Armoury, Hedingham Castle
Engraving: from 'The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain', J. Britton (1835)
Source: RIBA British Architectural Library

Entering Hedingham’s keep, the visitor climbs up a dark, spiral staircase, enclosed within one of the corner towers. On reaching the second floor, there is great surprise: the splendid two-storied hall is encountered.

Norman rounded arches open out onto sixteen small windows, many busy with zigzag mouldings. One vast arch, the widest surviving Norman example, leaps across. Here the walls’ twelve foot thickness can best be appreciated: upstairs, a passage runs all around; below, many small chambers are easily contained within it.

In this engraving, Britton concentrates on this surprise and majesty. Like us, the boy and his dog are overwhelmed by the sight before them. The room appears a strange mix of order and mystery. The walls, floor and ceiling remain largely intact. However, the long-abandoned passageways and corners now appear inhabited only by shadows and stray birds. How distant this is from the once busy hall of the mighty De Veres.