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the well, now dry, which formerly supplied the garrison
with water, and into which the bodies of the massacred
Jews were cast. A walnut tree, said to have been planted
by George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, whilst incarcerated
in the Castle, once grew here, but a few years ago was
struck by lightning and thrown down. A room with an
arcade of pointed arches, supposed to have been the chapel,
still exists. There are two flights of stairs leading to the
summit of the Tower, from which an extensive view may be
obtained. The cavities in the wall where the beams rested
which supported the first storey are still distinctly visible.
In 1 708 the other towers of the Castle, which had been used
as a county prison, were taken down, and the pile of buildings
at the further end of the yard erected, the stone required
for the purpose being taken from the ruins of St.
Mary's Abbey. This is now called the Dkbtors' Prison.
On our right are the County Assize Courts, erected
in 1673, but rebuilt in 1777. The entrance is through
a portico with Ionic columns 30 feet in height, surmounted
by the royal arms, a statue of Justice, and other
emblematic figures. The Hall is divided into Nisi Prius and
Crown Courts, each thirty feet in diameter, with other
rooms for juries, counsel, and attendants. The assizes for
the North and East Ridings are held here in spring and
summer, and the Winter Gaol Delivery occasionally in December.
On the opposite side of the Castle yard is a similar
building set apart for female debtors and female prisoners on
criminal charges, in the centre of which is the chapel. Here
also, in the north-east corner, is the condemned cell, scaffold,
and graveyard for the burial of those who are executed.
Close to, and commanding a full view of all the different
parts of the prison, is the Governor's house, a neat stone
erection built in 1833. Behind this, and radiating in a
semi-circle, are the convict wards, begun in 1826, which
consist of four double buildings and eight yards attached,
with arrangements for the airing and secuiity of the prisoners.
In a small room are still preserved many morbid
curiosities, including casts of the heads of criminals executed
during the past 150 years, branding irons, thumb screws,
and Dick Turpin's leg irons and waist belt. The central
space or area enclosed by these buildings is the castle yard