Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/472

THIRD PERIOD 452 We shall therefore now proceed to describe the various buildings as we find them, with reference, where possible, to those which preceded them. Commencing at the Esplanade, it should be kept in mind that its present extended appearance is of very modern date, having been formed with the rubbish removed from the site of the Royal Exchange, when it was built in 1753. Before the siege of 1573 this ground was at the level of the bottom of the dry ditch, and was occupied with a triangular court bounded by a wall about 20 feet high, called the " Spur," above alluded to in Drury's report and plan. This was removed in 1649, being con- sidered a bad defence, and requiring too many men to hold it. The Spur is shown on Dr. Chambers's restoration (Fig. 392), and also on Gordon's map of 1647 (Fig. 393). Gordon's map likewise shows the position of the city wall in connection with the Castle. The first wall was built in 1450. It commenced at the Wellhouse Tower (the remains of which still exist, see Fig. 388) on the north side of the Castle, and ran for some distance along the south side of the Nor' Loch, then, turning at right angles, it ran southwards and crossed the Castle Hill at the east end of the Esplanade, where there was a gate, called the Barrier Gate. It is supposed that the Castle was supplied with water from the Well- house by ladders, etc., communicating with a rock-cut stair at a high level leading to " Wallace's Tower " (which Wilson considers a corrup- tion of Wellhouse Tower), a fragment of which may still be seen, and from the style of its masonry seems to be very old. There was also a sally-port at this point, adjoining the Wellhouse Tower. In the Rolls for 136l there is a payment of l60 for the construction of a well and " turris fortis." This was no doubt the well at the Well- house, and the " turris " is probably the tower called Wallace's Cradle, or it may have been the original Wellhouse Tower. In 1381, Robert 11., wishing to have a good water-supply within the walls, searched for and discovered the ancient well, and restored it at a cost of 95. After the removal of the Spur, and before the formation of the Esplanade, the Castle was approached by a narrow raised roadway, and a drawbridge at the gateway. This is shown on a drawing (from Mait- land's History of Edinburgh'} by T. Sandby about 1750 (Fig. 389). Before entering the Castle let us look at the Half-moon Battery, the chief feature erected by the Regent Morton after the surrender of the Castle. David's Tower is supposed to have stood about the centre of it, and the remains of one of the smaller old towers and part of the curtain wall may be traced imbedded in the masonry of the present building. This is also shown in Sandby's view (Fig. 389). Immediately within the drawbridge there was formerly a highly ornamental gateway, which was removed early in this century, being