Goodrich Castle
Encyclopedia
Goodrich Castle is a now ruinous Norman
medieval castle
situated to the north of the village of Goodrich
in Herefordshire
, England, controlling a key location between Monmouth
and Ross-on-Wye
. It was praised by William Wordsworth
as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire" and is considered by historian Adrian Pettifer to be the "most splendid in the county, and one of the best examples of English military architecture".
Goodrich Castle was probably built by Godric of Mappestone
after the Norman invasion of England
, initially as an earth and wooden fortification. In the middle of the 12th century the original castle was replaced with a stone keep
, and was then expanded significantly during the late 13th century into a concentric
structure combining luxurious living quarters with extensive defences. The success of Goodrich's design influenced many other constructions across England over the following years. It became the seat of the powerful Talbot
family before falling out of favour as a residence in late Tudor
times.
Held first by Parliamentary and then Royalist forces in the English Civil War
of the 1640s, Goodrich was finally successfully besieged by Colonel John Birch
in 1646 with the help of the huge "Roaring Meg
" mortar
, resulting in the subsequent slighting
of the castle and its descent into ruin. At the end of the 18th century, however, Goodrich became a noted picturesque
ruin and the subject of many paintings and poems; events at the castle provided the inspiration for Wordsworth
's famous 1798 poem We are Seven
. By the 20th century the site was a well-known tourist location, now owned by English Heritage
and open to the public.
outcrop
overlooking the River Wye
. It commands a crossing of the river, known as Walesford or Walford, Ross-on-Wye
, about 26 kilometres (16.2 mi) from Hereford
and 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) from Ross-on-Wye
. The castle guards the line of the former Roman road
from Gloucester
to Caerleon
as it crosses from England into Wales.
At the heart of the castle is an early Norman
square keep
of light grey sandstone
, with Norman windows
and pilaster
buttress
es. Although the keep had thick walls, its relatively small size – the single chambers on each floor measure only 5.5 by internally – would have made it more useful for defence than for day-to-day living. The keep originally had a first-storey door for safety, this was later turned into a window and the entrance brought down to the ground floor. The keep would originally have had an earth mound built up against the base of it to protect against attack, and the stone work remains rougher in the first few courses of masonry.
Around the keep is an essentially square structure guarded by three large towers, all built during the 1280s from somewhat darker sandstone. On the more vulnerable southern and eastern sides of the castle, ditches 27 metres (90 ft) long and 9 metres (28 ft) deep have been cut into the rock, exploiting a natural fissure. These towers have large "spurs"
, resulting from the interface of a solid, square-based pyramid with the circular towers rising up against the walls. This feature is characteristic of castles in the Welsh Marches
, including St Briavel's
and Tonbridge Castle
, and was intended to prevent the undermining of the towers by attackers.
The castle's fourth corner forms its gatehouse. Here the classic Edwardian gatehouse design has been transformed into an asymmetrical structure, with one tower much larger than the other. The gatehouse included portcullis
es, murder-holes and a drawbridge
. Beyond the gatehouse lies a large barbican
, inspired by a similar design of the period at the Tower of London
and possibly built by the same workmen, designed to protect the causeway leading to the gatehouse. The barbican today is only half of its original height, and includes its own gate, designed to trap intruders within the inner defences. The gatehouse and barbican are linked by a stone causeway.
The gatehouse's eastwards-facing tower contains the chapel
, an unusual arrangement driven by a lack of space, with a recently restored east window of reset 15th-century glass designed by Nicola Hopwood, which illuminates the priest's seat, or sedile. The 15th-century window frame itself replaced an even taller, earlier 13th-century window. The chapel's west window is modern, and commemorates British servicemen who died between 1936–76 in radar
development.The link between the castle and radar development is due to flight VS9977, which crashed near Goodrich Castle in 1942 whilst testing advanced radar systems, killing the famous British scientist Alan Blumlein
. The altar itself is particularly old, possibly pre-dating the castle.
