Page:Cornwall (Mitton).djvu/214

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CORNISH TOWNS 133 the present town has no right to the name at all, but should be called Dunheved meaning " Swelling Hill." The castle keep certainly stands on a most appropriate swelling hill, just the place for such a fortification, with a magnificent view over miles of country. The present remains, the great keep with its rings of stone, is of Norman origin, but there was most certainly a Saxon castle here before it. It stands in delightful grounds, freely open to all, and a very sanctuary for birds. A winding stair runs within the wall and even in the present roofless condition it needs but little imagination to transport oneself back into feudal times, when the women- folk cowered within the small rooms behind the solid masonry, and the warriors guarded the loop- holes, watching, waiting for attack. Launceston is peculiarly rich in churches ; be- sides the two mentioned there is St. Thomas, in the valley between, where have been discovered the ruins of a priory. From this the doorway of the White Hart Hotel in the market-place came. Down a side street is one of the old city gates, the only one remaining to show that Launceston was once walled. The chief point of interest about