diate vicinity of
the town. It stands on a rocky eminence, forty feet in perpendicular
height, and overhanging the river, which laves its base. The first
fortified building on this spot was erected by the before-mentioned lady
Ethelfleda, who built the donjon upon an artificial mound of earth. No
part of that edifice, however, is now supposed to remain, except the
mound, which is still to be traced in the western part of the grounds
surrounding the castle. The present structure is evidently the work of
different ages, the most ancient part being erected, as appears from the
"Domesday Book," in the reign of Edward the Confessor; which document
also informs us, that it was "a special strong hold for the midland part
of the kingdom." In the reign of William the Norman it received
considerable additions and improvements; when Turchill, the then vicomes
of Warwick, was ordered by that monarch to enlarge and repair it. The
Conqueror, however, being distrustful of Turchill, committed the custody
of it to one of his own followers, Henry de Newburgh, whom he created
Earl of Warwick, the first of that title of the Norman line. The stately
building at the north-east angle, called _Guy's Tower_, was erected in
the year 1394, by Thomas Beauchamp, the son and successor of the first
earl of that family, and was so called in honour of the ancient hero of
that name, and also one of the earls of Warwick. It is 128 feet in
height, and the walls, which are of solid masonry, measure 10 feet in
thickness. _Caesar's Tower_, which is supposed to be the most ancient part
of the fabric, is 147 feet in height; but appears to be less lofty than
that of Guy's, from its being situated on a less elevated part of the
rock.

In the reign of Henry III., Warwick Castle was of such importance, that
security was required from Margery, the sister and heiress of Thomas de
Newburgh, the sixth earl of the Norman line, that she would not marry
with any person in whom the king could not place the greatest confidence.
During the same reign, in the year 1265, William Manduit, who had
garrisoned the castle on the side of the king against the rebellious
barons, was surprised by John Gifford, the governor of Kenilworth Castle,
who, having destroyed a great part of the walls, took him, together with
the countess, his wife, prisoners; and a ransom of nineteen hundred marks
were paid, before their release could be obtained. The last attack which
it sustained was during