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cular to a clause that if any one of them had woodbote or pasturage in the land of the Convent of Cwmhir, by grant of the Abbot and Convent, he might peaceably enjoy the same privilege; and then confirms his father's grant, with a proviso that it should not be lawful for the Abbot and Convent to sell or give wood, nor overstock the pasturage so that there should not remain for the beasts of Mortimer's forest a sufficiency of open ground and pasturage.

'.x. La chartre par quele Roger de Mortemer ad confirme la chartre quele Monsire Esmon de Mortemer fist as tenanz de Meleneth dauoir bois ou pasture du grant labbe et Couent de Comhir issint que nul preiudice soit al sauagyn le dit Sieur illeoges.

"Rogerus de Mortuo Mari Dominus de Wygemore et de Trym dilectis et fidelibus hominibus suis de Melenith salutem in Domino sempiternam Sciatis nos inspexisse quandam concessionem quam dilectus pater noster Dominus Edmundus de Mortuo Mari fecit hominibus nostris de Melenith de aliquibus libertatibus in dicta concessione contentis Inter quas talis clausula continetur quod dictus pater noster voluerit et concessit quod si aliquis eorundum boscum seu pasturam in terra Domini Abbatis et Conuentus de Comhir ex eorundem concessione habuerit concesso sibi bosco et pastura. a predicto Domino Abbate et Conventu pacifice gaudeat & quiete absque eius seu alicuius Ballivi sui molestia vel impedimento Quam quidem clausulam concedimus et per presentes confirmamus Ita tamen quod per istam concessionem et nostram confirmacionem non liceat dicto Abbati nec Conuentui de bosco tantum vendere seu donare nec pasturam tantum onerare per quod bestiis nostris de Foresta nostra non remaneat sufficiencia cooperti et pasture Et vt hec nostra confirmacio firma sit et stabilis imperpetuum huic presenti scripto sigillum nostrum apposuimus Hiis testibus Domino Philippo Dei gratia Abbate de Wygmore. Domino Johanne de Lyngeyne. Domino Rogero de Sapy Militibus. Hugone Hakelut' tunc Seneschallo nostro de Meleneith. Willelmo de la Hulle. et multis aliis Data apud Wygemore die Lune in festo Sancti Botulphi Anno regni Regis Edwardi filio Regis Edwardi septimo." (17 June 1314.)

Griffith, Abbot of Cwmhir, and the Convent, indemnify Roger Mortimer from the payment of a yearly

rent of two marcs to Humphrey de Bohun, lord of the manor of Welsh Huntington, for the land of Brynlegh (now Brilley), called "La Speys", the gift of Roger to the Convent.

".xj. La chartre par quele labbe et Couent de Comhir sont tenuz a paier annuelement deux marcz pur Roger de Mortemer a Hunfrey de Bohun et ses heirs pur les terres de Brunlegh'.

"Omnibus ad quos presens scriptum peruenerit Griffinus Dei gratia Abbas de Commir et eiusdem loci Conuentus salutem in Domino Nouerit vniversitas vestra nos et successores nostros teneri acquietare Dominum Rogerum de Mortuo Mari et heredes suos de duabus marcis annualis redditus versus Dominum Humfridum de Bohun et heredes suos pro terra de Brynlegh' que vocatur la Speys quam idem Dominus Rogerus nobis et successoribus nostris dedit nos vero absoluimus dictum Rogerum de omnibus incuriis nobis et domui nostre per ipsum Rogerum et suos ex parte ipsius Rogeri et voluntate et precepto illatis et omnino quiete clamauimus vsque ad diem Sabbati in festis Sancti Dionisii Anno regni Regis Henrico filio Regis Johannis quadragesimo quarto In cuius rei testimonium presenti scripto sigillum apposuimus." (1259, 1260.)

218

ON SOME MEDIEVAL MILITARY

DEFENCES.

BY J. R. COBB.

LIBERATE ROLL, 23 Henry III (Mr. Parker's rendering),—“ We order you to make at our Castle of Winchester a drawbridge with a bretache over it, at the entry of the great tower." (Clarendon, Nov. 24.)

Ib., 25 Henry III,-" And to make in the same Tower (London), on the south side, at the top, deep alures of good and strong timber entirely, and well covered with lead, through which people may look even unto the foot of the same Tower, and ascend and better defend it, if need be." (Dec. 10.)

