The Castles of England - Their Story and Structure #267703

The end of the \vars of the Roses and the reign of Richard III. Did away with the necessity for such fortifications even and where in certain cases several castles passed into the same hand, some were sure to be neglected, because the keeping up of many such costly dwellings had outgrown individual means. Small wonder that when john Leland was sent by Henry VIII. To inspect the country, he found castles of England running to decay. Partial repair and strengthening of such fortresses as could be made use of ensued during the Civil \var of the seventeenth century, but most of them were wrecked by sieges, and others were, by order of the Parliamentary Commission appointed to control the castles, either demolished or slighted. Defences were removed and frequently roofs, windows, and fittings were taken out, so as to make them untenable. In other cases, they became merely a local quarry, open to every spoiler, and that is generally how Grose and Buck represent them.