AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

BUILDWAS ABBEY,
SHROPSHIRE,

BUILT in 1135 by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Co-
ventry and Litchfield, to the honor of St. Mary and St.
Chad, for monks of the order of Savigny, united after-
wards to the Cistertians. King Stephen in the third
year of his reign, A. D. 1139, confirmed this foundation,
and further granted to them several immunities and pri-
vileges.

Hugh Nonant, or Novant, a Norman, Bishop of Co-
ventry, gave to these monks an inn in the city of Litch-
field, for their reception when they went thither.

Walter de Dunstanville, Robert Corbet, and Alan de
Zouche, were benefactors: the latter gave them the town
of Upton. At the Dissolution, here were twelve monks.
The site, with all the lands belonging to this monastery
in Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, were granted
to Edward Lord Powis, 29th Henry VIII.

This abbey is delightfully situated on the bank of the
Severn in Coalbrook Dale, two miles from the iron
bridge.

The church was built in the form of a cross; some-

BUILDWAS ABBEY.

AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

MIDDLEHAM CASTLE,

YORKSHIRE,

BUILT about 1190 by Robert, surnamed Fitz Ranulph. In the reign of Henry III. it came, by marriage, to Lord Robert de Nevil. King Edward IV. was imprisoned here by the Earl of Warwick (after he had taken him in his camp), but the Archbishop of York, brother to the earl, permitting the king to hunt in the park, he made his escape; and not long after, defeated and slew his enemy at Barnet. In this castle Edward, the only son of Richard III. was born.

The last inhabitant of Middleham Castle was Sir Henry Lindley, knight, 1609; and it is said to have been demo-lished by Cromwell, but history does not confirm the tradition.

Leland informs us the inner part of Middleham Castle was the work of Fitz Randolph, and the outer part of Lord Neville. The keep is an oblong square, and massy towers project from each corner, and the middle of two sides; these towers have defied for ages the ravages of time, and the effort of man, to destroy them; and their foundations having been carried away, the ruins hang

MIDDLEHAM CASTLE

Londes, Published by Lyman & Co.

MONASTIC REMAINS AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

MANNORBEER CASTLE.

Dud* by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, Paternoster Row, Jan. 1, 1815.

MANNORBEER CASTLE,

PEMBROKESHIRE.

THE time when this castle was erected is not absolutely known, but, from the best authorities, is referred to the reign of William Rufus; and, what must be deemed very singular, it was in the hands of the crown from the reign of Henry I. to King James I., who conferred it on the family of Bowen, in whom it continued some time, and then by marriage passed into that of Philipps, of Picton Castle, in this county; and is now the property of Lord Milford.

Giraldus Cambrensis represents Mannorbeer as the
paradise of all Wales; describing it in his time to have
been decorated with stately towers and bulwarks, adja-
cent to a spacious haven, and having the advantage of an
excellent fish-pond. Amongst other productions of which
this place may have to boast is Giraldus himself, who, con-
sidering the age he lived in, was an extraordinary charac-
ter: he flourished in the reign of King John, and was one
of his privy council; and, besides other literary works,
was the author of a curious description of Wales. He
was bishop elect of St. Davids, and died there.

G 2

AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

CAREW CASTLE.

Pub'd by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, Paternoster Row, Jan. 1, 1816.

CAREW CASTLE,

PEMBROKESHIRE.

RHYS-AP-THEODORE, one of the princes of South Wales, if not the founder of this castle, was, according to Leland, greatly instrumental in the reparation of it. From this prince it descended to Gerald de Carrio, who married Nesta his daughter, and was lieutenant of this part of the country under King Henry I. In the noble family of Carew, by which name his descendants were denominated, it continued for many generations; but during the reign of King Henry VIII. it devolved to the crown by forfeiture, and was afterwards leased out to Sir John Perrot and others, who parted with their respective terms to Sir John Carew, by which means it again became vested in his family; he having obtained a grant of it in fee from King Charles I. and from thence has descended to its present possessor, James Bernard, Esq. of Crowcomb House, by marriage with the heiress of the Carews.

