Judges' Lodgings

The lodgings consist of a three-storey block built up against the Norman curtain wall. The gables above the wall are a distinctive feature.

The lodgings were probably built by Sir Henry Sidney before 1581. His accounts refer to 'greate and lardg wyndowes and glasing thereof'. Some of these windows are now blocked up.

The buildings helped to accommodate the many judges, attorneys and clerks who needed to live or stay at the Castle when the courts of the Council of the Marches were in session.

The coats of arms and inscriptions were erected in 1581 to mark the completion of the Judges' Lodgings and other buildings. The lower coat of arms is that of Sir Henry Sidney (d. 1586), Lord President of the Council of Marches, 1560-86. The arms are surrounded by the garter, above which is the Sidney crest, a chained porcupine.

The inscription contains the Latin words: Hominibus Ingratis Loqvimini Lapides - which means "To ungrateful men we stones do speak".

Sidney was bitter at the way that rumours of his disloyalty were being circulated at court, endangering the Queen's favour, in spite of his funding much of the new building.

The picture shows the Judges' Lodgings from inside the buildings of the North Range, looking across the Inner Bailey.