Yett

A yett (from the Old English and Scots language word for "gate") [cite web |url=http://www.britannia.org/scotland/scotsdictionary/y.shtml |title=Scots Dictionary: yett |accessdate=2008-08-04 |work= |publisher= |date=31 Dec 2003] is a gate or grille of latticed wrought iron bars used for defensive purposes in castles and tower houses. [Coventry, p. 10] Unlike a portcullis, which is raised and lowered vertically using mechanical means, yetts are hinged in the manner of a traditional gate or door, and secured by bolts attached to the yett, or by long bars drawn out from the wall or gateway.

Use and distribution

Yetts are predominately found in Scotland – where most towers, particularly the later ones, were equipped with them rather than portcullises [Morris, p. 187] – but some iron gates are found in the Border counties of England.Toy, p. 198] While few references to yetts exist outside Scotland, an English report of 1416 on Roxburgh Castle (then in English hands) contained recommendations for the insertion of iron gates. Yetts are not restricted to any one region or district within Scotland, but are widespread throughout. [Christison (1883), p. 99]

Similar grille constructions, frequently also referred to as yetts, were used in Scotland over windows and other openings. [Coventry, p. 6] These were typically fixed in place, often set into the jambs, sills and lintels.

The yett was frequently used as cheaper alternative to the portcullis, [Morris, p. 215] since it was simpler in concept, less cumbersome and more practical. However, it was also used within more complex defensive arrangements. The 14th century castle at Doune, in Perthshire, had a portcullis in the main gateway supplemented by a yett, with a second yett at the far bailey end of the passage. The yetts each had two leaves, with a wicket gate inserted within one of the leaves. [Toy, pp. 201–2] Commonly, the yett would be placed behind a wooden door, providing additional security should the outer door be burned. [cite web |url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/v1/castles.pdf?legacypath=/castles.pdf |title=Investigating Medieval Castles in Scotland |accessdate=2008-08-07 |author=Elizabeth Newbery |date=2005 |work= |publisher=Historic Scotland |pages= p. 20]

The earliest references to yetts date from the 14th century.Maxwell-Irving, p. 433] Exchequer Rolls from 1377 refer to a "fabricated iron gate", part of the defences for David's Tower in Edinburgh Castle. [Maxwell-Irving, pp. 433–4] Yetts were also appearing in other castles at about the same time. Craigmillar, built soon after 1374, reputedly contained a yett, and Doune Castle (c. 1380) still retains its original double-leafed yett; a similar double-leafed yett is present at Balvenie, but its age is uncertain.Maxwell-Irving, p. 434.] By the 15th century, yetts and window-grilles had became standard features within Scottish castles and towers.

Being a defensive structure, royal warrants were required before a yett could be added to any house or castle. [cite web |url=http://www.monikie.org.uk/oldbook-aorf4-413-429.htm |title=Angus or Forfarshire - Volume 4 |accessdate=2008-08-04 |author=A. J. Warden, F.S.A. |date= |work= |publisher=] These were frequently issued with other licenses for defensive features; for example, in 1501 John Murray of Cockpool was given a licence to build a tower at Comlongon with machicolations and "irneztteis and windois". Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, efforts were made by the government to control the disorder and reiving in the borders. In November 1606 it was recognised that one of the impediments to the administration of justice in the area was the strength of the houses. Consequently, the Privy Council ordered that all yetts should be removed from all houses belonging to those lower in rank than barons.cite web |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/domestic/vol1ch9b.htm |title=Reign of James VI. 1603 - 1625 Part B |accessdate=2008-08-08 |author=Robert Chambers |date=1874 |work=Domestic Annals of Scotland: From the Reformation to the Revolution, Vol I |publisher=W & R Chambers, Edinburgh]

Construction

In Scotland, yetts were traditionally made using a "through and through" construction, with both horizontal and vertical bars either woven alternatively around or through each other, creating a structure almost impossible to dismantle.cite web |url=http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/research/glossary/yett.html |title=Conservation glossary: Yett |accessdate=2008-08-04 |work=Town and Regional Planning |publisher=University of Dundee |date=3 September 2007] The grille was left open.Toy, p. 201] The usual method was to build the yett in quadrants with all the bars in a quadrant passing either vertically or horizontally through the mating bars as shown in the photograph. This method of construction for gates is not seen outside Scotland, although window grilles constructed in this manner are found in northern Italy and Tyrol. Grated windows in the Scottish style were traditional in Tyrol in the 15th century, and similar window grilles are seen a century later in Venice, particularly the 16th century Palazzo Ducale (although the bars are somewhat larger than those used in Scotland).Maxwell-Irving, pp. 435, 438] It is likely the craft spread south from Tyrol to the Venetian Republic, but little apparent connection to the earlier Scottish technology, although there was some trade between Scotland and Germany.

Grated iron doors were found in England, but were constructed using a different method. For the English-style gate, the vertical bars all passed in front of the horizontal bars, and were riveted or fixed in place; the spaces were infilled with oak, making the gate solid. One notable exception, however, is constructed using the Scottish method: a yett from Streatlam Castle, now held at Bowes Museum. Streatlam was rebuilt by Sir George Bowes following damage in the 16th century; the Bowes family had connections in Scotland, which may have inspired the yett construction.Maxwell-Irving, pp. 435–7]

Records show that a yett constructed in 1568 for Kilravock Castle by a local smith weighed 34 stone, 3 lb, and cost £34, 3s. 9d. and "three bolls meal, ane stane butter, and ane stane cheese." Since yetts were immensely heavy, and there is no evidence to suggest they were prefabricated, it is likely each specimen was made locally rather than transported large distances, either by local smiths or itinerant specialists.Maxwell-Irving, p. 448] Conventionally, window-grilles were built into the window-frames.

Notes

References

* Christison, David (1883) [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_017/17_098_141.pdf "On the Grated Iron doors of Scottish Castles and Towers"] , "The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland", Vol. 17, pp. 98–135
* Christison, David (1888) [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_022/22_286_320.pdf "Additional notice of yetts, or grated iron doors, of Scottish castles and towers"] , "The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland", Vol. 22, pp. 286–320
* Coventry, Martin (2001) "The Castles of Scotland", 3rd Ed. Scotland: Goblinshead ISBN 1899874267
* Maxwell-Irving, Alastair M T; (1994) [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_124/124_433_454.pdf "Scottish yetts and window-grilles"] , "The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland" Vol. 124, pp. 433-454
* Morris, Marc (2003) "Castle: A History of the Buildings that Shaped Medieval Britain", London: Pan MacMillan ISBN 0752215361
* Toy, Sidney (1985) "Castles: Their Construction and History", USA: Dover Publications, ISBN 0486248984 (First Published in 1939 by Wm Heinemann, London, as "Castles: A Short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600")