CASTLEMAINE, a town of Talbot county, Victoria, Australia, 78 m. by rail N.N.W. of Melbourne. Pop. (1901) 5704. The gold-mines here were among the first discovered in the colony, and dredging for gold is carried on in Barker’s and Forrest creeks, at the junction of which the town stands. Slate and flagstone are largely quarried in the district, which also produces wine and much fruit, especially apples. Castlemaine has a reputation as a health resort in cases of pulmonary complaints.
CASTLE RISING, a village of Norfolk, England, 4 m. by road N.E. of King’s Lynn. The Norman castle for which it is famous stands on slightly elevated ground overlooking, to the west, the low marshy coast of the Wash. Its site is enclosed by artificial ramparts of earth and a dyke which is crossed by an ancient bridge. The keep is square and massive, and fairly perfect, and it is not difficult to reconstruct the arrangement of the rooms. In some parts, especially the entrance, the Norman carving is very rich. The foundations of a small chapel with apsidal eastern termination have been discovered outside the castle. The village of Castle Rising is the decayed remnant of a town of no little importance. Its church of St Laurence is late Norman, with much rich ornamentation; it shows traces of considerable alterations in the Early English period, but is an admirable example of the earlier style.
It is a matter of dispute whether Rising was or was not an early Saxon settlement; in Domesday Book the manor is given as having belonged to Archbishop Stigand, from whom it had passed to Odo of Bayeux, whose estates were confiscated in 1088. Granted to William de Albini, whose son built Rising Castle, it passed first to Robert de Montalt, and then by sale to Isabel, queen of England, in 1332, remaining in the possession of the crown until Henry VIII. exchanged it for other lands with the duke of Norfolk. In 1269 an inquisition found that the lord had the return of all writs. In 1275 Robert de Montalt died seised of the manor and vill with the assize of bread and ale. An inquisition of 1379, although it makes no mention of the borough, states that the lord has the rents of assizes, and perquisites of the courts with view of frank-pledge. A mayor is first mentioned in 1343, and a borough existed in the 15th century. A survey of 1589–1590 declared that Castle Rising was an ancient borough by prescription according to the grant made to Hugh de Albini by Henry III. In 1589–1590 the recorder was chosen by the lord of the manor. The mayor, the only member of the corporation, whose sole duty was the holding of the assize of bread and ale, was chosen by the burgesses and presented at the court leet for confirmation. Castle Rising became a parliamentary borough in 1558, but was disfranchised in 1832 and the corporation abolished in 1835, although a mayor was elected for special purposes until 1883. Having no manufactures, the trade of the town depended entirely on its fairs and markets; but these have been long obsolete.
CASTLETON, a village in the High Peak parliamentary division of Derbyshire, England, 17 m. W.S.W. of Sheffield, and 2 m. from Hope station on a branch of the Midland railway. Pop. (1901) 547. Lying itself at an elevation of about 600 ft., it is surrounded on the north, west and south by hills from 1400 to 1700 ft. in height, rising sharply, and in parts precipitously. The village is celebrated for its situation in the midst of the wild Peak country, for the caves and mines in the neighbourhood, and for the Castle of the Peak, the ruins of which are strongly placed on a cliff immediately above the village. The Peak Cavern or Devil’s Hole, penetrating this cliff, is the most magnificent in Derbyshire. For many generations the entrance to this cave has served as a workshop, held free of rent, to families employed in rope and twine making. Speedwell Cavern is not far distant, at the entrance to the fine pass of Winnats, by which Castleton and the Vale of Hope are approached from the west. The beauties of this cavern, in which occurs the so-called bottomless pit, are in part readily accessible by boat, but the approach to the inner or Cliff cavern is so difficult that it has rarely been explored. Among several other caves is that known as the Blue John Mine, from the decorative fluorspar called “Blue John” which is obtained here. The church of St Edmund, Castleton, retains a fine Norman chancel arch, and the vestry contains a valuable library. At Brough near Castleton was a Roman fort, established to hold in check the hillmen of the Peak. It was connected by roads with Buxton, Manchester and Rotherham. The Castle of the Peak, or Peveril Castle, is famous through Sir Walter Scott’s novel Peveril of the Peak. Early earthworks, which, extending from below the castle in a semicircle, enclosed the town, can still in great part be traced. Before the Conquest the site was held by Gernebern and Hundinc, and was granted by the Conqueror to William Peverell, by whom the castle was built. On the forfeiture of William Peverell, grandson of the first holder, it was granted by Henry II. to Prince John who, in 1204, made Hugh Nevill governor of the castle. In 1216 William Ferrers, earl of Derby, took it from the rebellious barons, and was made governor by Henry III., who in 1223 granted a charter for a weekly market at the town. In 1328 the castle was given to John of Gaunt on his marriage with Blanche of Lancaster, and thus became parcel of the duchy of Lancaster. The castle has often been used as a prison, and from its position was almost impregnable.
