Aymer de Valence, of Bampton Castle, Oxon.* The drawbridge, however, has been removed, and the ground filled in to the level of the causeway. On the north-eastern side there were formerly similar remains : Hasted recorded their existence about the end of the last century, but they have since disappeared. There is in the barbican what seems to have been a lodge for the porter or sentinel, as it exactly resembles in all but size a similar construction in the principal gatehouse. There are the remains of a tower adjoining the gate-house at the west corner of the barbican, but it is too small to have contained a staircase; its precise use, therefore, unless as an ornamental structure, is not very apparent. Close by there is a slip in the wall towards the moat, which is noticed in the survey of 1314, and does not seem to have been repaired since that time.

From the barbican the approach to the main fortress is over a bridge of two arches, with a very solid pier between them. This was originally a drawbridge, evidently so constructed that one half of it drew up towards the main building, and the other towards the barbican, thus insulating both sections, and rendering each capable of a separate defence. Over the gateway are some bold machicolations-projections from which water was thrown down to prevent the gate being set on fire, as well as stones or other

* Aymer de Valence seems to have copied part of the gatehouse at Leeds Castle in building his own castle at Bampton.

missiles on to the heads of the assailants-but the breastwork of wood which they carried is gone. The holes are still visible through which passed the beams and chains which raised the drawbridge. The portcullis-groove is perfect, as is also the recess above into which it was raised, but the gates are not parts of the original structure.

On entering the gateway we have on our left the porter's lodge, of which the doorway is a squareheaded trefoil, or shouldered arch. Adjoining this is a tall arch, partly concealed by the modern porter's lodge, which led to the outer bailey. Within a second arch are the holes on each side for receiving the beam of a wooden palisade. On the left is a staircase leading to the upper storey of the gatehouse buildings. Here is a solar, or constable's apartment. From this a communication leads to another large room, on the righthand side of the gateway, with an early fireplace, of which the chimney is in the thickness of the wall. In this chamber are some very ancient windows; but there are also the remains of a flushing of lead in the opposite wall, at a lower level than that of the heads of the windows, by which it is pretty clear that the main walls of the building are older than the windows. The walls are from seven to eight feet thick. In the solar or constable's room is a chimney-piece of the date of Henry VII. or VIII., with an inscription not very legible. There is also a kind of lateral opening, or "skew," the object of which seems to have been

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