A Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire Part 7

LANTARNAM house and park, situated about a mile and a half from Caerleon, near the road from Newport to Pont-y-pool, occupy the site of a rich Cistercian abbey. The mansion is a neglected gloomy structure, which appears to have been erected about the reign of Elizabeth, and chiefly out of the materials of the abbey. A large Gothic gateway and the monks cells, now converted into stabling, are vestiges of the parent building.

The accounts that we had collected of Pont-y-pool did not incline us to abandon the line of our tour to visit it. The town, sufficiently large and populous, yet blackened by neighbouring coal and iron works, and situated in a dreary region only rich in mineral treasure, would hardly prove interesting but to those concerned in its traffic. Its first consequence arose from a manufacture of j.a.panned ware invented in the time of Charles the Second, which remained a long time peculiar to the town, but is now generally understood. In its immediate vicinity Pont-y-pool Park, the seat of Hanbury Leigh, Esq. forms a conspicuous ornament, and is described by Mr. c.o.xe as possessing a good collection of pictures.

Our road from Caerleon to Usk, leaving the house and encampment of Penros on the left, led up an ascent from which we had an interesting view of the surrounding district: A narrow valley winds round the base of the eminence watered by the Usk. The opposite boundary of the valley sustained the woods of Kemey's and Bertholly; and in the contrary direction the eye ranges over the venerable groves of Lantarnam, and a wavy intervening country to the distant mountains near Abergavenny.

Within two miles of Usk we entered LANGIBBY, a small village, only to be noticed for an ancient mansion of the Williams's family near it. This structure, attributed to the erection of Inigo Jones, contains no distinguis.h.i.+ng points of architecture; but the house and grounds command delightful views, which receive no inconsiderable interest from the local possession of a majestic ruin. LANGIBBY CASTLE rears its mouldering battlements on the brow of a bold hill, completely overspread with wood.

We have no certain accounts when this castle was built; but the pointed arches that occur throughout the ruin denote its erection to have been posterior to the first settlement of the Normans in these parts. It formerly belonged to the Clares Earls of Gloucester; but has been upwards of two centuries in the family of the present possessor. Of this line was Sir Trevor Williams, a zealous supporter of the parliamentary cause in the civil wars, when Langibby castle was spoken of by Cromwell as a fortress of strength and importance.

Our approach to Usk was traced through its vale on a bank of the river, and beneath a high hill entirely shaded with wood: close to our left appeared the whitened Gothic church of Lanbadock: but the handsome bridge of Usk, the antique town and ivy-mantled castle, formed more interesting objects in successive distances; while, afar off, the varied line of the mountains near Abergavenny, the craggy summit of the Skyridd, and the abrupt cone of the Sugar-loaf, contrasting the lofty even swell of the Blorenge, presented a terminating line of the most picturesque description. This distance alone was illumined by the sun; for the evening drew to a close, and all our home view was wrapt in one grand shadow.

CHAP. XIV.

USK CASTLE AND CHURCH-EXCURSION TO RAGLAN-ELEGANT RUINS OF RAGLAN CASTLE-VIEWS FROM THE DEVAUDON-ROMAN ANTIQUITIES AT CAERWENT-TESSELATED PAVEMENT.

Usk, supposed to be the Burrium of the Romans, occupies a flat situation on the banks of its river. Though now a small place, in great part untenanted and falling to ruin, {208} it was formerly of very considerable extent. The form and dimensions of its ancient boundary may be traced in an imperfect rampart among the adjoining fields and orchards. The figure is not oblong, as most Roman works of the kind were, but irregularly rectilinear. On a gentle eminence in the northern precinct of the town is the castle, famous in history for withstanding many a fierce a.s.sault; but the ruin has little picturesque attraction: such parts as are not converted to the domestic purposes of a farm-yard are so enveloped in ivy, as scarcely to afford a characterizing form externally. We entered the castle through a Gothic gateway: vestiges of the baronial hall appear on the east side; and some of the towers, with round arched apertures, seem of the earliest construction: but we have no certain accounts when the castle was founded.