The bailey was designed to include a number of spacious domestic buildings. These include a great hall
, a solarium
, kitchen, buttery
and pantry
, with a luxuriously large number of gardrobes
and fireplaces. The large towers provided additional accommodation. The design of the domestic buildings was skilfully interlocked to support the defensive arrangements of the bailey. The great hall for example, 20 by, was placed in the strongest position overlooking the river Wye, allowing it to benefit from multiple large windows and a huge fireplace without sacrificing defensive strength. Water for the castle was originally raised from the courtyard well
, but was later piped in from a spring
across the valley; the castle kitchens had acquired running water by the beginning of the 17th century. The design of the buildings ensured that the servants and nobility were able to live separately from one another in the confined space of the castle, revolutionary at the time.
Beyond the main bailey walls lies the stable block, now ruined but with a visible cobble floor. The stables and the north and west sides of the castle were protected by another, smaller curtain wall
, but this is now largely ruined. Accounts suggest that the original stables could hold around 60 horses, although by the 17th century they had been expanded to accommodate more.
, a local Anglo-Saxon thane
and landowner mentioned in the Domesday Book
of 1086. Victorian historians, however, believed the castle to date back further to the pre-Norman conquest days of King Canute, and the site may have been among a small number of Saxon fortifications along the Welsh border. By Norman times
, Goodrich formed part of the Welsh Marches
, a sequence of territories granted to Norman nobles in, and alongside, Wales. Although Goodrich lay on the safer, English side of the border, the threat of raids and attacks continued throughout most of the period.
During the 12th century the attitudes of the English nobility towards the Welsh began to harden; the policies of successive rulers, but especially Henry II
, began to become more aggressive in the region. In the mid-12th century Godric's original earth and timber fortification was dismantled and replaced by a tall but relatively small square keep
built of stone, sometimes known as "Macbeth's Tower". The keep was designed to be secure and imposing but relatively cheap to build. It is uncertain, however, precisely who was responsible for this rebuilding or the date of the work, which may have been between 1120 and 1176.
At the beginning of the 12th century, the castle had passed from Godric to William Fitz Baderon, thought to be his son-in-law, and on to his son, Baderon of Monmouth, in the 1120s. England descended into anarchy
, however, during the 1130s as the rival factions of Stephen
and his cousin the Empress Matilda
vied for power. Baderon of Monmouth married Rohese de Clare
, a member of the powerful de Clare family who usually supported Stephen, and there are records of Baderon having to seize Goodrich Castle during the fighting in the region, which was primarily held by supporters of Matilda. Some suspect that Baderon may have therefore built the stone keep in the early years of the conflict.Radford notes Fitz Baderon making grants of lands associated with the castle in 1144, pg. 3. Stephen went on, however, to appoint Baderon's brother-in-law, Gilbert de Claire
, the Earl of Pembroke
, and Gilbert de Clare eventually acquired Goodrich Castle himself. Gilbert's son, Richard de Clare
, known as "Strongbow", succeeded him in 1148, and Richard is another candidate for the construction of the keep. In 1154 Richard fell out of favour with King Henry II
because of the de Clares' support for Stephen, and the castle was taken into royal hands. Some argue that the king himself may have ordered the construction of the great keep.
and his brother John
, the castle and manor were held by the Crown
. King John, however, lost many of his lands in France which in turn deprived key English nobles of their own estates John became concerned about possible opposition to his rule. Accordingly, in 1203 John transferred Goodrich Castle and the surrounding manor to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
, to partially compensate him for his lost lands on the continent. Marshal was a famous English knight with reputation as a heroic warrior, and he expanded Goodrich by building an additional towered curtain wall
in stone, around the existing keep. Marshal had to intervene to protect Goodrich Castle from Welsh attack, most famously in 1216 when he was obliged to leave Henry III
's coronation feast in Gloucester
to hurry back to Goodrich to reinforce the castle.
Marshal's sons inherited the castle after their father's death; Marshal left the castle to his eldest son, William
, who in turn gave it to his younger brother, Walter. After William's death, however, Marshal's second son, Richard
, took over the castle. Richard led the baronial opposition to Henry III and allied himself with the Welsh, resulting in King Henry besieging Goodrich Castle in 1233 and retaking personal control for a period. Walter was eventually given Goodrich back once more, but died shortly afterwards in 1245.
The castle briefly reverted to the Crown again, but in 1247 passed by marriage to William de Valence
, half brother to Henry III
. De Valence was a French nobleman from Poitiers
and a noted soldier who spent most of his life fighting in military campaigns; Henry arranged his marriage to Joan de Munchensi
, one of the heiresses to the Marshal estate. The marriage made Valence immensely rich and gave him the title of Earl of Pembroke.
