Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/40

INTRODUCTION 20 KEEPS ON THE RIVIERA (fourteenth century), called the " Constable's Gateway/' with its draw- bridge, which formed the principal entrance to the castle. The enceinte is surrounded on this, the most exposed side, with a wide and deep ditch. The round tower rising in the centre of the ditch was an outwork, dominating the higher ground to the north-west, and communicating with the north-west angle of the enceinte by means of a covered way, and also with a spur work erected by Hubert de Burgh in 1216 for the protection of this weak point in the defences, and now con- verted into a modern ravelin. From the above covered way, and in various other places, tunnels are cut through the chalk rock to assist in the defences, as at Arques. From an early period square towers, somewhat similar to the Norman keeps, were in use on the coast of the Mediterranean. Many of them still exist in the towns along the Riviera, as at Cannes, Antibes, and many other places. These are built with solid masonry, carefully dressed on the joints, but left rough on the face, after the Roman manner of construction. The tower of the Mont du Chevalier, at Cannes, is a good example. It is built on a detached and rocky promontory jutting out into the bay, and was surrounded with a strong wall enclosing a court- yard, which contained a chapel and other buildings. MONT Oil CHEVALIER CANNES UAt>tMir<i I-T.AN FIRST FLOOR OLAN ?fCTfI5W FIG. 16. Mont du Chevalier, Cannes. The plans and view (Figs. 15, 16) explain its design. The basement was vaulted, and had no windows, the only access to it being from a trap-door in the floor above. The entrance to the tower was on the first floor, and was reached by a wooden stair, the projecting step for receiving the top of which still remains. From this level a stone stair,