invasion. To check the incursions of the Welsh, who made frequent and
powerful irruptions into Herefordshire, many castles were erected in
Shropshire and Herefordshire, forming a chain of fortresses which are
more numerous than in any other part of England. They are of every
shape and size, from stately piles like Wigmore and Goodrich, to the
smallest fortified farm, like Urishay Castle, a house half mansion,
half fortress. Even the church towers of Herefordshire, with their
walls seven or eight feet thick, such as that at Ewias Harold, look as
if they were designed as strongholds in case of need. On the western
and northern borders of England we find the largest number of
fortresses, erected to restrain and keep back troublesome neighbours.

The story of the English castles abounds in interest and romance. Most
of them are ruins now, but fancy pictures them in the days of their
splendour, the abodes of chivalry and knightly deeds, of "fair ladies
and brave men," and each one can tell its story of siege and
battle-cries, of strenuous attack and gallant defence, of prominent
parts played in the drama of English history. To some of these we
shall presently refer, but it would need a very large volume to record
the whole story of our English fortresses.

We have said that the earliest Norman castle was a _motte_ fortified
by a stockade, an earthwork protected with timber palings. That is the
latest theory amongst antiquaries, but there are not a few who
maintain that the Normans, who proved themselves such admirable
builders of the stoutest of stone churches, would not long content
themselves with such poor fortresses. There were stone castles before
the Normans, besides the old Roman walls at Pevensey, Colchester,
London, and Lincoln. And there came from Normandy a monk named Gundulf
in 1070 who was a mighty builder. He was consecrated Bishop of