Swansea & District Directory, 1887 - Page 8 |
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6 SWANSEA DIRECTORY, at the British Museum a.nd Public Record Office • 1n person. "There is something about this old pile unusnally remarkable. The castle of Swaruea. is one of our proudest moE.uments of antiquity, and in days past had a very remarkable history, one peculiarly interesting, for local history links Itself with national history. The Castle, as it now stands, was built by a "Swansea man of nncommon energy and ability-Henry de Gowerwho took his uame from the district. · '' The first building of Swaruea Castle of which we have any historic record was subsequent to the Norman invasion and conquest, the credit of building the Castle being given to Henry Beaumont, of Newburgh, in Normandy, and Earl of Warwick, in England; he held large possessions in Gower, and also built the first castle of Or,stermouth. A castle was undoubtedly built on this site about that period, as there is historic evidence that its outworks were destroyed. Credit therefore may be given to the fact that a castle stood here about the time of Rufu~», but not the castle now about to be described. The rich, open parapet, round the top of the old ruins of Swansea Castle, which have been discussed, could at one tjme be viewed from the railway crossing at the 6last end of the Strand, forming a · pretty picture, looked at through the brickwork of the arch of the Swansea and Neath Railway as it crosses that street. It is no longer 11een from this point of vantage, the erection of Messrs. Taylor and Co.'s large warehouse in the Strand having completely blocked it out. There was a north entrance into the area surrounding the castle called Harold's Gate, protected by twll towers, situated at the junction of Castle Bailey-street and High-street; a postern or back exit lay on the eastern side, which doubtleiis formed a s11.lly-port by a covered way he· neath Worcester House out to the present Welcome- lane, and so down to the Strand at the end of a dry ditch, which Colonal Francis had li8en existing, though then filled up, at the corner of the Banc Caer, at the toJ?, of Goat-street, 11.nd doubtless at the exit of Bailey-street into Castlesquare, over which was formerly a bridge to the gate, flanked by rounders, one of which still exists, towermg above the butcher~s shop, with the clock placed there by his Grace the Duke of Beaufort for the convenience of the townspeople. The postern clearly led tQ the steps in the Town Float (which were closed a short time ago) used by those living on the quays, called the Castle Steps. On making the town sewer a few years since, Vf:Jry strong concreted foundations had to be cut through. The area included by the lines described is about fifteen acres, or about half that used at Caerphilly, and perhaps ten times as much as the surface covered at Oystermouth Castle. "You are, no doubt, for the most part aware that since the Conquest the doctrine of possession of land in this country was, that it was entirely vested in the Crown. This doctrine of law holds good to the present' honr; therefore it would be easily understood that persoru who obtained grants of ]ands, or castles, only held them as long as they were faithful to the King, and if these persons fell away from their allegiance they forfeited possessioru, lands, and • castles. The effect of this was that great respect was felt for the kingly office, because it paid • Then you will see that in the times of the wan of the Middle Ages each. man held his life by the length and strength of his sword, as is done to the prel'!ent'day in Central Afrioa--a state of things not easily brought home to the mind of stay-at-homes, unleBS they happen to have sojourned in its midst. • "Gower was born in the latter end of the thirteent:R centlu-y, somewh11re about 12~W, and became Bishop of St. David's. He took to the church as the business of his life, and was created a prelate in 1328. "During the period of the three Edwards, castles seem to have grown like poppies all over this land. When Edward I. became conqueror of Wales, the hosts of Normans who fought with him and won, determined to keep it, if they could, which was no easy matter for the Welshmen, whenever they had the chance, cut them down. The Normans, therefore, built huge castles for their own protection, and created, in this wise, great centres of securityforthemselves. Edward I. was an ,exteruive castle builder, and Edw~.Ud II. was a castle user and abuser, while Edward Ill. was no less a great builder, with the renowned William of Wykeham for his master of works. William of Wykeha.m and Henry of Gower were somewhat alike in the course they adopted in this hie. They were both learned men of the church, of great taste, and both have