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The view of Stogursey Castle, the ancestral home of the Courcy family in the county of Somerset (dating from the late 13th and early 14th centuries) might serve as a visual aid for the study of the principles of fortification. In the centre of a green "island" walls and towers were raised, protecting the space within the castle. The keep was enclosed by a second ring of walls that surrounded the inner bailey or courtyard. Beyond them was an outer bailey, also surrounding by formidable fortifications. The view of Stogursey Castle on the lid of the Wedgwood tray gave an impression not so much of the stylistics of Gothic architecture as of its austere functionality and gloomy might, still tangible despite the complex being in a ruined condition. |
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