Not far from the castle is the church, still a large structure, though much contracted from its original extent. The tower, in which circular arches are introduced, is the oldest part of the edifice; the body of the church is Gothic. This church belonged to a Benedictine priory of five nuns; and part of the priory-house is now standing, a little southward of the Church, in the occupation of a farmer. The common prison, a Gothic building near the bridge, was formerly a Roman Catholic chapel. {209}

There are several ancient encampments in the neighbourhood of Usk. That of Craeg-y-garcyd, crowning a woody precipice on the west side of the river, about a mile above the town, is supposed by Harris to be Roman.

Its figure is very irregular, and remarkable for seven very large tumuli within the rampart. About two miles from Usk, in our way to Raglan, we pa.s.sed Campwood on our left, another encampment, of art oval figure, entirely covered with wood, but not remarkable either in its situation or construction.

Our ride to Raglan traversed a bold undulating country of uncommon richness, where the luxuriance of the soil was alike conspicuous in impervious woods or teeming orchards sweeping over the hills, and verdant meadows sweetly carpeting the vallies.

"When morn, her rosy steps in th' eastern clime Advancing, sow'd the earth with orient pearl,"

we began our journey; and this range of fertility but disclosed itself in partial gleams through the exhaling dew, as we ascended a hill from Usk.

Advancing, the mists disappeared, and we quickly found ourselves in a sequestered valley, whose high encircling hills were variously decorated with a profusion of wood: the morning sun brilliantly shone on the dewy verdure; and we were admiring the charming scenery, while our spirits partook of its cheerfulness, when a huntsman's horn resounded from a neighbouring thicket, and echoed through the hills: a deep-mouthed pack, joining in full chorus, announced a _throwing-off_. The concert continued, though the performers remained unseen as we anxiously skirted the dale; but our road soon took an ascent, in the precise direction of the hunt; and, gaining an eminence, a new vale and its accompanyments opened to us, yet without the hunting party. However, we had not long gazed in disappointment when, from the dark umbrage of a thick wood, the hounds rushed forward like a wave over the meadows; the men and horses were not far behind; but, scouring a descent that would have scared a lowland sportsman, pursued the game, which continued out of sight. But at length we saw Reynard skulk from a ditchy fence in a field before us, and dash across the meadows: the hounds and hunters were close at his heels. A loud shout from the party, a superior yell in the dogs, and the strained exertions of the animal, proclaimed a general view: we heartily joined in the halloo; and even our sorry jades displayed unusual spirit; for they p.r.i.c.ked up their ears, and absolutely began a gallop to join in the chase; but a gate near a yard high opposed an insurmountable obstacle to that intention, and obliged us to remain inactive spectators while the party veered up a woody hill and finally disappeared from us.

Reluctantly parting from this animating scene, we entered the little village of RAGLAN; where an old woman, knitting at the door of her cottage, proffered her service to take care of our horses while we walked over a fallow field to the superb ruins of RAGLAN CASTLE.

[Picture: Raglan Castle]

The approach led up a gentle eminence; but a screen of high elms and thick underwood, issuing from the moat, intervened between us and the castle, which remained concealed, until, penetrating the thicket, a display of the ruin burst upon us, elegantly beautiful! Sweetly picturesque! No theatrical scene was ever designed in a happier taste, or unfolded itself to admiring beholders with a more sudden and impressive effect. In this _coup d'il_, the Gothic portal and two elegant embattled towers immediately arrested the eye. Of the polygonal towers that formerly defended the entrance, one is completely hidden in a majestic mantle of ivy, which descends in a profuse festoon over the gateway. The other, admirably contrasting, and in a most perfect state of preservation, rears its beautiful machicolated summit with scarcely any leafy inc.u.mbrance: yet a few tasteful tufts of ivy sparingly issue from the windows and oillets of the tower, and wave their elegant tendrils over the glistening polish of the walls. {214} Another tower of similar beauty, but superior dimensions, appears a little further, at the eastern angle of the structure. On the other side of the porch, the ruins are concealed by a profuse pile of ivy; but some lofty portions of the ruin start from the verdure with considerable elegance; and two windows, standing one over the other, exhibit an effect of ornamental relief in their freizes and mouldings that would not discredit any age.

