Berry Pomeroy Castle; the Duke of Somerset. This is the ruins of what has been a lofty and widely extending castle; but it is now shorn of much of its dignity, by the duke's tenantry having, till within the last twenty years, taken away almost all the master stones of the building, such as the lintels and jambs to the doors, windows, and fireplaces. To prevent the walls of the castle from literally tumbling down, the place of these lintels was supplied some years ago by oak beams, and that of the jambs by common rubble stonework. This gives the whole ruin a mean appearance, and destroys the idea of great age; for no building with wooden lintels can last for centuries. Another circumstance which greatly detracts from its dignity is its being overwhelmed with trees. Such, however, is the height of the walls, and of the well defined portions which occur here and there, for example the gatehouse, that, were it not for the want of the master stones, it would not be difficult to render this a grand and impressive ruin; and to restore in it one or two rooms, so as to form a habitation for a person to take care of the whole. The views from the castle must, from its elevation, be very extensive; but it is so shrouded in trees, that we can only see over the precipitous terrace walks to a deep valley, the sides and bottom of which are covered with ancient wood. Immediately within the gatehouse there is an elder tree, the branches of which are covered to their very extremity with Polypodium vulgare, giving it a very singular appearance, which we suppose would be not unlike that of the dank woods of Demerara and other places, where the trees are covered with Orchidaceï¾µ. In one of the kitchens there is a common maple, which has sprung up out of the floor, and is nearly 50 ft. high; and in another kitchen there is a large fireplace, with an oven on one side, and a niche for the turnspit to sit in on the other. Such a tree as this maple might remain, provided the floor were cleared out so far as to show distinctly that it was a floor; but almost all the other trees we would remove, together with as much of the soil and rubbish as would allow us to recognise what the castle had been, the height of the walls in some places, the dimensions of the rooms and their uses in others, and if possible the situation of the staircases; for the stone steps have been generally removed. From these hints may be derived a knowledge of the principle on which ruins in actual scenery are to be treated, viz. that of showing, by what exists, what has been. To show the height of walls, clear away the rubbish, in some places, to their very base; to show lateral extent, uncover or indicate such fragments of foundations as may have belonged to the building when in a perfect state; to show the sizes of the rooms, clear out their floors; and, to show the whole group of ruins at a distance, remove such of the surrounding trees as may be necessary for that purpose.