The family of Carew is of great antiquity, and was originally called De Montgomery. This branch of it derives its descent from Arnulph de Montgomery, brother to Robert, Earl of Shrewsbury, who lived temp. Henry I.;

PEMBROKE CASTLE,

PEMBROKESHIRE.

THE original building having been destroyed by fire,
as some authors report, it was rebuilt by Giraldus, lieu-
tenant to King Henry I. in South Wales, and ancestor to
Giraldus Cambrensis, about A. D. 1106; but, as if it
were destined to misfortune, this edifice was soon after-
wards plundered and burnt by Cadwgan ap Blethyn, who
made the wife and children of Giraldus prisoners. The
victor's son, however, made amends by erecting the pre-
sent structure, which, in Leland's time, is described as
being very large and strong, being double warded. The
architecture is Norman, with a mixture of Gothic: it has
two gates; the innermost, with the principal tower, is the
view here given. The walls of this tower are fourteen
feet thick, and in other parts of correspondent dimensions;
the whole conveying great ideas of the strength of our
antient castellated buildings.

With respect to the situation of Pembroke Castle, it
stands upon a very hard rock, and on one side is level with
the town, which is one of the most extensive and opulent
in South Wales; and is almost encircled by two creeks,

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AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

CORFE CASTLE,

DORSETSHIRE.

THIS castle is upwards of eight hundred years old, and
is generally supposed to have been built by Edgar; but
this is only conjecture; that King resided here. He left
it to Elfrida his wife; who, to make an opening for the
advancement of her second son to the throne, caused King
Edward, her son-in-law, to be stabbed by an assassin whilst
drinking a cup of wine; this was done during the time
that King paid her a hasty visit at her castle, after hunt-
ing in this neighbourhood: hence he obtained the ap-
pellation of Martyr. This place was considered of such
importance, that it was the third which Simon Montfort
Earl of Leicester required to be delivered up by King
Henry III. after he had taken him at the battle of Lewes,
during his disputes with his Barons, anno 1264.

In 1327, King Edward II. after being deposed, was
a short time confined in Corfe Castle, upon his removal
from Kenilworth, and a little before his tragical death in
Berkeley Castle.

In 1643, it was bravely defended for King Charles I. by
the lady of Lord Chief Justice Bankes, the then owner, in

CORFE CASTLE.

London, PALLMALL, on the Bank side, by J. Tuckney, East End.

AND ANCIENT CASTLES,

LLEHAIDEN CASTLE,

PEMBROKESHIRE,

Is situated on an eminence, about one mile from Hav-
fordwest, and commands a beautiful prospect. From
this castle, it is said, the Bishop of St. David's takes his
baronry: it was one of the noble seats belonging to that
see. About the year 1514, Bishop Vaughan repaired it,
and built a chapel therein; but a century afterwards, viz.
A. D. 1616, Bishop Milbourn procured a licence from
the Archbishop of Canterbury for its demolition, the lead
and great part of the other materials having been sold in
the time of some of his predecessors.

The priory, or chapel of the Blessed Virgin of Low-
haden, in the diocese of St. David's, was united to the
chancellorship of that cathedral church, by John, bishop
thereof, A. D. 1501. The ruins of this castle are very
lofty and magnificent, occupying a considerable space of
ground, and conveying to the mind of the observer no
unpleasing memorial of ancient grandeur.

This castle has in former times been a place of consi-
derable strength, surrounded by a deep moat, and, al-
though a principal residence of the bishop, seems to have
been originally intended for a fortress.

LLEHAIDEN CASTLE.

London, published by Longman & Co., Ltd.

BYLAND ABBEY.

London, Published as the Act directs by G & M, Niue, Pall Mall, July 1, 1806.

AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

BYLAND ABBEY,
YORKSHIRE.