The Welsh border situation remained unsettled however, and in the decades after 1250 security grew significantly worse, as the Welsh prince Llwelyn up Gruffudd
conducted numerous raids into English territories. The Wye valley
and Goodrich were particularly affected by these raids.
Accordingly William de Valence began to build a much larger castle around the original keep from the 1280s onwards, demolishing Marshal's earlier work. As part of the extremely expensive construction work, Valence used oak trees drawn from several royal forests. Valence was building at the same time that his nephew Edward I
was constructing his major castles in the north of Wales, and the concentric castle
that he built at Goodrich is both very similar in design and a rarity in England itself. Valence's son, Aymer de Valence
built an additional line of outer defences before his death in 1324, including the external barbican
, inspired by that at the Tower of London, and for which the earlier Valence barbican at Pembroke
may have been an experimental forerunner. The effect was an early success in converting a fortress into a major dwelling, without damaging its defensive arrangements, and influenced the later castle conversion at Berkeley
.
The castle then passed to Aymer's niece, Elizabeth de Comyn
, a well-connected young noblewoman. By the middle of the 1320s, however, England was in the grip of the oppressive rule of the Marcher lords Hugh le Despenser the older
and his son Hugh Despenser the younger, the royal favourites of King Edward II
. As part of a "sweeping revenge" on their rivals, especially in the Marches, the Despensers illegally seized a wide range of properties, particularly from vulnerable targets such as widows, wives whose husbands were out of favour with the king or unmarried women. Upon her inheritance, Hugh le Despenser the younger promptly kidnapped Elizabeth in London and transported her to Herefordshire to be imprisoned in her own castle at Goodrich. Threatened with death, Elizabeth was finally forced to sign over the castle and other lands to the Despensers in April 1325. Elizabeth then married Richard Talbot, the 2nd Baron Talbot
, who seized back the castle in 1326 shortly before Queen Isabella of France
landed in England and deposed both the Despensers and her husband Edward II; Talbot and Elizabeth regained their legal title to the castle the following year. Richard later received permission from Isabella's son Edward III to create a dungeon
under the keep for holding prisoners.
rebelled against English rule in 1402 and Welsh forces invaded the Goodrich area in 1404 and 1405. Gilbert Talbot was responsible for fighting back the Welsh advance and securing the castle. As time went on, however, the threat began to diminish. During the 15th century the Talbots considerably expanded the size of the lord's quarters in the castle and provided additional accommodation for servants and retainers.
The Talbots became the Earls of Shrewsbury
in 1442, shortly before the Wars of the Roses
in which they supported the Lancastrian
faction. The wars meant that the Talbots were frequently fighting elsewhere in England, and often staying at their castle in Sheffield
. John Talbot
died in the Lancastrian defeat at Northampton
in 1460, and the castle was forfeited and transferred to the Yorkist William Herbert. John's son, also called John Talbot
, later made his peace with the king, however, and regained control of his lands and Goodrich Castle before his death in 1473.
By the 16th century the castle was becoming less fashionable as a residence. Goodrich was too distant from London to be a useful power base, and was gradually abandoned in favour of more stylish residences, Goodrich continued to be used as a judicial centre however; the antiquarian John Leland noted that the some of the castle was used to hold prisoners for the local court during the 1530s, and the castle ditch was sometimes used to store confiscated cattle taken from local farmers.
In 1616, Gilbert Talbot
died with no male heir and Goodrich passed into the hands of Henry Grey, Earl of Kent
. The Greys chose not to live at Goodrich, but instead rented the castle to a series of tenants.
s during the English Civil War
in the 1640s, which saw the rival factions of Parliament and the king vie for power across England. In the years before the war, there had been a resurgence of building at the castle. Richard Tyler, a local lawyer, became the tenant and constable
of the castle, and during the early 1630s there had been considerable renovation work. Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Earl of Stamford
, with support from Tyler, garrison
ed the castle for Parliament until December 1643, when increasing Royalist pressure in the region forced his withdrawal to Gloucester
. The castle was then occupied by a garrison led by the Royalist Sir Henry Lingen
. The occupation was not peaceful, with Royalist troops burning surrounding farm buildings Tyler himself was imprisoned by Lingen, although not before he had begun to sell off his livestock and other moveable property. Some references to Goodrich Castle during this period refer to it as Guthridge Castle, a variant on the name Goodrich.