From this a.s.semblage of beautiful objects we fixed our attention on the ma.s.sive citadel, placed rather obliquely in front of the ornamented ruins. One half of this structure was blown up by order of Cromwell, upon the taking of the castle by Fairfax: from the remaining section it appears to have been a hexagonal building of five stories, whose sides were flanked by semicircular bastions covering each angle. The citadel is surrounded by a moat and terrace, with a wall, in which appear niches, once adorned with statues of the Roman emperors. The rough and threatening aspect of these broken walls, and the ponderous bulk of disjointed fragments, falling in the same point of view with the gentle and decorative parts just described, strongly contrast each other, and heighten the varied character of the picture.

This charming _morceau_ was illumined by a morning sun, which shone direct on the marble-like surface of the towers, bringing forward all their elegance of form and enrichment with decisive superiority. The secondary objects of the ruin, overhung with ivy, and denied the direct light of the sun, retired in a low tint; but at the left extremity of the picture, the craggy and advancing citadel caught some of the strongest lights and shades, forming an admirable bit of foreground to the piece.

Although I am of opinion, that by a morning light this subject is seen by far to the greatest advantage, yet treated with an afternoon effect, by the judicious pencil of Sir Richard h.o.a.re, it has formed a charming picture. This View the engraver has ably transmitted to the publick in Mr. c.o.xe's Survey of Monmouths.h.i.+re.

Delighted with this first view, we traversed the porch defended by two portcullisses, and entered the princ.i.p.al court of the castle. The interior wore the same style of magnificence that we so much admired without. In superior grandeur projected the great window of the hall, majestically canopied with ivy; a variegated verdure covered the once-paved area, and climbed the lofty sides of the ruin. In some places the fondling ivy ran through the forsaken chambers, and embowered the apertures of the windows; while in many shadowy recesses, where the early sun had not penetrated, the dewy spangles of morning still decorated the dwarfy ash, or tremulously bedecked the waving thistle. So admirably were the different parts disposed, so picturesquely relieved, that the whole seemed rather a fairy creation, than the fortuitous combination of undirected nature.

After enjoying these general effects, we proceeded to examine the apartments of the castle. These do not in any part seem of very remote erection, but appear to have been constructed at different periods between the ages of Henry the Fifth and Elizabeth; yet, though a disunion of style be visible to the Antiquary, no discordance of effect arises in any instance. Of the first court, the princ.i.p.al entrance, and a range of once elegant rooms, occupy the south side; the baronial hall, and some other n.o.ble apartments, fill up the western part of the court; the culinary and other domestic offices, with the servants habitations, appear to have occupied the north and east sides: at the angle of their junction, a pentagonal tower contained the kitchen, and a small projection on the past side was the oven. A broken flight of steps afforded us the means of ascent to the superior apartments, where we admired the works of our fore-fathers in some lightly-ornamented chimney-pieces and Gothic mouldings. The baronial hall has suffered less from time than from the pilfering attempts of the neighbourhood: some traces of its former grandeur may be seen in its stately dimensions; a prodigious fire-place; and a few remnants of ornament, including the stone-sculptured arms of the Marquis of Worcester, at one end of the hall: this place, once the scene of banqueting and splendour, is now used as a fives-court. Here a fresh instance might be collected of the fleeting state of sublunary greatness; but so many have been brought forward by the great geniusses of all ages, while every little one feels the truth without benefiting by the knowledge, that we will not stop to enlarge on so hopeless a subject; but proceed, where barons bold have often trod, through the western portal of the hall to the chapel. Few vestiges remain of this structure; but some of its springing arches, rising from grotesque heads, are imperfectly visible; and two whole-length figures, coa.r.s.ely executed, appear through the thick-woven ivy. From this place we entered the area of the second court, once adorned with a marble fountain and an equestrian statue; but now planted with fruit-trees: this court is surrounded by a range of secondary yet capital apartments.

The subterraneous appendages of the castle are uncommonly extensive, according with the great plan of the building; eastward of which is the grange and out-houses, now converted into a farming habitation.-Raglan Castle was one of the latest that held out for the royal cause against Cromwell; and the intrenchments raised for its defence, and against it, may be readily traced in the adjoining fields. {219}

Returning from this interesting ruin, we pa.s.sed Raglan church, a small Gothic building, containing a few mutilated monuments of the Beaufort and Worcester families; and proceeded on the turnpike-road to Chepstow.

