reasonably, be conjectured that there was a fourth roundel.1 If the plan was a quatrefoil it resembled that of the keep of York, which is now ascertained to belong to the reign of Henry III.; and the very little detail that is left supports the view that Pontefract keep was copied from the royal experiment at York, though it differed from it in that it actually revetted the motte itself. There is no ditch now round the motte, but we venture to think that its inner ditch is indicated by the position of the postern in Piper's Tower, which seems to mark its outlet. It appears to have been partly filled up during the great siege of Pontefract in 1648. The platform which is attached to the motte on the side facing the bailey is probably an addition of the same date, intended for artillery; its retaining wall shows signs of hasty construction. A well chamber and a passage leading both to it and to a postern opening towards the outer ditch appear to have been made in the rocky base of the motte in the 13th century.

The area of the inner and probably original bailey of this castle, including the motte, is 2 acres. The Main Guard, and another bailey covering the approach on the S. side, were probably later additions, bringing up the castle area to 7 acres. The shape of the first bailey is an irregular oval, determined by the hill on which it stands.

The value of the manor of Tateshall had fallen at

1 Four roundels are shown in the plate given in Fox's History of Pontefract, "from a drawing in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries." But the drawing is so incorrect in some points that it can hardly be relied upon for others. There were only three roundels in Leland's time.

2 Drake's account of the siege says that there was a hollow place between Piper's Tower and the Round Tower all the way down to the well; the gentlemen and soldiers all fell to carrying earth and rubbish, and so filled up the place in a little space. Quoted in Holmes' Manual of Pontefract Castle.

the time of the Survey from £20 to £15, an unusual circumstance in the case of a manor which had become the seat of an important castle; but the number of ploughs had decreased by half, and we may infer that Tateshall had not recovered from the great devastation of Yorkshire in 1068.1

2

PRESTON CAPES, Northants (Fig. 26).-That a castle of the 11th century stood here is only proved by a casual mention in the Historia Fundationis of the Cluniac priory of Daventry, which tells us that this priory was first founded first founded by Hugh de Leycestre, Seneschal of Matilda de Senlis, close to his own castle of Preston Capes, about 1090. Want of water and the proximity of the castle proving inconvenient, the priory was removed to Daventry. The work lies about 3 miles from the Watling Street. The castle stands on a spur of high land projecting northwards towards a feeder of the river Nesse, about 3 miles W. of the Watling Street. The works consist of a motte, having a flat top 80 to 90 feet in diameter, and remains of a slight breastwork. This motte is placed on the edge of the plateau, and the ground falls steeply round its northern half. About 16 feet down this slope, a ditch with an outer bank has been dug, embracing half the mound. Lower down, near the foot of the slope, is another and longer ditch and rampart. It is probable that the bailey occupied the flatter ground S. E. of the motte, but the site is occupied by a farm, and no traces are visible.

In the English Historical Review for July 1904, where this paper first appeared, the writer spoke of two mottes at Pontefract, having been led to this view by the great height of the east end of the bailey, where the ruins of John of Gaunt's work are found. This view is now withdrawn, in deference to the conclusions of Mr D. H. Montgomerie, F.S.A., who has carefully examined the spot.

2 Mon. Ang., iv., 178.

3 From a description by Mr D. H. Montgomerie.

QUATFORD-RAYLEIGH

191

The value of the manor of Preston Capes had risen from 6s. to 40s. at the time of the Survey. It was held by Nigel of the Count of Mellent.1

3

QUATFORD, Shropshire (Fig. 26).-There can hardly be any doubt that doubt that the nova domus at Quatford mentioned in the Survey was the new castle built by Roger de Montgomeri, Earl of Shrewsbury. We have already suggested that the burgus which also existed. there may have been his work, and not that of the Danes. The manor belonged to the church before the Conquest. The oval motte, which still remains, is described as placed on a bold rocky promontory jutting into the Severn; it is not quite 30 feet high, and about 60 feet by 120 in diameter on top, and has a small bean-shaped bailey of 1 acre. It is near the church, which has Norman remains. Robert Belesme, son of Earl Roger, removed the castle to Bridgenorth, and so the Quatford castle is heard of no more. The manor of Quatford was paying nothing at the date of the Survey.

5

RAYLEIGH, Essex (Fig. 27).--" In this manor Sweyn has made his castle." Sweyn was the son of Robert Fitz-Wymarc, a half English, half Norman favourite of Edward the Confessor. Robert was Sheriff of Essex under Edward and William, and Sweyn appears to have succeeded his father in this office. Sweyn built his castle on land which had not belonged to his father, so Rayleigh cannot be the "Robert's Castle" of the Anglo

1 D. B., i., 224.

2 See Chapter IV.

3 Domesday Book says: "Ipse comes (Roger) tenet Ardinton. Sancta Milburga tenuit T. R. E. Ibi molinum et nova domus et burgus Quatford dictus, nil reddentes." I., 254.

4 G. T. Clark, in Arch. Cambrensis, 1874, p. 264.

5 Ord. Vit., iv., 32.

6 "In hoc manerio fecit Suenus suum castellum." D. B., ii., 33b. 7 Freeman, N. C., ii., 329, and iv., Appendix H.

Saxon Chronicle, to which some of the Norman adventurers fled on the triumph of Earl Godwin.1 There is a fine motte at Rayleigh, and a semicircular bailey attached; the ditch round the whole is still well marked. There is not a vestige of masonry on the surface, but some excavations made in 1910 revealed stone foundations. The inner bailey covers of an acre. The value of the manor had risen since the Conquest, but it was only a small one, with no villages in its soke.

RICHARD'S CASTLE, Herefordshire (Fig. 27).-There can be little doubt that this is the castle referred to in Domesday Book under the name of Avreton, as it is not far from Overton, on the northern border of Hereford. Richard's Castle is almost certainly the castle of Richard, son of Scrob, one of the Normans to whom Edward the Confessor had granted large estates, and who probably fortified himself on this site. At the time of the Survey Richard was dead, and the castle was held by his son Osbern, and it is noted that he pays 10s., but the castle is worth 20s. to him. Its value was the same as in King Edward's time, a fact worth noting, as it coincides with the assumption that this was a pre-Conquest castle. There is a high and steep motte at Richard's Castle, and a small half-moon shaped bailey. There are remains of a stone wing wall running down the motte, and on the top there is a straight piece of masonry which must be part of a tower keep. The area of the inner bailey is Avreton was

3

of an acre.

1 Mr Round has suggested that this castle was at Canfield in Essex, where there is a motte and bailey.

2 "Isdem Osbernus habet 23 homines in castello Avreton et reddit 10 solidos. Valet ei castellum hoc 20 solidos." D. B., i., 186b.

3 Mr Clark's plan is strangely incorrect, as he altogether omits the bailey. Compare the plan in Mr Round's Castles of the Conquest, Archæologia, vol. lviii., and Mr Montgomerie's plan here, Fig. 27.