the honour of Skipton in 1309. Clifford no doubt found the residence which had stood since the time of the earlier Albemarles neither strong enough nor sufficiently pretentious for a noble of his importance. The mode of warfare and the style of military architecture were changing. It was during the reign of Edward I. that round towers became fashionable, and after that model Clifford began the erection of a fortress. It must be borne in mind that the eastern part of the castle is of comparatively modern date, having been erected in the sixteenth century. The quadrangular court which is formed by a series of rectilinear apartments, and into which the Norman arch opens, is known as the Conduit Court, and is so called from the fact that the conduit bringing the supply of water to the castle terminates here. The thickness of the walls varies from nine to ten or eleven feet.

Not long after the re-erection of the castle by Robert de Clifford, it was visited by royalty. Edward II. is known to have been at Skipton on the 1st and 2nd of October, 1323, for several royal mandates printed in Rymer's Fadera are dated from Skipton. The same Edward was in Skipton in 1324.

The eastern portion of the castle, about sixty yards in length, the terminating point of which is the Octagon Tower, is of date much more modern than the western. It was built by Henry the first Earl of Cumberland in 1536 for the reception of Lady Eleanor Brandon, who married his son Henry Clifford in 1537. This lady was the daughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and niece of Henry VIII., and it was in consequence of her high rank that the Earl deemed this enlargement of his castle necessary. The erection of this eastern part occupied no longer time

than four or five months. The entrance at the western end of the castle was built by Lady Anne Clifford after the siege of the seventeenth century.

To the west of the castle stand the remains of what was once the Castle Chapel. Whitaker supposes it to have been founded by Alice de Romille. In Archbishop Holgate's Return of Chantries and also in an inspeximus of Henry Lord Clifford, dated 1512, the founder is said to have been an Earl of Albemarle. The original shell of the building may yet be traced, although additions have been made to it in modern times. Several windows and the original door are easily distinguishable, while the piscina still retains its position in the south wall. This sacred building is now used as a stable!

To refer to some of the characteristics of the castle as it is. There is first the tower with the conspicuous motto "Desormais" (Henceforth), twice repeated. In a moulding extending round the parapet of the central chamber of the gate-house is an inscription, taken from one of Horace's Odes, intended to perpetuate the renown of George, Earl of Cumberland. Below "Desormais and just over the gateway are the arms of Henry, fifth Earl, with the initials H. C. and the fractured date 16-.

Right of the archway is the Shell House, so called because the four walls of one of the lower rooms are decorated with sea shells, Neptune being shown over the fireplace. Tradition says that George, Earl of Cumberland, brought the shells home from one of his expeditions.

Passing through the modern entrance to the western portion of the castle, we stand in a wide arched passage leading to the inner court. Facing the doorway a staircase leads to a spacious apartment used as the steward's office. The walls here are but four feet thick, while those of the older portions are nine feet

and upwards. Facing this staircase is another narrow one of stone. An ascent of eighteen steps brings us to what is known as "Fair Rosamond's Inner Chamber," a strange title, seeing that that Clifford died many years before Skipton Castle came into the hands of her family. At the head of the passage can be traced the groove in which a portcullis was worked. This is by the side of the Norman arch, which Whitaker believes to be the only vestige of the original castle. We now enter the Inner or Conduit Court, which is tenanted by a ancient yew tree. Of what age it is, cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. Whitaker supposes it to have been planted here in the place of one destroyed during the siege of 1642-5, but the conjecture is perhaps a doubtful one. It is probable the tree is much older. However that may be, it still continues to flourish, notwithstanding the persistent unkindness of relic-hunters. Three particulars of the castle are worthy of notice: (1) every one of its numerous rooms has a separate level, that is, cannot be reached without either going up or down a step or a series of steps. (2) Each room has two doors, for egress in case of danger. (3) There were no windows but such as faced the interior quadrangle. Many loop holes have been made into windows in modern times.

The first door to the left of the courtyard leads to the dungeon reached by fifteen steps. This dungeon was doubtless frequently used in olden times. As early as the reign of King John prisoners for offences within the fee of Albemarle were committed to Skipton Castle, and afterwards removed for trial at York. Henry, first Earl of Cumberland, towards the close of Henry VIII's reign, had amongst other prisoners a notorious deer-stealer named West, of Grassington. It appears also from records at Bolton that in 1559 one Francis May was imprisoned in the castle for hunting at night in Skipton Park, but he escaped; wherefore searching questions were sent, on the Earl of Cumberland's behalf, to John Henryson, the gaoler.

Near the dungeon is another very interesting apartment. The floor lies some four feet lower than the passage by which it is approached. The present entrance, however, cannot be the original one; it must have been broken through the wall. The condition of the passage wall and the direction in which a door at the head of the passage has opened seem to support this view. Furthermore, entrance to the room can only be gained, when a temporary ladder is taken away, by a sheer jump of several feet. The apartment is nearly circular, and is arched, and at the west side a loop-hole, now filled up, can be detected. The room, which is under the kitchens, is about eighteen feet in diameter, and sixteen feet in height, although the proper floor is a little lower than the present one. To the right of the entrance is a perfect archway, some six feet high, going beyond the wall several feet, Where this leads to is yet a mystery, but I cannot