Our route soon took a long and laborious ascent, from the summit of which we obtained an extensive view over the middle parts of Monmouths.h.i.+re, an undulating tract of uncommon fertility and high cultivation. The line of distant mountains that we admired in the approach to Usk, here appeared strongly diversified and singularly picturesque, with the continuous ridge of the Black mountains to the west. Another considerable height about three miles further commanded a similar view; from which a short ride led us to the summit of the DEVAUDON; a remarkable elevation, whence a prodigious view is ordinarily obtained, not only over the country northward, but in the opposite direction, over the Bristol channel and its opposing sh.o.r.es. A severe shower, however, obliged us to relinquish this view, and seek shelter beneath the boughs of Chepstow park, as we branched off on the turnpike towards Caerwent.

Upon the storm abating, we wound down the Devaudon, and descended into an agreeable valley, whose opposite hills were clothed with wild forest-trees: the decayed town of Share Newton occupied the summit of a high hill bordering the vale in the direction of our route. We pa.s.sed through this town (a mere collection of cottages), and about half way towards the village of Crick turned off the road to visit Wrunston, an ecclesiastical ruin concealed in a sequestered thicket. The picturesque remnant of a small chapel is the only part standing; but extensive foundations and broad causeways declare the place to have been once considerable.-From Crick, a genteel village, we proceeded over an old Roman causeway {222} to Caerwent, the Venta Silurum of the Romans.

CAERWENT occupies a gently-inclining plane in a low situation. A few small dwellings mark the site of the ancient town; the fortifications of which form an oblong paralellogram, whose width is equal to two-ninths of its length, with the corners a little rounded; a frequent figure in Roman military works, called _Terriata castra_. The corners of the walls nearly correspond with the four cardinal points. On the south-west side are three pentagonal bastions; from which circ.u.mstance some authors have conjectured the erection of the town to have taken place under the lower empire, as flanking projections were not in use before that period; but it is justly supposed to be equally probable, that they were added after the general embattlement. The circuit of the rampart, near a mile in extent, may still be traced, in most places surrounded by a deep moat; the wall is constructed of grout-work faced with squared lime-stone; but the facings have been for the most part removed for private uses. From the present ruinous state of the walls, we cannot speak with certainty of their former height; but it appears to have varied considerably; perhaps eighteen feet may be a good medium: they are about twelve feet in thickness at their base, and nine at top. A fragment of the wall, nearly twenty feet in length and twelve high, has fallen near the southern angle; and, although the ponderous ruin revolved in its fall, the ma.s.s remains unshattered and impenetrable. Such is the boundary of a spot once crowded with palaces and temples: at present, the church and parsonage, a farm-house, a public-house, and a few scattered cottages, chiefly built with squared stones of the Roman town, are the only buildings on the area, which is generally laid out in fields and orchards. But ancient foundations, projecting above the level, and concealed under green hillocks, rise in many places; and elegant columns, tesselated pavements, and coins, are continually met with in ploughing and digging.

We saw a tesselated or mosaic pavement, that was formerly much admired, in an orchard behind the farm-house; which is thus described by Mr.

Wyndham in his tour, performed between thirty and forty years since: "The pavement is in length twenty-one feet six inches, and in breadth eighteen feet. A border, edged with the Greek scroll and fret, surrounds the whole; but on the north side, the border, being upwards of three feet, is much broader than the other side. This was designed in order to reduce the circles within a square. These circles are about three feet in diameter, and are encircled with a variety of elegant ornaments, and separated from each other by regular and equal distances. I think there are thirteen of these circles. The pieces of which the pavement is composed are nearly square, the breadth of them being about the size of a common die. These are of various colours, blue, white, yellow, and red; the first and second are of stone, and the yellow and red are of terra cotta. By a judicious mixture of these colours, the whole pattern is as strongly described as it would have been in oil colours. The original level is perfectly preserved; and the whole composition is so elegant and well executed, that I think it has not been surpa.s.sed by any mosaic pavement that has been discovered on this, or even on the other side of the Alps. In my opinion, it is equal to those beautiful pavements which are preserved in the palace of the king of Naples at Portice. I am strongly inclined to think that it is of the same age of Agricola." On this pavement being discovered, a building was erected to shelter it from the weather, by order of the proprietor, Mr. Lewis, of St. Pierre; but the brewhouse wanted a roof, and this, being found of similar dimensions, was transferred to the brewhouse; the farmer holding his ale in much greater veneration than relics of antiquity. In consequence of neglect, this curiosity is no longer an object of beauty; exposed to the weather, the surface became broken up; every one being allowed to take away as many of the _tesserae_ as he pleased; but a small portion remains; and that is so overgrown with gra.s.s as to be with difficulty distinguished.

