Tower, or Castle, existed here a considerable time before the conquest;
for Alfred lived here; and Harold Harefoot was crowned and resided here;
and one of Alfred's sons struck money here. Hearne has likewise
identified this fact by the very ancient and original arms of Oxford,
which have a castle represented, with a large ditch and bridge. Upon the
same authority we learn that Offa "built walls at Oxford," and by him,
therefore, a Saxon castle was originally built at Oxford.

Leland, Dugdale, and Camden, on the other hand, affirm that the castle
at Oxford was built by Robert D'Oiley, who came into England with
William the Conqueror; and the Chronicles of Osney Abbey, preserved in
the Cottonian library, even ascertain the precise date of this great
baron's undertaking, viz. A.D. 1071. No question, therefore, can remain,
but that this illustrious chieftain either repaired or rebuilt the
castle; but as we have shown, upon equal authority, there was a Saxon
castle, fit for a royal residence at Oxford, long previous to D'Oiley's
time. About the year 1794, several Saxon remains were discovered here;
but our engraving represents the castle in Norman times, with Robert
D'Oiley's magnificent additions, and is a facsimile of a plan by Ralph
Agas, in 1538, which, allowing a little for bad or unskilful drawing,
may be taken as a perfect specimen of Norman military architecture, and
will, we are persuaded, be received by our readers as a popular and
interesting illustration of the warlike character of the age in which
the castle was erected.

For the description we are indebted to a MS. account of Anthony Wood, in
the Bodleian library, who informs us that at one of its entrances was "a
large bridge, which led into a long and broad entry, and so to the chief
gate of the castle, the entry itself being fortified, on each side, with
a large embattled wall; and having several passages above, from one side