr. Bean's Workshops, Goreen-street, Theobahno r 0.4. THIS DAY, at Eleven o'Clock. • r WENTY LOGS of HONI)URASS MANO- R GANY in hoard. and Planks, of d.ffertott thicknin.e. small lots; 111110, a Quantity of llounalto'd Fortootwe, smno which iv a range of Dining Tables, Two neat Wok .ons. • , apital Mahogsne Beaufe., Feather Beth, Glasser, ii , cl most Articles ; likewise, Two Single Horse Chs•tes and Harness May lie viewed toll the Sale. Catalogues on the Y.e. wises, and at Mr. Wilann't temporary Office, No. SS, Kobg street, Holborn. For the Mahogany approved bills may be taken, or the usotal discount allowed. LONDON:—Printed bl GEORGE I)AVIDSON, No. 3S. V 6 yet,..treet, Si,Clemente, aid rabli.hed by JaSIAII RYDER, at the Office, No. IS, Batt of St. Clemette. Church, Strand, aherrOrdera ler the rape , •.. (roat-?..J) vii ►e duly attended to. , r7m.4.1.11 r~ C T Sir Hor Gsm ydi Slo