As the Royalist situation deteriorated, the south-west became one of the few remaining Royalist strongholds. Lingen, with 200 men and 90 horses at Goodrich Castle, conducted raids
on Parliamentary forces in the region, representing a continuing challenge. No action had been taken, however, to strengthen the castle's defences with more modern 17th-century earthworks
, and the castle remained essentially in its medieval condition.
In 1646, the Parliamentary Colonels John Birch
and Robert Kyrle marched south from their successful Siege of Hereford and besieged the castle, with the aim of eliminating one of the few remaining Royalist strongholds. There was some personal animosity between Lingen and Birch, and both were outspoken, impulsive men. Birch's first move was to prevent further attacks from Lingen, and on 9 March he burned the weakly defended stables in a surprise night attack, driving away the Royalist horses and temporarily denying the Royalist forces' mobility. Birch was unable to press home his advantage however, and over the next few months Lingen succeeded in replacing some of his horses and resumed his attacks on Parliamentary forces.
In June, Birch returned and besieged the castle itself. He found that it was too strong to be taken by direct attack, and instead began laying down trench
es to allow him to bring artillery to bear on the structure. Parliamentary attacks broke the pipe carrying water into the castle, and the cisterns in the courtyard were destroyed by exploding shells, forcing the garrison to depend on the older castle well. With the castle still holding out, Colonel Birch built an enormous mortar
called "Roaring Meg
", able to fire a gunpowder-filled shell
85 – in weight, in a local forge.
Birch concentrated his efforts on the north-west tower, using his mortar against the masonry and undermining the foundations with his sappers
. Lingen responded with a counter-mine tunnel dug out under Parliament's own tunnel. This would probably have succeeded, but Birch brought his mortar forward under the cover of darkness and launched a close-range attack on the tower, which collapsed and buried Lingen's counter-mine. Down to their last four barrels of gunpowder and thirty barrels of beer, and with a direct assault now imminent, the Royalists surrendered. According to tradition, the garrison left to the tune of "Sir Henry Lingen's Fancy".
Despite the damage, Tyler was able to move back into his castle, which was now protected by a small Parliamentary garrison. After investigation by Parliamentary agents Brown and Selden, however, the castle was slighted
the following year, which rendered it impossible to defend. The Countess of Kent, the new owner of the castle, was given £1,000 in damages, but chose not to rebuild the fortification as it was by then virtually uninhabitable.
until 1740, when it was sold by Henry Grey
to Admiral
Thomas Griffin. Griffin undertook some restoration of the castle but retained it as a ruin.
During the 1780s the concept of the picturesque
ruin was popularised by the English clergyman William Gilpin
. Goodrich Castle was one of the ruins he captured in his book Observations on the River Wye in 1782, writing that the castle was an example of the "correctly picturesque" landscape. By this time, the castle was in a slow state of decay. Theodore Fielding, an early Victorian historian, noted how the "castle's situation, far from human dwellings, and the stillness which that solitude, insures to its precinct, leaves contemplation to all the solemnity, that is inspired by the sight of grandeur sinking in dignity, into decay". The Regency and Victorian
watercolour
artists David Cox
and William Callow
also captured Goodrich Castle and its landscape in paint, again invoking the picturesque, romantic mood of the setting at the time.
The castle was praised by William Wordsworth
as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire". Wordsworth first visited Goodrich Castle in 1793, and an encounter with a little girl he met while exploring the ruins led him to write the poem We are Seven
in 1798. Other poets from this period were also inspired by the castle, including Henry Neele
in 1827.
By the 1820s, visitors could purchase an early guidebook
at the site outlining the castle's history, and Victorian tourists recorded being charged six-pence to wander around the castle. In the early 1820s, the antiquarian
Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick
attempted to purchase the site, with the aim of converting the castle back into a private dwelling, but was unable to convince the owners to sell. Instead, Meyrick built the neo-gothic Goodrich Court
in a similar style next door, which greatly displeased Wordsworth when he returned to Goodrich in 1841 and found the view spoilt by the new building. Goodrich Court was pulled down after the Second World War. The new bridge over the river Wye, built in 1828, and the 1873 railway line
added to the number of visitors.The railway line closed in 1959.
