COMBER CASTLE. Sussex. IS one of the castles built by Henry VIII. for the protection of the coast, and has little in it to attract the attention of the antiquarian, beyond that remarkable diminution of grandeur for which the later castles are conspicuous, a change that the invention of gunpowder has done as much towards effecting as the abolition of the feudal system; for the lofty edifices of the Normans would have been the cause of greater danger than security, and occasioned infinitely more mischief in their fall than the humbler structures of which Comber Castle is a specimen, if attacked by the destructive power of modern artillery. It is not a little surprising, that the present perfection to which the art of war has been carried should have reduced the construction of castles to their primitive condition, as has been evinced by the numerous Martello towers, built on our shores during the late war. These are strong, single, and circular towers, the entrance to which is by a door at some distance from the ground, rcached by a ladder, and which is afterwards drawn up by the garrison, consisting of a very small number of men; and although these small towers are supposed capable of giving great annoyance to an invading enemy, yet they are sufficiently strong to require more time and trouble for their capture than the possession would be worth. Printed by Howlett and Brimmer, 10, frith Street, Soho. THE END. |