left beautiful specimens of their architectural slriU to pos· terity. The chief works of Gower are tlle cathedral and palace of St. David's, and Swansea Castle, amongst the finest works of their kind in this country, evidently inspired by true genius, and an innate love of the beautiful. In these buildings may be seen the artistic and peculiar arcade work of De 3-ower. "Colonel Francis showed how De Gower;being a bishop, became possessed of Swansea Castle. The ownPr,in the time of Edward II., was a son· in-law of Lord William de Breos, the laat of the great barons of that name, who had large possesaions at Brembex in Sussex, and in Gower, rlwansea Castle being the Caput baroni. De Breos was a terrible character, such a.s were many of the barons at that time. There was no act too dreadful, and no wickedne~s too great, for him, in his numerous quarrels. ''This de Breos had a daughter and heiress named Alina, or Alenora, who married de Mow bray, one of the chief no bles of the time of the Ed wards. When de Mowbray quarrelled with his king the family lost all their estates, after the battle of Boroughbridge, in the year 1322. They had taken up the came of the Lancastrian party, and when that faction was overturned De Mow• bray had his head cut off at York, and his family were reduced, as .is proved by authentic records, to abject poverty, such as scarcely any one pre· sent would believe possible. Alina and her child were almost starved, whilst her vast possessions were confiscated to the King. After the fashion of that day, immediately the dispate was known, De Mewbray was locked up in the Tower. Some favcmrite of Edward's came forward and me.de application for the lands. The Castle then came, Mr. Franci.s be· lieved, into the hands of Henry de Gower,
Object Description
Rating | |
Title | Swansea & District Directory, 1887 |
Full title | Swansea and District Directory, 1887 |
Subject | Historical directories |
Period covered | 1880-1889 |
Location | United Kingdom -- Wales -- Glamorganshire |
Place (county) | Wales -- Glamorganshire |
Region | Wales |
Identifier | SPL14007 |
Language | English |
Publisher | pr. by Cambria Daily Leader |
Date of publication | 1887 |
Type | Directory |
Format | |
Rights | You may use this item in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/ |
Metadata Licence | You can re-use this metadata record under a Creative Commons Zero ‘no rights reserved’ licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
Download available | Yes |
Contact us | Please contact [email protected] for enquiries |
Collection | Historical directories |
Themes | Directory |
Description
Title | Swansea & District Directory, 1887 - Page 8 |
Full title | Swansea and District Directory, 1887 |
Subject | Historical directories |
Period covered | 1880-1889 |
Location | United Kingdom -- Wales -- Glamorganshire |
Place (county) | Wales -- Glamorganshire |
Region | Wales |
Publisher | pr. by Cambria Daily Leader |
Date of publication | 1887 |
Type | Directory |
Collection | Historical directories |
Themes | Directory |
Full Text | 6 SWANSEA DIRECTORY, at the British Museum a.nd Public Record Office • 1n person. "There is something about this old pile unusnally remarkable. The castle of Swaruea. is one of our proudest moE.uments of antiquity, and in days past had a very remarkable history, one peculiarly interesting, for local history links Itself with national history. The Castle, as it now stands, was built by a "Swansea man of nncommon energy and ability-Henry de Gowerwho took his uame from the district. · '' The first building of Swaruea Castle of which we have any historic record was subsequent to the Norman invasion and conquest, the credit of building the Castle being given to Henry Beaumont, of Newburgh, in Normandy, and Earl of Warwick, in England; he held large possessions in Gower, and also built the first castle of Or,stermouth. A castle was undoubtedly built on this site about that period, as there is historic evidence that its outworks were destroyed. Credit therefore may be given to the fact that a castle stood here about the time of Rufu~», but not the castle now about to be described. The rich, open parapet, round the top of the old ruins of Swansea Castle, which have been discussed, could at one tjme be viewed from the railway crossing at the 6last end of the Strand, forming a · pretty picture, looked at through the brickwork of the arch of the Swansea and Neath Railway as it crosses that street. It is no longer 11een from this point of vantage, the erection of Messrs. Taylor and Co.'s large warehouse in the Strand having completely blocked it out. There was a north entrance into the area surrounding the castle called Harold's Gate, protected by twll towers, situated at the junction of Castle Bailey-street and