Goodrich Castle then passed through various hands, until in 1915 the Office of Works
began discussions with its then owner, Mrs Edmund Bosanquet; large-scale collapses of parts of the north-west tower and curtain wall in 1919 contributed to Bosanquet's decision to grant the castle to the Commissioner of Works
in 1920. The Commissioners began a programme of repairs to stabilise the ruin in its current state.
Substantial remains still exist and are open to the public, managed by English Heritage
. The adjacent Victorian castle of Goodrich Court
was demolished in 1949, restoring the original landscape. The Roaring Meg
mortar, preserved by Herefordshire Council
, has been returned to the site, along with a number of civil war cannon-balls
found at Goodrich during excavations in the 1920s.
The events of the English Civil War also have left their mark. Local stories tell that Colonel Birch's niece, Alice Birch, fell in love with a handsome Royalist, Charles Clifford; according to these stories the two attempted to escape before the final assault but died in a flash flood
while trying to cross the River Wye
, and live on as ghosts on the site.
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
medieval castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
situated to the north of the village of Goodrich
Goodrich, Herefordshire
Goodrich is a village, in south Herefordshire, England which is very close to Gloucestershire and the Forest of Dean situated near the River Wye at and is famous for its old red sandstone Norman and medieval castle.Not strictly in the Forest of Dean but close enough to count Goodrich is a small...
in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, England, controlling a key location between Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
and Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
. It was praised by William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire" and is considered by historian Adrian Pettifer to be the "most splendid in the county, and one of the best examples of English military architecture".
Goodrich Castle was probably built by Godric of Mappestone
Godric of Mappestone
Godric of Mappestone was an Anglo-Saxon thane and landowner mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a tenant of Howel in modern Herefordshire. Godric is best known for the construction of the first timber version of Goodrich Castle, probably during the late 1080s, when it was originally known as...
after the Norman invasion of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, initially as an earth and wooden fortification. In the middle of the 12th century the original castle was replaced with a stone keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, and was then expanded significantly during the late 13th century into a concentric
Concentric castle
A concentric castle is a castle with two or more concentric curtain walls, such that the outer wall is lower than the inner and can be defended from it. The word concentric does not imply that these castles were circular; in fact if taken too literally the term "concentric" is quite misleading...
structure combining luxurious living quarters with extensive defences. The success of Goodrich's design influenced many other constructions across England over the following years. It became the seat of the powerful Talbot
Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...
family before falling out of favour as a residence in late Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
times.
Held first by Parliamentary and then Royalist forces in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
of the 1640s, Goodrich was finally successfully besieged by Colonel John Birch
John Birch (soldier)
Colonel John Birch was a soldier in the English civil war and later Member of parliament for Leominster and Weobley, Herefordshire....
in 1646 with the help of the huge "Roaring Meg
Roaring Meg (cannon)
Roaring Meg was the name of several powerful cannons used in the 17th century. It is not to be confused with Mons Meg, a medieval cannon preserved at Edinburgh Castle.-Created by Colonel Birch for the Siege of Goodrich Castle:...
" mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
, resulting in the subsequent slighting
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
of the castle and its descent into ruin. At the end of the 18th century, however, Goodrich became a noted picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
ruin and the subject of many paintings and poems; events at the castle provided the inspiration for Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
's famous 1798 poem We are Seven
We are Seven
"We are Seven" is a poem written by William Wordsworth and published in his Lyrical Ballads. It describes a discussion between an adult poetic speaker and a "little cottage girl" about the number of brothers and sisters who dwell with her...
. By the 20th century the site was a well-known tourist location, now owned by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and open to the public.
Architecture
Goodrich Castle stands on a high rocky sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
overlooking the River Wye
River Wye
The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
. It commands a crossing of the river, known as Walesford or Walford, Ross-on-Wye
Walford, Ross-on-Wye
Walford is a village in south Herefordshire, England two miles south of the market town of Ross-on-Wye. It includes the settlements of Bishopswood, Coughton, Deep Dean, Hom Green and Walford....
