Page:Medieval Military Architecture in England (volume 1).djvu/115

Mediceval Military Architecttire in England. 99 CHAPTER VIII. THE CASTLES OE ENGLAND AND WALES AT THE LATTER PART OE THE TWELFTH CENTURY {concluded), ^ I ^HERE remain to be enumerated the castles west of the 1 Severn and the Dee up to the Dyke of Offa. To this tract must be added on the one hand the half of Shropshire, which was on the English side of the Severn ; on the other, one or two valleys like those of the upper Severn and the Wye, penetrating into the heart of Wales ; and to the north and south a tract of seaboard, reaching in the one case to the Conwy, and in the other to Pembroke and including Aberystwith. Of this border-land, divided between the northern, middle, and western Marches, the first was given in charge by the Conqueror to Hugh Earl of Chester ; the second to Roger Earl of Shrewsbury, Arundel, and Montgomery; and opposite to the last, most of which was as yet unconquered, was placed William Fitz Osberne, Earl of Hereford. In the north and middle Marches the opposing parts of Wales were mountainous and strong, exceedingly dangerous to invade, and of little value to a conqueror ; but in the south the country was far more open and more fertile, far less danger- ous to the invader, and offering far greater attraction to the cupidity of the settler. The general policy was to penetrate the country by the open valleys and the seaboard, and at certain frequent points to erect castles strong enough to resist a sudden attack, and occasionally capacious enough to contain men and stores sufficient to reinforce troops in the field, or to receive and rally them when worsted. The three principal fortresses which, placed upon English territory, formed in a military point of view the base for opera- tions in Wales, were Chester on the Dee, Shrewsbury upon the Severn, and Gloucester at the mouth of the same river, the last being under the Mercian kings a place of great strength and importance. Chester and Gloucester were of Roman, Shrews- bury of British origin. In advance of Chester, and beyond the estuary of the Dee, were the castles of Havvarden, Ewloe, Halkin, Flint, Diserth, Rhuddlan, and Diganwy, extending upon or at no great distance from the sea coast as far as the II 2