Ruins Of Barbicans And Dam At Leeds Castle

The ruins of the barbicans and dam at Leeds Castle date from the early to mid-13th century and are located partly in the Leeds civil parish. The site features a triple barbican, with the ruins of two island barbicans that include a mill, along with a dam to the southeast. The mill was repaired in 1298-9. The stone structures vary in height.

The outer barbican is rectangular and aligned north-south, with a curved southwest corner and the ruins of the former mill incorporated into its northwest corner. It is connected to the dam by a stone wall that has a small arch and a causeway to the north. A pointed arched stone bridge with a parapet, which was formerly a drawbridge, links to the inner barbican.

The inner barbican is roughly rectangular and runs parallel to the east of the outer barbican. It features a deep room, possibly a guard room, located immediately south of the bridge. This barbican is linked to the larger island of the castle to the east by a stone bridge, which was also formerly a drawbridge, and to broad causeways to the southeast and southwest. The south end of the west wall turns southwest to form part of the south-west causeway or dam.

There are various window openings and loop lights throughout the structure. The north gateway to the outer barbican has a depressed-pointed arch and a groove for a portcullis. The inner barbican has a similar gateway leading to the bridge between the barbicans, as well as one jamb of a gateway to the former southwest bridge and causeway.