, about 26 kilometres (16.2 mi) from Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) from Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
. The castle guards the line of the former Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
from Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
to Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
as it crosses from England into Wales.
At the heart of the castle is an early Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
square keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
of light grey sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, with Norman windows
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
and pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. Although the keep had thick walls, its relatively small size – the single chambers on each floor measure only 5.5 by internally – would have made it more useful for defence than for day-to-day living. The keep originally had a first-storey door for safety, this was later turned into a window and the entrance brought down to the ground floor. The keep would originally have had an earth mound built up against the base of it to protect against attack, and the stone work remains rougher in the first few courses of masonry.
Around the keep is an essentially square structure guarded by three large towers, all built during the 1280s from somewhat darker sandstone. On the more vulnerable southern and eastern sides of the castle, ditches 27 metres (90 ft) long and 9 metres (28 ft) deep have been cut into the rock, exploiting a natural fissure. These towers have large "spurs"
Spur (architecture)
A spur , in architecture, is the ornament carved on the angles of the base of early columns.-Ornament:A spur consists of a projecting claw, which, emerging from the lower torus of the base, rests on the projecting angle of the square plinth.-Ancient Roman architecture:It is possibly to these that...
, resulting from the interface of a solid, square-based pyramid with the circular towers rising up against the walls. This feature is characteristic of castles in the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
, including St Briavel's
St Briavel's Castle
St Briavels Castle is a moated Norman castle at St Briavels in the English county of Gloucestershire. The castle is noted for its huge Edwardian gatehouse that guards the entrance....
and Tonbridge Castle
Tonbridge Castle
Tonbridge Castle is situated in the town of the same name, Kent, England.-Early history:Following the Norman Conquest, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted land in Kent to guard the crossing of the River Medway. He erected a simple Motte-and-bailey castle on the site. To dig the moat and erect the...
, and was intended to prevent the undermining of the towers by attackers.
The castle's fourth corner forms its gatehouse. Here the classic Edwardian gatehouse design has been transformed into an asymmetrical structure, with one tower much larger than the other. The gatehouse included portcullis
Portcullis
A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...
es, murder-holes and a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
. Beyond the gatehouse lies a large barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
, inspired by a similar design of the period at the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
and possibly built by the same workmen, designed to protect the causeway leading to the gatehouse. The barbican today is only half of its original height, and includes its own gate, designed to trap intruders within the inner defences. The gatehouse and barbican are linked by a stone causeway.
The gatehouse's eastwards-facing tower contains the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, an unusual arrangement driven by a lack of space, with a recently restored east window of reset 15th-century glass designed by Nicola Hopwood, which illuminates the priest's seat, or sedile. The 15th-century window frame itself replaced an even taller, earlier 13th-century window. The chapel's west window is modern, and commemorates British servicemen who died between 1936–76 in radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
development.The link between the castle and radar development is due to flight VS9977, which crashed near Goodrich Castle in 1942 whilst testing advanced radar systems, killing the famous British scientist Alan Blumlein
Alan Blumlein
Alan Dower Blumlein was a British electronics engineer, notable for his many inventions in telecommunications, sound recording, stereo, television and radar...
. The altar itself is particularly old, possibly pre-dating the castle.
The bailey was designed to include a number of spacious domestic buildings. These include a great hall
Great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...
, a solarium
Solar (room)
The solar was a room in many English and French medieval manor houses, great houses and castles, generally situated on an upper storey, designed as the family's private living and sleeping quarters...
, kitchen, buttery
Buttery (room)
A buttery was a domestic room in a large medieval house. Along with the pantry, it was generally part of the offices pertaining to the kitchen. Reached from the screens passage at the low end of the Great Hall the buttery was traditionally the place from which the yeoman of the buttery served beer...
and pantry
Pantry
A pantry is a room where food, provisions or dishes are stored and served in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. The derivation of the word is from the same source as the Old French term paneterie; that is from pain, the French form of the Latin panis for bread.In a late medieval hall, there were...