In this orchard, and near the southern extremity of the wall, is a mound, which is most probably the site of the exploratory, or watch-tower.

CHAP. XV.

WENTWOOD FOREST-EXCURSION TO THE CASTLES OF DINHAM; LANVAIR; STRIGUIL; PENCOED; AND PENHOW-COMPRISING EXTENSIVE VIEWS FROM THE PENCAMAWR, &C.-CALDECOT CASTLE-A TALE OF OTHER TIMES-NEW Pa.s.sAGE-SUDBROOK ENCAMPMENT-AND CHAPEL-ST. PIERRE-MATHERN PALACE-MOINSCOURT.

Having satisfied ourselves with the antiquities of Caerwent, we planned an excursion, to comprise the six castles mentioned by the author of "Secret Memoirs of Monmouths.h.i.+re" as surrounding the forest of WENTWOOD.

These were erected soon after the Normans established themselves in Monmouths.h.i.+re, in order to keep the natives in check, who were wont to sally from their impenetrable fastnesses in the woods, and take a severe revenge on their conquerors and oppressors. Great part of this forest still exists in its original wildness, although it has been considerably curtailed by late enclosures. The castles enumerated are, Dinham, Penhow, Pencoed, Lanvasches, Lanvair, and Castrogy or Striguil. On a bridle-road, extending to Share Newton, we proceeded to the village of DINHAM, a poor place consisting of a few farm-houses and cottages: we had some difficulty in discovering the ruins of its castle, which consist of some low walls obscured by trees; merely pointing out its site on a gentle eminence near the borders of the forest. The ruin is called in the neighbourhood the old chapel. There being nothing here to fix our attention, we made the best of our way to LANVAIR CASTLE, situated on a small rise about two miles from Caerwent, near the road to Usk. In our approach to the ruin, an effect caught through intervening trees was pleasing and picturesque; but the ruin aspires not to grandeur, and is in a great degree concealed by embowering verdure: a nearer inspection of the castle increased our opinion of its former extent and prowess; large foundations are evident; and the walls are nowhere less than seven feet in thickness: a square and two round towers are the most conspicuous features of the ruin, which is in part moulded into a farm-house: the area of the princ.i.p.al court is employed as a kitchen-garden. Beneath the castellated eminence is the village-church, a simple rustic building; pa.s.sing which, and proceeding on the road to Usk, we quickly entered the forest of Wentwood. In this tract a dreary ride among dark woods, and russet heaths, laboriously ascending, brought us to the PENCAMAWR summit; a remarkable eminence in the long ridge of hills crossing the midland parts of Monmouths.h.i.+re, from the vicinity of Caerleon to the banks of the Wye near Landago.

Here a prospect greatly extensive opened to us. Beyond the wild region prevailing about our eminence, broken into a rapid succession of high hills and deep valleys, the winding Usk, with its emeraldic valley, accompanied with numerous villas and rich hanging woods, appeared in all its beauty. The bold character of the foreground, soon melting into a gentle undulation, displayed a scene of cultivation and productiveness of great extent; while, afar off, the line of distant mountains about Abergavenny, which we had before admired, again presented itself; somewhat varied, but not diminished in excellence. Nor was the view southward less extensive, comprehending a great part of the Bristol channel, with its receding coast.

Slowly proceeding down a steep declivity, and admiring the prospect before us, we soon reached STRIGUIL, or TROGGY CASTLE, as it is generally called, standing in a marshy field at the bottom of the hill. The small remains of this fortress are so profusely overspread with ivy, and the pendent foliage of wide-branching trees, that an accurate judgement can scarcely be formed of its architecture: but where the structure can be seen, pointed arches with neat facings appear throughout; from which circ.u.mstance the accuracy of Iceland and Camden may be questioned, who date the erection of this castle prior to the Conquest: certainly the parts now standing were not constructed within a century subsequent to that event. An octagon tower and some broken walls are the only standing parts of the ruin; but the form of its area may be traced, which is oblong, with towers defending each angle, and a broad moat surrounding the whole.

