Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/755

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BOROUGH OF GUILDFORD

thickness of the wall, lit by a single loophole. West of this is a round-headed opening with dressed jambs and head slightly chamfered. This forms the rear arch to a window of two round-headed lights set in a round-headed outer order. The mullion, presumably a column, is missing. The splay is carried to the floor level, and forms a vestibule to a vice in the north-west angle of the keep, the door to which is in the west internal jamb of the window. This door is very much defaced and the steps of the vice are gone. The wall internally retains in patches a facing of diagonally-tooled ashlar in square blocks. In the middle of the east wall on this floor is a deep window splay retaining a few ashlar quoins, but externally restored in brickwork, apparently of 17th-century date. This wall contains no chambers, as it forms part of the line of defence. In the south wall, but to the east of the centre, is a similar window which retains most of its ashlar work and is unrestored. The dividing column, however, is gone. In the west part of the wall is a segmental-headed opening to a small wall-chamber, probably the chapel, which is entered through an ante-chamber, probably the ante-chapel, in the thickness of the west wall. The round-headed door of the ante-chamber, of two orders, retains little more than its rough opening. The ante-chamber is 14 ft. 2 in. long and 5 ft. wide, and has on the west a wall arcade of four bays with rounded engaged columns with scalloped and palmette capitals and moulded base approximating to the Attic type and semicircular arches of one slightly chamfered order. In the northernmost bay is a small round-headed original window. The ante-chapel is vaulted with an obtuse pointed barrel-vault of rubble which has been plastered and has at its spring a chamfered string. The angles of the room are ashlared, and the whole arcade with its wall spaces is of carefully wrought chalk masonry, while the end wall and the east wall are of rubble and have been plastered.

The chapel, which is in the thickness of the south wall, is really an extension at right angles to the other chamber, and had, originally, a continuation of the arcade carried along its south or exterior wall ; but of this little remains except one column and capital im- bedded in a later partition wall at the west end of the chapel, while west of this are traces of two more bays. From these it would appear that the arcade was originally of six bays. Two capitals of similar detail to those in the ante-chapel remain. At the east end of the chapel is a block of rubble, the remains of a stone bench, and at the south-east is a small square recess partly blocked. There are two windows on the south, that to the east is of three mullioned lights with square heads and is a 1 7 th- century insertion and responsible for the destruction of part of the arcade ; the wide opening opposite to it is of the same date, and meant to transmit the light to the interior of the keep. The defaced window to the west appears to have been original and similar to that in the ante-chapel. The chapel is vaulted in the same way as the ante-chapel, the two vaults inter- secting, but at the east end is a half-vault at right angles to the main ceiling and very clumsily connected up with it. On the arcade of the ante-chapel are a

��number of scratched designs, mainly of mediaeval date. Amongst other subjects are representations of St. Christopher, the Crucifixion, and a seated king and queen.

The top floor of the keep originally contained four two-light windows, one in each wall, of which little remains now but the splays, the windows themselves having been replaced in stone. There is also on, the north a segmental-headed recess which, turning at right angles, leads to the vice, and east of this are traces of a brick-backed fireplace, probably part of the 17th-century domestic repairs," 1 while at the south- east is a round-headed opening to a small garderobe in the thickness of the wall with a double corbelled shoot.

South and west of the keep and below the crest of the mound are two fragments of walling, apparently part of the earlier polygonal shell keep. The former of these is very fragmentary, but the latter is still some height above ground, and has at the west the remains of two garderobe shoots, one above the other. The other end appears to have been connected up with the east side of the square keep, into which it has been incorporated. Both these fragments are of chalk. Buck's view, dated 1737, shows these walls as remaining to a height of at least two stories, while at the north-west of the mound is a suggestion of further remains of which only foundations now remain.

No documentary evidence exists regarding the history of the castle till the 1 2th century. It was one of the many castles set in order at the time of the 'young king's' rebellion in 1173-4, some 26 being then expended upon it. 13 In 1202 it is men- tioned as a prison, but nothing is known of the building until 1246, when a hall and chamber for the use of the Sheriffs of Surrey were built on the mound" (mold). Four years later, in 1*50, orders were given to repair the wall of the castle with col- umns and underpinning, to whitewash it and the keep (turns'), and to repair the lead on the keep." Further whitewashing and repairs were done to the keep and the walls of the bailey in 1256," and next year a kitchen was built and the gaol repaired," while in 1268 a further 20 was spent on the keep." In 1293 the kitchen was repaired, the gaol cleaned out and 36 pairs of fetters (firgts) provided ; one of the gates was rebuilt, tables were fixed in the hall and repairs done to a solar and the castle bridge.* 9 Almost the only other reference to be noted occurs in i 360, when a large stone was set under the door of the chapel in the keep, and a small window in the chapel was strengthened with iron bars for the safer custody of prisoners. 30

South-east of the keep and sheltered by the outer wall of the castle was the royal palace, of whose buildings more traces remain in records than in ruins. During the latter half of the reign of Henry III references to its fabric are numerous. In 1 243 a door was made at the end of the hall, between the pantry and buttery, leading to the kitchen, and the windows on the west of the royal dais were glazed ; a fireplace was also put into the larder so that the building could be used as the queen's garderobe

��>* The i/th-century repairs were due, no doubt, to Mr. Carter when he received the castle from James I and lived in it (tee below).

��> Pipe R. 20 Hen. II.

  • Liberate R. (Chan.), 31 Hen. IIL

Ibid. 35 Hen. III.

  • Ibid. 41 Hen. III.

557

��V Ibid. 42 Hen. III.

  • Ibid. 53 Hen. III.

n Esch. K. R. Acctf. bdle. 492, no. 10.

ro Ibid. bdle. 493, no. 6.

�� �