, with a luxuriously large number of gardrobes
Garderobe
The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...
and fireplaces. The large towers provided additional accommodation. The design of the domestic buildings was skilfully interlocked to support the defensive arrangements of the bailey. The great hall for example, 20 by, was placed in the strongest position overlooking the river Wye, allowing it to benefit from multiple large windows and a huge fireplace without sacrificing defensive strength. Water for the castle was originally raised from the courtyard well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
, but was later piped in from a spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
across the valley; the castle kitchens had acquired running water by the beginning of the 17th century. The design of the buildings ensured that the servants and nobility were able to live separately from one another in the confined space of the castle, revolutionary at the time.
Beyond the main bailey walls lies the stable block, now ruined but with a visible cobble floor. The stables and the north and west sides of the castle were protected by another, smaller curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
, but this is now largely ruined. Accounts suggest that the original stables could hold around 60 horses, although by the 17th century they had been expanded to accommodate more.
11th and 12th centuries
Goodrich Castle appears to have been in existence by 1101, when it was known as Godric’s Castle, named probably after Godric of MappestoneGodric of Mappestone
Godric of Mappestone was an Anglo-Saxon thane and landowner mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a tenant of Howel in modern Herefordshire. Godric is best known for the construction of the first timber version of Goodrich Castle, probably during the late 1080s, when it was originally known as...
, a local Anglo-Saxon thane
Thane
Thane , is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane district. On 16 April 1853, G.I.P...
and landowner mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. Victorian historians, however, believed the castle to date back further to the pre-Norman conquest days of King Canute, and the site may have been among a small number of Saxon fortifications along the Welsh border. By Norman times
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, Goodrich formed part of the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
, a sequence of territories granted to Norman nobles in, and alongside, Wales. Although Goodrich lay on the safer, English side of the border, the threat of raids and attacks continued throughout most of the period.
During the 12th century the attitudes of the English nobility towards the Welsh began to harden; the policies of successive rulers, but especially Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, began to become more aggressive in the region. In the mid-12th century Godric's original earth and timber fortification was dismantled and replaced by a tall but relatively small square keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
built of stone, sometimes known as "Macbeth's Tower". The keep was designed to be secure and imposing but relatively cheap to build. It is uncertain, however, precisely who was responsible for this rebuilding or the date of the work, which may have been between 1120 and 1176.
At the beginning of the 12th century, the castle had passed from Godric to William Fitz Baderon, thought to be his son-in-law, and on to his son, Baderon of Monmouth, in the 1120s. England descended into anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
, however, during the 1130s as the rival factions of Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
and his cousin the Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
vied for power. Baderon of Monmouth married Rohese de Clare
Gilbert Fitz Richard
Gilbert Fitz Richard was son and eventual heir of Richard Fitz Gilbert of Clare and heiress Rohese Giffard. He succeeded to his father's possessions in England in 1091; his brother, Roger Fitz Richard, inherited his father's lands in Normandy. Gilbert's inheritance made him one of the wealthiest...
, a member of the powerful de Clare family who usually supported Stephen, and there are records of Baderon having to seize Goodrich Castle during the fighting in the region, which was primarily held by supporters of Matilda. Some suspect that Baderon may have therefore built the stone keep in the early years of the conflict.Radford notes Fitz Baderon making grants of lands associated with the castle in 1144, pg. 3. Stephen went on, however, to appoint Baderon's brother-in-law, Gilbert de Claire
Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare , son of Gilbert Fitz Richard and Alice de Claremont, was sometimes referred to as "Strongbow", although his son is better remembered by this name, was the first Earl of Pembroke from 1138....
, the Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
, and Gilbert de Clare eventually acquired Goodrich Castle himself. Gilbert's son, Richard de Clare
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland . Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow...
, known as "Strongbow", succeeded him in 1148, and Richard is another candidate for the construction of the keep. In 1154 Richard fell out of favour with King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
because of the de Clares' support for Stephen, and the castle was taken into royal hands. Some argue that the king himself may have ordered the construction of the great keep.
13th and 14th centuries
During the following reigns of King Richard IRichard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
and his brother John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, the castle and manor were held by the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. King John, however, lost many of his lands in France which in turn deprived key English nobles of their own estates John became concerned about possible opposition to his rule. Accordingly, in 1203 John transferred Goodrich Castle and the surrounding manor to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , also called William the Marshal , was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He was described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" by Stephen Langton...