Reascending the Pencamawr, a ride of four or five miles, upon the site of a British way that led from Cardiff to Monmouth, brought us into the turnpike-road between Newport and Caerwent. In this interesting progress, on the ridgy summit of the high hills bordering the Usk, our prospects were delightful. Occasionally excluded by the close thickets of the forest, and re-appearing under different circ.u.mstances, new scenes were continually creating; and that satiety in consequence avoided which would possibly have resulted from the long possession of one species of scene, however excellent. Not far distant from the Pencamawr, appear the antiquated mansion, the hanging groves, and dark mantling woods of Bertholly, impendent near the limpid Usk, which here makes one of its boldest curves, forming nearly a complete circle in its romantic meander.

About two miles further, in a field on the right of the road, is a building called Kemys Folly; from the summit of which, a range of prospect is obtained, scarcely to be equalled for extent and diversity.

The views described from the Pencamawr here appear, with all the added charms of the scenery of the Usk, in this part eminently beautiful: from this spot also the Bristol channel displays its silvery surface with uncommon effect; while the distant sh.o.r.es of Somerset and Devon follow its course in bay and promontory, until the receding confine, too remote for the distinction of sight, appears dissolved in the blue ethereal.

From these charming scenes we descended, and in a short time left the British way, in joining the Newport turnpike near a public-house called Cat's Ash. This road is for the most part constructed on the Julia strata of the Romans. Where it leaves the absolute site of the ancient road it closely follows its course, and the foundation of the causeway may be traced in the adjoining fields; particularly in a meadow near the spot, where a lane from Lanvair to Caldecot level crosses the turnpike.

Proceeding on this road somewhat more than a mile, we turned off into a bridle-road on our right, to inspect the remains of PENCOED CASTLE and manor-house. These ruins are situated on the extreme boundary of that hilly tract bordering Caldecot level, over which and the Bristol channel it commands a comprehensive view. Of the castle very inconsiderable vestiges appear, in a gateway with a circular arch and two small pentagonal turrets, a round embattled tower, and some dilapidated walls; yet, decorated with a profusion of verdure, the ruin, though small, is picturesque and pleasing. The architecture of these fragments is of a more distant date than most of the small castles in Monmouths.h.i.+re, and may be considered coeval with the first establishment of the Normans in Gwent, _i.e._ Monmouths.h.i.+re. The mansion, occupying the site of the baronial fortress, built with its materials and engrafted on its foundation, is of an architectural date between Henry the Eighth's reign and that of Elizabeth. This neglected edifice is now partly occupied as a farm-house; but indications of its former importance appear in the grand dimensions of the apartments, and the great general extent of the building.

Upon regaining the high road, we soon approached PENHOW CASTLE, seated on an eminence, and commanding the pa.s.s of a wild hollow beneath: a square embattled tower is the leading feature of this ruin, which is very inconsiderable, and chiefly converted into a small farming habitation:

"There in the ruin, heedless of the dead, The shelter-seeking peasant builds his shed; And, wond'ring man could want the larger pile, Exults, and owns his cottage with a smile."

Thus having surveyed five out of the six castles that formerly surrounded the forest of Wentwood, and learning that no traces remained of the fortress at Lanvasches, we returned to Caerwent from a circuit of about twenty miles.

At an early hour in the morning we set out from our lowly quarters at Caerwent, and traversed a fruitful country, pleasingly varied with wood and pastures, in our way to CALDECOT CASTLE. The situation of this ruin in an undiversified swampy plain, is not calculated to set off its importance: viewed from a superior elevation in the approach, the towers and citadel, in themselves sufficiently high, appear sunk, and undistinguished from the curtain wall of the fortification; but on a nearer inspection the ruin rises in consequence; and the aspect of its chief entrance, a large Gothic gateway guarded by two ma.s.sive projecting towers, is truly n.o.ble. The light grey masonry of this entrance is agreeably relieved by a profusion of ivy, overspreading nearly the whole of one tower, and throwing the broad shadow of its pendent foliage upon part of the other. Within the portal the grooves of two portcullisses are apparent; and a further means of defence is visible in holes through the arch, down which boiling lead might be poured on the heads of the besiegers. On entering the court some remains of the baronial hall, and the foundations of other buildings, appear within the area of the walls.

