I.: then Joyce de Dinan held it, and confined
Hugh de Mortimer as prisoner in one of the towers, still known as
Mortimer's Tower. Edward IV. established it as the place of residence
for the lord president of the Council that governed Wales: here the
youthful King Edward V. was proclaimed, soon to mysteriously disappear.
From Ludlow Castle, Wales was governed for more than three centuries,
and in Queen Elizabeth's time many important additions were made to it.
The young Philip Sidney lived here, his father being the lord president;
the stone bridge, replacing the drawbridge, and the great portal were
built at that time. In 1634, Milton's "Masque of Comus" was represented
here while Earl Bridgewater was lord president, one of the scenes being
the castle and town of Ludlow: this representation was part of the
festivities attending the earl's installation on Michaelmas Night. It
was in Ludlow Castle that Butler wrote part of _Hudibras_. The castle
was held for King Charles, but was delivered up to the Parliamentary
forces in 1646. The present exterior of the castle denotes its former
magnificence. The foundations are built into a dark gray rock, and the
castle rises from the point of a headland, the northern front consisting
of square towers with high, connecting embattled walls. In the last
century trees were planted on the rock and in the deep and wide ditch
that guarded the castle. The chief entrance is by a gateway under a low,
pointed arch which bears the arms of Queen Elizabeth and of Earl
Pembroke. There are several acres enclosed, and the keep is an immense
square tower of the Early Norman, one hundred and ten feet high and
ivy-mantled to the top. On its ground floor is the dungeon, half
underground, with square openings in the floor connecting with the
apartment above. The great hall is now without roof or floor, and a
tower at the west end is called Prince Arthur's Tower, while there are
also remains of the old chapel. The ruins have an imposing aspect, the
towers being richly clustered around the keep. This famous castle is now
the property of Earl Powis.

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COUNCIL-CHAMBER, LUDLOW CASTLE.]

The town of Ludlow adjoins the castle, and on approaching it the visitor
is struck by the fine appearance of the tower of the church of St.
Lawrence. The church is said to be the finest in Shropshire, and this
tower was built in the time of Edward IV. Its chantry is six hundred
years old, and be