“keystones moats and drawbridges” (MS III; Works [1903])—When the Ruskins visited the castle, the moats had been cleared of rubbish and weeds and refilled with water (“The Castle in Its Present State, as It Is Now Shewn”: “The Moat”; and “The Castle in Its Splendor: “The Tower Melyn Gwent”, in Heath, Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Ancient and Present State of Ragland Castle [11th ed., 1829], n.p.).

“moss and burnt up grass” (MS III; Works [1903])—Heath comments on attempts to control the vegetation growing on the ruins: “Ivy, in one large and continued mass, had covered the left hand Tower [of the main entrance] from its base to its utmost summit, and time was fast adding its wild tapestry to those on the opposite side of the gateway; but I rejoice to inform the visitor, that the good taste of Mr. [Arthur] Wyatt, [agent of the owner, the duke of Beaufort,] has within these few years caused the pruning knife to be so judiciously used, that where the architecture was screened by foliage, it has been removed in such a manner, that the beautiful parts it veiled have been restored, and now discloses several ornaments which had long remained covered with this plant ‘attached to grandeur in decline’”. Meanwhile, a picturesque effect was achieved by leaving the "tops of the towers and other parts . . . all richly cloathed with ivy, intermixed with a variety of flowering shrubs, &c. which add a great relief and beauty in the season they flourish” (“The Castle in Its Present State, as It Is Now Shewn”: “The First, or Eastern Court” and “The Yellow Tower, or Citadel”, in Heath, Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Ancient and Present State of Ragland Castle [11th ed., 1829], n.p.).

“spiral towers” (MS III; Works [1903])—The precisely fitted, spiral stone staircase of the citadel, or Yellow Tower, was considered “one of the greatest curiosities” of the castle (“The Castle in Its Present State, as It Is Now Shewn”: “The Yellow Tower, or Citadel,” in Heath, Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Ancient and Present State of Ragland Castle [11th ed., 1829], n.p.).

“lodges” (MS III; Works [1903])—When the Ruskins visited, the rooms identified as portersʼ lodges had been restored for the use of “parties who visits [sic] the Castle”, as a “retreat from the heat or to enjoy the repast they had prepared for an occasional visit” (“The Castle in Its Present State, as It Is Now Shewn”: “The Portersʼ Lodges”, in Heath, Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Ancient and Present State of Ragland Castle [11th ed., 1829], n.p.).