ANCIENT EARTHWORKS
perhaps be accounted for by the sharpness of the scarp on the north and south, where, no doubt, strong paUsades of timber were provided. Upon the west of the base-court, or bailey, is a sloping space defended on the north-west by a natural scarp 20 ft. deep, but it is not certain that the area was a second or outer court. There are traces of irregular earthworks on the north-west, shown by a 'sketch dated 1888 to have been somewhat in the form of the letter S ; also a long fosse covering the northern approach to the stronghold.^' Richard's Castle. — This stronghold is situated 3 miles south-west of Ludlow in a district described by the late G. T. Clark as ' the most exposed upon the Welsh frontier, a position commanding some of the richest and most regretted of the lands conquered by the English, and sure to be assailed frequently and in force.' Earthworks play so conspicuous a part in the scheme of defence that we must devote some space to their description, notwithstanding that the castle and its history will be fully dealt with in an- other chapter. We may quote G. T. Clark's attractive de- scriptive remarks : — ^° The castle of Richard's Castle oc- cupies a position equally remarkable for beauty and for strength. It stands upon the eastern slope of the Vinnall Hill, an elevated ridge which extends hither from Ludlow, and a little to the west of the castle is cleft by two deep parallel gorges, beyond which the high ground re- appears in two diverging ridges, ot which one extends westward in the direction of Wigmore, and the other more southerly to the River Lugg. . . . By this means Richard's Castle is protected from the Welsh side by a double defence of hill and valley, besides its more immediate and special works. The castle, though far below the summit of the Vinnall, stands upon very high ground, sloping rapidly towards the east. An exceedingly deep and wide gorge descending from the west bounds the position on the south, while a smaller and tributary valley, descending from the north, falls into the greater valley below the castle, and thus completes its strength upon the north, west, and south points. The defence towards the east is wholly artificial. Upon the point of the high land, above the meeting of the two valleys, a large and lofty mound has been piled up, the base of which is about 300 ft. above the valley. ... It seems wholly artificial, and stands in its own very deep ditch, beyond which is a high bank. The entrenchments consisted of three members: (i) the mount, already mentioned, which is one of the highest in England, rising 73 ft. above the lowest part of the fosse, and only about 20 ft. in diameter on its summit ; Richard's Castle •' Trans. Woolhope Field Club (1886-9), 228. Mediaeval Military Architecture (1884), ii, 403. 245
