Page 24 - John Barber's Oakham Castle and its archaeology

2. The floor
No part of the present floor is original, and perhaps the earliest floor was no more than beaten earth, strewn
periodically with fresh straw. Nor is the whole of the greater part of the floor at the correct level: the correct
level is that part of the floor to the east of the two steps, which run from north to south across the whole width
of the building. To the west the bases of all the columns are almost totally concealed, and only to the east can
one see and appreciate their full height.

Fig. 24 (left). The floor at the west end of the Hall
where it has been raised to the top of the column
bases. The original floor level is that part of the
present floor to the east of the two steps, which
run across the building from north to south.

Fig. 25 (below). The column bases are exposed at
the east end of the Hall where the floor is lower.

It is alleged that it was on the suggestion of Mr W L Sargant,
Headmaster of Oakham School from 1902-29, that part of the floor
was restored to its original level. It had been intended to lower the
whole floor, but when the work was only partially completed, it was
realised that any further pursuance of the policy would lead to flooding
through the doorway, as the present ground level outside the hall is
well above that which existed in the heyday of the Castle. It is
generally believed that the lowering of the floor and the installation of
the main door in its present (incorrect) position* date from the same
period, probably in the first twenty years of this century. (*The
doorway was certainly in its present (central) position before 1862,
since it is shown thus in an engraving from a periodical dated April
22
12th, 1862 – comment by Tim Clough).

3. The windows
Of the original eight windows in the aisles, only six survive, and only five are in their original positions, as I
have already indicated in earlier pages. It should be noted that the windows in the north aisle are more widely
spaced than those in the south aisle, as the latter also had to accommodate a door. The only other original
window is that high up in the eastern gable, but as the gable has been
reconstructed at least once, this window may also have been
dismantled and rebuilt (see also Para 7).
Below it is a blocked-up late 16th century window of six lights,
which presumably gave extra light to the minstrel gallery above the
screens [see fig. 22]. The aisle roofs now carry a series of late dormer
windows, whilst Buck’s drawing of 1730 shows only one dormer-type
opening, namely that on the western end of the south aisle. I say
‘dormer-type opening’ because in Buck’s representation it resembles
less a window than a shuttered unloading bay at high level for some
commodity or other, which makes one wonder whether the hall had, at
some period, been used for the storage of grain or hay.

Fig. 26. One of the original windows
on the south elevation of the Hall.

22
See also note 19 above.
22