ENGLAND'S CASTLES

Evening Post, Issue 145, 22 December 1928, Page 15

ENGLAND'S CASTLES

I England's wonderful old castles'! al- | | ways bring dreams, of steel-clad knights § 3 and wavina pennons, of beautiful %am- E 3 sols on palfreys, anil of those ancient £ •3 minstrels who wero half poets, half ;b 8 musicians. ". ' ' '£ | Soon after tho Conquest, William built ,!■ I castles in many towns—some say to over- i x awe "tha English,' but-others think' hfs > I object was just as much to prevent his [ i brother Normans getting out of hand. < I At any rate, ho garrisoned them with hi« ; < own mßii-at-arms. - i j But these first castles wore simple > i squaro towers. Their stono walls wero ; ? so. thick that stalrcasss, and even "rooms, > 3 nere often hollowoii out inside, them. ; s Later on theso "keoys" were surround- ? | ed by so many walls .and .turrets .that ;£ < castles grow to the size of hamlets. Then I I came a sad day for tho English, for-the t I castles fell Into the hands of Norman i I lords, who were robber-chiefs In reality. ; 3 and harried the whole countryside, put- | i ting to torture anyone they thought S | mloht havd money hidden away. ■ , S | London's castle, the Tower, wlien Wil- | |liam , the Conqueror built it, consisted g X only of tho central kesn—the Whito g ? Tower. But it was added to until'the ? > outer walls measured two-thirds of s| i mile round. As palace and fortress,'; be- | i sides a State prison, for so many cen- g > furies, it is one of the most historio build- | 5 ings in the world. . The Crown Jewel* S < aro kept there in safety. A thief, § < named Colonel Blood, once made an, at-j> I tempt to steal them,' but' he" did not sue- | | ceed- ' |