DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6912#0051
36
ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUITIES.
earl. This nobleman espoused the cause of the Lancastrians, and continued so firmly
his allegiance to Henry the Sixth, that Edward the Fourth caused him to be arrested,
(though in the sixtieth year of his age,) and with his son, and several others, first to
be attainted, and afterwards executed, for high-treason, on Tower-Hill. Thus
Hedingham was seized by the monarch ; but in the first year of Richard the Third
it was granted for life to Sir James Montgomery. After the battle of Bosworth,
Henry the Seventh repealed the act of attainder against the De Veres, and restored
the estates, at this place, to John, the thirteenth earl. This nobleman, "when
unengaged in the affairs of his sovereign, ('for he was,' says Bacon, 'his principal
servant both for war and peace,') seems to have passed much of his time at this
castle. He appears to have been a wise, magnificent, learned, and religious man ; *
and to have lived in great splendour, and much hospitality. These qualities seem
to have drawn the jealousy and resentment of his master, upon his old and faithful
servant, and that at a moment more proper to extinguish, than to actuate the sordid
passions ; at the close of a sumptuous and expensive entertainment given by the
Earl to Henry the Seventh, at his castle. The story is authenticated by our best
historians;" f and is briefly this. After the monarch had spent a day with the earl,
on leaving the castle, he passed through an avenue of persons, all of whom were
decorated with the earl's coats, cognizances, &c. The King, on being informed,
that instead of menial servants they were retainers, exclaimed, " By my faith, my
lord, I thank you for your good cheer : but I may not have my laws broken in my
sight; my attorney must speak with you;" and it is stated that the Earl was com-
pelled to pay a fine of 15,000 marks, to compound for this offence against the
statute of retainers.
The site of the Castle is a natural eminence, augmented by the earth from the
ditches, with a deep narrow valley to the north, and gradual slopes to the south and
west. Towards the east, the ground rises : but an artificial hollow appears to have
been formed between this and the inner ballium. The entrance to the latter is on
this side, and is formed by a bridge thrown across the first or inner foss. This is
broad and deep ; and incloses an area of nearly three acres. Towards the middle
is the keep tower, a fine, substantial, and interesting fragment of Norman architec-
ture, and Norman customs. It is almost a regular square, and measures, externally,
62 feet from north to south, 55 feet from east to west; and 100 feet from the highest
* Collins' Noble Families, p. 252.
f Majendie in Vetusta Monumenta, Vol. III.
ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUITIES.
earl. This nobleman espoused the cause of the Lancastrians, and continued so firmly
his allegiance to Henry the Sixth, that Edward the Fourth caused him to be arrested,
(though in the sixtieth year of his age,) and with his son, and several others, first to
be attainted, and afterwards executed, for high-treason, on Tower-Hill. Thus
Hedingham was seized by the monarch ; but in the first year of Richard the Third
it was granted for life to Sir James Montgomery. After the battle of Bosworth,
Henry the Seventh repealed the act of attainder against the De Veres, and restored
the estates, at this place, to John, the thirteenth earl. This nobleman, "when
unengaged in the affairs of his sovereign, ('for he was,' says Bacon, 'his principal
servant both for war and peace,') seems to have passed much of his time at this
castle. He appears to have been a wise, magnificent, learned, and religious man ; *
and to have lived in great splendour, and much hospitality. These qualities seem
to have drawn the jealousy and resentment of his master, upon his old and faithful
servant, and that at a moment more proper to extinguish, than to actuate the sordid
passions ; at the close of a sumptuous and expensive entertainment given by the
Earl to Henry the Seventh, at his castle. The story is authenticated by our best
historians;" f and is briefly this. After the monarch had spent a day with the earl,
on leaving the castle, he passed through an avenue of persons, all of whom were
decorated with the earl's coats, cognizances, &c. The King, on being informed,
that instead of menial servants they were retainers, exclaimed, " By my faith, my
lord, I thank you for your good cheer : but I may not have my laws broken in my
sight; my attorney must speak with you;" and it is stated that the Earl was com-
pelled to pay a fine of 15,000 marks, to compound for this offence against the
statute of retainers.
The site of the Castle is a natural eminence, augmented by the earth from the
ditches, with a deep narrow valley to the north, and gradual slopes to the south and
west. Towards the east, the ground rises : but an artificial hollow appears to have
been formed between this and the inner ballium. The entrance to the latter is on
this side, and is formed by a bridge thrown across the first or inner foss. This is
broad and deep ; and incloses an area of nearly three acres. Towards the middle
is the keep tower, a fine, substantial, and interesting fragment of Norman architec-
ture, and Norman customs. It is almost a regular square, and measures, externally,
62 feet from north to south, 55 feet from east to west; and 100 feet from the highest
* Collins' Noble Families, p. 252.
f Majendie in Vetusta Monumenta, Vol. III.