Fleet messengers had been sent in all directions. To Gloucester and
Hereford, Stafford, and even Oxford, men had ridden, with letters to the
baron's friends, beseeching them to march to his assistance.

"I can," he said, "defend my hold for weeks. But it is only by aid from
without that I can finally hope to break the power of this baggart
[Transcriber's note: sic] earl."

Many of those to whom he addressed his call had speedily complied with
his demand, while those at a distance might be expected to reply later
to the appeal.

There were many among the barons who considered the mildness of the Earl
of Evesham toward the Saxons in his district to be a mistake, and who,
although not actually approving of the tyranny and brutality of the
Baron of Wortham, yet looked upon his cause to some extent as their own.

The Castle of Wortham stood upon ground but very slightly elevated above
the surrounding country. A deep and wide moat ran round it, and this
could, by diverting a rivulet, be filled at will.

From the edge of the moat the walls rose high, and with strong flanking
towers and battlements.

There were strong works also beyond the moat opposite to the drawbridge;
while in the center of the castle rose the keep, from whose summit the
archers, and the machines for casting stones and darts, could command
the whole circuit of defense.