A small artificial mount at the north-east angle of the ruin sustains the citadel, a lofty round tower; to which _dernier resort_ of the garrison a ready communication seems to have been conducted on the walls, from the different towers and other parts of the fortress; the whole of which is surrounded by a broad and deep moat.

The early history of this castle is uncertain: some have conjectured that part of it was built by Harold; and indeed a round tower on the south-west side of the castle, with a circularly arched entrance, has a Saxon character; but the general architecture of the building is Gothic.

Caldecot castle, in the different accounts of Monmouths.h.i.+re, has been attached to the lord high constables.h.i.+p of England, upon the authority of Camden; {236} but it appears very satisfactorily, from Mr. c.o.xe's ill.u.s.tration, that it was the _private_ property of the great Bohun family possessing the earldom of Hereford, who were hereditary constables of England. Caldecot church is an extensive and highly-ornamented Gothic structure, which may appear somewhat disproportioned to the scanty flock that it has to fold.

Leaving the little village of Caldecot, we pa.s.sed the Nevern brook, and soon after the small hamlet of Portswit, formerly washed by the sea, though it has since receded upwards of a mile. This place brought to our recollection a tale of outrage and cruelty that strongly characterizes the state of society at the time, and may serve as a buoy to mark the lawless violence of military dominion. It is related in Powell's translation of Caradoc's history, that Harold, after wresting part of Prince Gryffith's possessions from him, built a magnificent palace at Portascyth (Portswit) in Monmouths.h.i.+re; "and, stowing it with a great quant.i.ty of provision, splendidly entertained the king, who honoured him with a visit. This was by no means pleasing to Tosty, to see his younger brother in greater esteem and favour with the king than himself; and, having concealed his displeasure for a time, he could not forbear at length but discover his grievance; for one day at Windsor, while Harold reached the cup to King Edward, Tosty, ready to burst with envy that his brother was so much respected beyond himself, could not refrain to run furiously upon him, and, pulling him by the hair, dragged him to the ground; for which unmannerly action the king forbade him the court. But he, with continued rancour and malice, rides to Hereford, where Harold had many servants preparing an entertainment for the king; and, setting upon them with his followers, lopped off the hands and legs of some, the arms and heads of others, and then threw them into the b.u.t.ts of wine and other liquors which were put in for the king's drinking; and at his departure charged the servants to acquaint him, 'that of other fresh meat he might carry with him what he pleased; but for sauce he should find plenty provided for him.' For which barbarous offence the king p.r.o.nounced perpetual banishment upon him. But Caradoc ap Gryffydth gave a finis.h.i.+ng stroke to Harold's house, and the king's entertainment at Portascyth; for, coming thither shortly after Tosty's departure, to be revenged upon Harold, he killed all the workmen and labourers, with all the servants he could find; and, utterly defacing the building, carried away all the costly materials, which, with great charges and expence, had been brought thither to beautify and adorn the structure."

Proceeding through an agreeable undulating tract towards the sea-sh.o.r.e, we soon arrived at the NEW Pa.s.sAGE, the princ.i.p.al entrance into Monmouths.h.i.+re from the south-western counties. {238} The breadth of water from this place to the Bristol coast is three miles and a half, while the ferry of Aust, or the Old pa.s.sage, four or five miles higher up the Severn, is only two miles across; but this advantage is considered to be overbalanced by the more commodious landing at the former. Both these concerns, being monopolies, are, like all other monopolies, hostile to the interest of the publick; for there being no compet.i.tion for preference between the boatmen, they are extremely rude in their manners, indifferent to the accommodation of the publick, and by no means unpractised in various arts of extortion. But these exclusive privileges have existed from time immemorial. The t.i.tle of the New Pa.s.sage arose from its renewal in the year 1718, after an abolition in consequence of the following remarkable incident.