uted to
William, Earl of Moreton and Cornwall, the son and heir of Robert, Earl
of Moreton, to whom 288 manors in this county were given by William the
Norman. "But this opinion is most probably erroneous, as the style of
workmanship exhibited in several parts of the remains, is apparently of
a much earlier date. The walls of the keep, in particular, have every
appearance of being considerably more ancient; and from a retrospective
view of the events that have happened in this county, the conjecture
appears to be fully warranted, that its foundation is as remote as the
time of the Britons, who would undoubtedly endeavour to defend their
territory both from Roman and Saxon usurpation, by fortifying the more
advanced and important situations. The most therefore that can with
certainty be attributed to the above earl, is the repairing and
extending the fortifications. Carew, in his _Survey of Cornwall_,
published in 1602, mentions the finding about sixty years before, 'of
certain leather coins in the castle walls, whose fair stamp and strong
substance till then resisted the assaults of time.' These singular
coins, if they had been preserved or their impressions had been copied,
might have thrown some light on the age of the building, as money of
similar _substance_ was employed by Edward I. in erecting Caernarvon
Castle in Wales, 'to spare better bullion,'[1] Some Roman coins have
likewise, according to Borlase, been found in this neighbourhood; so
that it is not unlikely that the Romans had possession of this fortress,
which, from its situation near the ford of the river Tamar, was a fort
of great importance. The earliest historical documents that are known
concerning the castle, mention the displacing of Othomarus de Knivet,
its hereditary constable, for being in arms against the Conqueror. It
was then, as before mentioned, given to Robert, Earl of Moreton, whose
son William, kept his court here. From him it reverted to the crown, but
continued attached to the earldom of Cornwall till Edward III. when it
was constituted and still continues, part of the inheritance of the
Duchy. In Leland's time, several gentlemen of the county held their
lands by _castle-guard_, being bound to repair and defend the
fortifications of this castle.[2] During the civil wars, this fortress
was garrisoned for the king, and was one of the last supports of the
royal cause in this part of the county."[3]

[1] Kennet's _Parochial Antiquities_.