High-street; a postern or back exit lay on the eastern side, which doubtleiis formed a s11.lly-port by a covered way he· neath Worcester House out to the present Welcome- lane, and so down to the Strand at the end of a dry ditch, which Colonal Francis had li8en existing, though then filled up, at the corner of the Banc Caer, at the toJ?, of Goat-street, 11.nd doubtless at the exit of Bailey-street into Castlesquare, over which was formerly a bridge to the gate, flanked by rounders, one of which still exists, towermg above the butcher~s shop, with the clock placed there by his Grace the Duke of Beaufort for the convenience of the townspeople. The postern clearly led tQ the steps in the Town Float (which were closed a short time ago) used by those living on the quays, called the Castle Steps. On making the town sewer a few years since, Vf:Jry strong concreted foundations had to be cut through. The area included by the lines described is about fifteen acres, or about half that used at Caerphilly, and perhaps ten times as much as the surface covered at Oystermouth Castle. "You are, no doubt, for the most part aware that since the Conquest the doctrine of possession of land in this country was, that it was entirely vested in the Crown. This doctrine of law holds good to the present' honr; therefore it would be easily understood that persoru who obtained grants of ]ands, or castles, only held them as long as they were faithful to the King, and if these persons fell away from their allegiance they forfeited possessioru, lands, and • castles. The effect of this was that great respect was felt for the kingly office, because it paid • Then you will see that in the times of the wan of the Middle Ages each. man held his life by the length and strength of his sword, as is done to the prel'!ent'day in Central Afrioa--a state of things not easily brought home to the mind of stay-at-homes, unleBS they happen to have sojourned in its midst. • "Gower was born in the latter end of the thirteent:R centlu-y, somewh11re about 12~W, and became Bishop of St. David's. He took to the church as the business of his life, and was created a prelate in 1328. "During the period of the three Edwards, castles seem to have grown like poppies all over this land. When Edward I. became conqueror of Wales, the hosts of Normans who fought with him and won, determined to keep it, if they could, which was no easy matter for the Welshmen, whenever they had the chance, cut them down. The Normans, therefore, built huge castles for their own protection, and created, in this wise, great centres of securityforthemselves. Edward I. was an ,exteruive castle builder, and Edw~.Ud II. was a castle user and abuser, while Edward Ill. was no less a great builder, with the renowned William of Wykeham for his master of works. William of Wykeha.m and Henry of Gower were somewhat alike in the course they adopted in this hie. They were both learned men of the church, of great taste, and both have left beautiful specimens of their architectural slriU to pos· terity. The chief works of Gower are tlle cathedral and palace of St. David's, and Swansea Castle, amongst the finest works of their kind in this country, evidently inspired by true genius, and an innate love of the beautiful. In these buildings may be seen the artistic and peculiar arcade work of De 3-ower. "Colonel Francis showed how De Gower;being a bishop, became possessed of Swansea Castle. The ownPr,in the time of Edward II., was a son· in-law of Lord William de Breos, the laat of the great barons of that name, who had large possesaions at Brembex in Sussex, and in Gower, rlwansea Castle being the Caput baroni. De Breos was a terrible character, such a.s were many of the barons at that time. There was no act too dreadful, and no wickedne~s too great, for him, in his numerous quarrels. ''This de Breos had a daughter and heiress named Alina, or Alenora, who married de Mow bray, one of the chief no bles of the time of the Ed wards. When de Mowbray quarrelled with his king the family lost all their estates, after the battle of Boroughbridge, in the year 1322. They had taken up the came of the Lancastrian party, and when that faction was overturned De Mow• bray had his head cut off at York, and his family were reduced, as .is proved by authentic records, to abject poverty, such as scarcely any one pre· sent would believe possible. Alina and her child were almost starved, whilst her vast possessions were confiscated to the King. After the fashion of that day, immediately the dispate was known, De Mewbray was locked up in the Tower. Some favcmrite of Edward's came forward and me.de application for the lands. The Castle then came, Mr. Franci.s be· lieved, into the hands of Henry de Gower, |
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