ANCIENT EARTHWORKS broken bronze ornaments of the same date, all of which were found near together at the southern extremity of the intrenchment. These relics had probably been thus thrown up together when the trench was being made or repaired. On the whole it seems most likely that the town ditches or outer-bailey ramparts, both here and at Castleton, were constructed in the period that preceded the Conquest, and doubt- less were renewed and strengthened by the Normans. 4. The old castle of BRETBY (Ivii. 14) stood on a plot of ground imme- diately to the south-west of the church. It was pulled down towards the end of Elizabeth's reign by Philip, first earl of Chesterfield, who built a great mansion on another site. The extensive mound-covered founda- tions occupy a space of about 600 feet square. They seem to indicate two courts. There are remains of the moat on the west side. 5. CASTLE GRESLEY (Ix. 10). The castle here was of sufficient importance to give this township a name which it still bears to dis- tinguish it from Church Gresley. All stone remains of the mediaeval building have long ago disappeared. There only remains a hillock known as Castle Hill, near the Midland Railway Station. There was probably an earthwork mound on this site, prior to any more substantial work.- 6. The famed CASTLE OF THE PEAK (x. 5) occupied a tri- angular piece of ground elevated about 300 ft. above the village or little town of Castleton at its foot. This area has its broad base to the north, measuring about 300 feet in length, whilst the dis- tance from the south- ern apex to the centre of the north enclosure is about 200 feet. The site is one singularly well suited by nature for defensive purposes ; on the west is a gloomy precipice 260 feet above the vast entrance to the Peak Cavern ; on the south-east is another irregular pre- cipice falling down some 200 feet into Cave Dale ; whilst on THE CASTLE OF THE PEAK. 379