IN 1143, Roger de Mowbray removed the convent of Cistertian monks from Hode to a part of his mother's jointure, near the river Rye, nearly opposite Rieval Abbey, which situation being found inconvenient, they removed to Stocking, and afterwards, in 1177, fixed on this spot, where the monks, having cleared and drained a large tract of land, built this noble abbey, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It was surrendered 1540 by the prior and twenty-four monks.

Byland Abbey, of a date and style of architecture nearly coeval with Rieval, is about five miles distant from it, across a moor, from which, in descending a very steep hill, the prospect of a fine country, and of this abbey, opens on the direct approach to the village. This building has been miserably destroyed; the parts remaining are the west front, and one end of the transept (the former here delineated); not a pillar of the nave is standing, but some parts of the lateral aisles may be seen. That this must have been a superb edifice is plainly proved by these grand remains. The door is richly ornamented, and the lancet

AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

COLCHESTER CASTLE,
ESSEX.

NORDEN attributes the building of this castle to Edward the Elder, but it is upon better authority said to be of Norman origin, and the work of Eudo Dapifer, founder of St. John's Abbey, in the time of William the Conqueror. After passing through the hands of various possessors, it came to the Crown, and was by King Edward III. conferred on Sir Robert de Benhall, Knight, for life; after whose death, Henry IV. granted it, in 1404, to his son Henry, Duke of Gloucester.

In the reign of Henry VII. the castle belonged to John Vere, Earl of Oxford, in whose family it continued for many years. In 1688, John Wheeley purchased this ancient castle, with an intent to demolish the same for the profit of the materials; but after much mischief, he, fortunately for the curious, discovered that the labour would be greater than the gain, and, in consequence, desisted, and sold it to Sir Isaac Rebow, of whose grandson Charles Gray, Esq. the late owner, purchased it.

Colchester Castle and town sustained a blockade of ten weeks by General Fairfax in 1648, the garrison suffering

COLCHESTER CASTLE.

AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

CHEPSTOW CASTLE,
MONMOUTHSHIRE.

THE erection of this castle is of uncertain date; it was
in early times the property of the Clares, Earls of
Pembroke and Strighul, and probably owes its origin to
some of them. This place came to the Bigods by mar-
riage with a daughter of Richard, surnamed Strongbow,
the last of that family.

During the Civil Wars, Chepstow Castle was held for
the King by Colonel Fitzmorris, and in October 1645,
together with the town, was taken by Colonel Morgan,
governor of Gloucester. In 1648, on the last effort of
the royalists, the castle was surprised and taken by
Sir Nicholas Kemish, who, with about forty men, fell
in the siege they bravely sustained here against the
enemy under Colonel Ewer, whom Cromwell had left
before the place, after he, in person, had made an unsuc-
cessful attempt to storm it. Henry Martin, the regicide,
died in this castle, aged seventy-eight, in 1680-1, after
having been confined here many years.

Chepstow Castle, however remarkable as a fortress its
situation must formerly have rendered it, is now in as

CHEPSTOW CASTLE.

AND ANCIENT CASTLES.

KENILWORTH CASTLE,

WARWICKSHIRE.

BUILT in the reign of King Henry I. by Geoffry de Clinton, his chamberlain and treasurer. This castle was garrisoned by King Henry II. during his son's rebellion; and granted by Henry III. to Simon Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who held it against that monarch in his disputes with his barons. At this place, in Edward I.'s reign, was held the society of Knights of the Round Table, who exercised themselves in tilting, and other feats; and within the same walls Edward II. the son and successor of the above king, experienced a close and rigorous confinement, and here resigned his crown to his son Edward III.

Great part of the present castle was erected by John of Gaunt, in the reign of Richard II. Henry VIII. repaired this building with considerable cost; and very noble additions were made by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the great favourite of Queen Elizabeth: the costly and magnificent entertainments he displayed during her seventeen days visit here, in 1575, are well known. After the Civil Wars, Cromwell gave this castle and manor to several of

KENILWORTH CASTLE.