Close Roll, 9 Henry III.-The King enjoins all who have "motas in valle de Muntgumery bonis bretaschiis firmari faciant". (May 30.)

THE above extracts refer to the earliest known liftbridge and to the overhanging defences of it, and of the towers and walls, adopted about the same time. M. Viollet le Duc considers that lift-bridges were not used until much later; but as Mr. Wykeham Martin points out in his excellent work on his Castle of Ledes, it is clear from the above entry that they were adopted as early as 1239. Where they occur in connection with Norman work, they must, I think, be considered as additions.

It seems to me that the principle of their construction is generally misunderstood. It is, I believe, generally supposed that they were simple wooden roadways spanning the ditch only, hung on pivots at the castle end, working in sockets in front of the portcullis and gate, and lifted by chains passing through the wall over a windlass in the chamber above the portal.

I feel satisfied that generally, if not, indeed, always, the bridge was about double the length of what is above described, and that it was balanced on trunnions near the centre of its length, working in the sockets.

supported on a wall reaching from side to side of the portal; that there was a pit of masonry or hewn rock inside this wall, and inside the portcullis; and that the castle end of the bridge, nearly, if not quite, equal in weight to the ditch end, went down into this pit, and by its own weight raised the other end into the recess or space commonly formed for it, outside the portcullis.

This was certainly the case at Pembroke, where there are two such pits (now covered up, though opened by me once) between the barbican cottage and the outer portcullis-arch; at Carew, at Manorbere, at Cydweli, at Caerffili (six or eight), at Goderich, at Chepstow, west gate; everywhere where I have had a chance of testing; and also, I believe, even at the King's Gate at Caernarvon, and at what is called the Norman Gate at Windsor.

I feel very confident that at both these places last named, as at Warwick and many others, the removal of a very few inches of the roadway inside the portcullis groove would reveal the existence of a pit as wide as the portal, and almost as long and as deep as the outer end of the bridge.

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In most cases the bridge was worked from the portalfloor. For use, all that was necessary was to secure that the heel, or castle end, should not give way and descend into the pit as traffic passed over it. This could be effected in fifty very simple ways, leaving no mark, a wooden wedge would have been sufficient. To lift the bridge, all that was necessary was to allow the heavy heel to sink into its pit; and when the bridge was to be used again, to pull it back. It is obvious a very little arrangement would effect this. I can myself, with a little mechanical help (which I hope shortly to dispense with), work my restoration at Caldecot; and I believe my bridge there is strong enough to carry the "magnæ carrecta" of Aymer de Valence, which did so much damage at Ledes.

Doubtless there were frequently chains from the

5TH SER., VOL. v.

16

pier-end of the bridge, passing through holes into the chamber above the portal; but I believe these were used only to steady the bridge, and to prevent its being pulled down by an assailant.

If the bridge were lifted, as it was intended to be, so as to be quite perpendicular in its recess, and over the dead point of the socket, the castle people would be likely to find themselves unable to lower the bridge if there was no heel to pull at.

Whether it is to be attributed to the design of the builder acting on the orders of Thomas of Wodestok, Duke of Gloucester, or to the excellence of the material available, I do not know; but what I saw when I first visited Caldecot filled me with a desire to dig and see more, as I satisfied myself that at no place I had seen was the arrangement better to be studied, or effected on so grand a design and with such finish. I became owner, and I dug, and was not disappointed. I at once cleared the ditch, and found the base of the pier on which the bridge fell in situ, about 10 feet below the surface; and I also cleared the pit, which was perfect, down to its rock-floor.

The total length, from the Castle end of the pit to the pier, is 34 feet; to the wall carrying the trunnion, 15 feet. This wall is 15 feet high from the bottom of the ditch, but it is 7 feet from the outer face of the gate-house; thus the recess in which the bridge is received when up is 7 feet from the face of the gatehouse; the portal is 11 feet wide; and from the bottom of the ditch to the vault over the portal, 34 feet. In this vault are six holes, each 14 inches square, through which water and missiles could be thrown to protect the outside of the bridge from fire or other attack.

On the west side of the recess is a square hole, through which a beam, served from the captain's end of the west guardroom, prevented the bridge being lowered until the beam was drawn in; while on the east side of the portal is the hole through which the bolt of the outer gate was drawn into the east guard

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