to repair the defences, resulting in two new earthwork bastions being added to the castle and a brick barracks constructed in the old bailey. The governor of Cambridge described in 1643 that "our town and castle are now very strongly fortified... with breastworks and bulwarks". The castle saw no further fighting during the war, and in 1647 parliament ordered the remaining fortifications to be slighted, damaged beyond further use. 18th-19th centuries The castle rapidly deteriorated after the slighting and the remaining walls and bastions were taken down in 1785, leaving only the gatehouse and the earth motte. The gatehouse remained in use as the county gaol into the 19th century, being run, like other similar prisons, as a private business – the keeper of the castle gaol was paid £200 a year by the county in 1807 (equivalent to £ in ). This came to an end when a new county prison was built in the grounds of the castle's former bailey. The new prison was built by G. Byfield between 1807 and 1811 with an innovative octagonal structure, influenced by the designs of the prison reformer John Howard; the castle gatehouse was destroyed to make way for a new county court building. By the end of the 19th century, the gaol was deemed to be surplus to requirements as Huntingdon Gaol was sufficient to hold prisoners from both Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire. By 1920 the building had become a branch repository of the Public Record Office and remained so until 1928 when it was acquired by Cambridgeshire County Council. The gaol was demolished in 1932 and the bricks used to build Shire Hall on the same site. Preservation The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Its only remains are the high motte (which stands on the highest point in the city) and some fragments of earthworks. It is open to the public daily with no admission fee, and offers views over the historic buildings of the city. The site of the castle bailey and the 19th-century prison is now occupied by Shire Hall, which was built in 1932 as the headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council. See also Castles in Great Britain and Ireland List of castles in England Notes References Bibliography Anon. (1837) The Cambridge Guide: including historical and architectural notices of the public buildings, and a concise account of the customs and ceremonies of the university. Cambridge: Deighton. OCLC