CASTLETOWN (Manx, Bully Cashtel), a town of the Isle of Man, 10 m. S.W. of Douglas, by the Isle of Man railway. Pop. (1901) 1975. It is picturesquely situated on both sides of a small harbour formed by the outflow of the Silver Burn into Castletown Bay. It was the legal capital of the island until 1862. In the centre of the town stands Castle Rushen, which is said to owe its foundation to the Danish chief, Guthred, in 947–960, though the existing building, which is remarkably well preserved, probably dates from the 14th century. Until the 18th century it was the residence of the lords of Man, and until 1891 served as a prison. The massive keep is square, and is surrounded by an outer wall, with towers and a moat. The council chamber and court-house were built in 1644. In the neighbourhood of the castle is the old House of Keys, where the members of the Manx parliament held their sessions until the removal of the seat of government to Douglas. A lofty Doric column commemorates Cornelius Smelt, lieutenant-governor of the island (d. 1832), near which there is a remarkable sun-dial with thirteen faces, dating from 1720. King William’s College, situated a mile to the north-east of the town, was opened in 1833; but a complete restoration was rendered necessary by fire in 1844, and it was subsequently enlarged. It is the chief educational establishment in the island. At Hango Hill near the town William Christian, receiver-general, who had surrendered the castle, and with it the island, to the parliamentary forces in 1651, was executed in 1663 at the instance of the countess of Derby, who had undertaken to defend it for the king. A small shipping trade is maintained.
CASTOR and POLLUX (Gr. Πολυδεύκης), in Greek and Roman mythology, the twin sons of Leda, and brothers of Helen and Clytaemnestra. They were also known under the name of Dioscuri (Διόσκοροι, later Διόσκουροι, children of Zeus), for, according to later tradition, they were the children of Zeus and Leda, whose love the god had won under the form of a swan. In some versions Leda is represented as having brought forth two eggs, from one of which were born Castor and Pollux, from the other Helen. In another account, Zeus is the father of Pollux and Helen, Tyndareus (king of Sparta) of Castor and Clytaemnestra. In Homer, Castor, Pollux and Clytaemnestra are said to be the children of Tyndareus and Leda, Helen the daughter of Leda by Zeus. The Dioscuri were specially reverenced among people of Dorian race, and were said to have reigned at Sparta, where also they were buried. They were also worshipped, especially in Athens, as lords and protectors (ἄνακες, ἄνακτες). Sailors in a storm prayed to them (Horace, Odes, i. 3) and sacrificed a white lamb, whereupon they were wont to appear in the form of fire at the masthead (probably referring to the phenomenon of St Elmo’s fire), and the storm ceased. Later, they were confounded with the Samothracian Cabeiri. In battle they appeared riding on white horses and gave victory to the side they favoured. They were the patrons of hospitality, and founded the sacred festival called Theoxenia.
