The ground floor, accessed directly from the outside courtyard, led into a portcullis-protected, vaulted passage, eleven feet wide and extending the depth of the building. On either side of the passage were two vaulted rooms. The room nearest the entrance on the right was a guardroom or the porter's room, which housed a well; the back-right room, with a garderobe located in the south west turret (accessed via a passage running along the south wall), was for an official. The other two rooms to the left were used to house staff or storage.