Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/63

ENGLISH EXAMPLES 43 INTRODUCTION Still later in the thirteenth century a mediaeval wall of enceinte (Fig. 34) was erected within the moat, and strongly fortified with salient round towers, similar to those in use at this time in France, and not unlike some we shall meet with in Scotland. The English round towers of this period are, however, greatly inferior, both in size and richness, to those of France. But much was done in England at this time to improve the comfort of the castles. These are generally of a smaller type than the French ones, and rather resemble fortified residences. The power of the sovereign, being sooner established in England than in France, may account for the comparative inferiority of the English castles ; the royal fortresses, how- ever, such as the Edwardian castles above referred to, were of great extent, but the nobles did not attempt to rival them. Fireplaces become general in all the apartments, though these, being often only made of lath and plaster, are in many instances not now dis- coverable. The rooms are decorated with fresco painting. Glass is gradually introduced in the windows, although glass was not manufac- tured in England till the fifteenth century. There is a steady growth in wealth and luxury, and the lords and ladies forsake the gloomy donjons for the pleasanter apartments built round the walls. The manor-houses of this century also show an improvement on those of the twelfth century. They have now a larger number of chambers, as for instance at Charney, where the -buildings form three sides of a quadrangle, and are two stories in height, the upper floor being habitable apartments, and the lower floor cellars, etc. The entrance to the upper floor was by an outside stair, usually of wood, with penthouse roof. Stokesay, Shrop- shire, is an excellent example of the fortified manor of this period (about 1300), also Somerton Castle, Lincolnshire, which belonged to Anthony de Bee (licensed 1281), and presents a good example of the round towers of the period. (See Parker.) The mouldings used give some indication of the date of the buildings, but plain splays are often employed. In the early English castles the buttresses are bold, and the nook-shafts, ribs of the groins, etc., indicate the same date as similar features of ecclesiastical architecture. During the course of the fourteenth century, military and domestic architecture made still further progress. As the science of attack and defence advanced, it was found that the old system of multiplying and complicating the difficulties of access, notwithstanding the great skill displayed in arranging the details of the defence, was a mistake in principle. The works proved too crowded ; there was not sufficient space for the defenders at the critical points ; the obstacles accumulated in a small space were found to do more harm than good, by preventing a sufficient number of men being brought into action at once ; and these obstacles, when taken, gave shelter and