, to partially compensate him for his lost lands on the continent. Marshal was a famous English knight with reputation as a heroic warrior, and he expanded Goodrich by building an additional towered curtain wall
Curtain wall (fortification)
A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two bastions of a castle or fortress.In earlier designs of castle the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult....
in stone, around the existing keep. Marshal had to intervene to protect Goodrich Castle from Welsh attack, most famously in 1216 when he was obliged to leave Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
's coronation feast in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
to hurry back to Goodrich to reinforce the castle.
Marshal's sons inherited the castle after their father's death; Marshal left the castle to his eldest son, William
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was a medieval English nobleman, and the son of the famous William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.-Early life:William was born in Normandy probably during the spring of 1190...
, who in turn gave it to his younger brother, Walter. After William's death, however, Marshal's second son, Richard
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke was the brother of William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded to the Earldom of Pembroke and Lord Marshal of England upon his brother's death on 6 April 1231....
, took over the castle. Richard led the baronial opposition to Henry III and allied himself with the Welsh, resulting in King Henry besieging Goodrich Castle in 1233 and retaking personal control for a period. Walter was eventually given Goodrich back once more, but died shortly afterwards in 1245.
The castle briefly reverted to the Crown again, but in 1247 passed by marriage to William de Valence
William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke
William de Valence, 1st Earl of Wexford and 1st Earl of Pembroke , born Guillaume de Lusignan or de Valence, was a French nobleman and Knight, who became important in English politics due to his relationship to Henry III...
, half brother to Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. De Valence was a French nobleman from Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
and a noted soldier who spent most of his life fighting in military campaigns; Henry arranged his marriage to Joan de Munchensi
Joan de Munchensi
Joan de Munchensi or Munchensy , Lady of Swanscombe and Countess of Pembroke , was the daughter of Joan Marshal and granddaughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke suo jure.-Family:William Marshal was the great Lord Marshal who served five...
, one of the heiresses to the Marshal estate. The marriage made Valence immensely rich and gave him the title of Earl of Pembroke.
The Welsh border situation remained unsettled however, and in the decades after 1250 security grew significantly worse, as the Welsh prince Llwelyn up Gruffudd
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
conducted numerous raids into English territories. The Wye valley
Wye Valley
The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain....
and Goodrich were particularly affected by these raids.
Accordingly William de Valence began to build a much larger castle around the original keep from the 1280s onwards, demolishing Marshal's earlier work. As part of the extremely expensive construction work, Valence used oak trees drawn from several royal forests. Valence was building at the same time that his nephew Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
was constructing his major castles in the north of Wales, and the concentric castle
Concentric castle
A concentric castle is a castle with two or more concentric curtain walls, such that the outer wall is lower than the inner and can be defended from it. The word concentric does not imply that these castles were circular; in fact if taken too literally the term "concentric" is quite misleading...
that he built at Goodrich is both very similar in design and a rarity in England itself. Valence's son, Aymer de Valence
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke was a Franco-English nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, he was a central player in the conflicts between Edward II of England and...
built an additional line of outer defences before his death in 1324, including the external barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
, inspired by that at the Tower of London, and for which the earlier Valence barbican at Pembroke
Pembroke Castle
Pembroke Castle is a medieval castle in Pembroke, West Wales. Standing beside the River Cleddau, it underwent major restoration work in the early 20th century. The castle was the original seat of the Earldom of Pembroke....
may have been an experimental forerunner. The effect was an early success in converting a fortress into a major dwelling, without damaging its defensive arrangements, and influenced the later castle conversion at Berkeley
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...
.
The castle then passed to Aymer's niece, Elizabeth de Comyn
Elizabeth de Comyn
Elizabeth de Comyn was a medieval noblewoman and heiress, notable for being kidnapped by the Despenser family towards the end of the reign of King Edward II.-Background:...
, a well-connected young noblewoman. By the middle of the 1320s, however, England was in the grip of the oppressive rule of the Marcher lords Hugh le Despenser the older
Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester
Hugh le Despenser , sometimes referred to as "the Elder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England....
and his son Hugh Despenser the younger, the royal favourites of King Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
. As part of a "sweeping revenge" on their rivals, especially in the Marches, the Despensers illegally seized a wide range of properties, particularly from vulnerable targets such as widows, wives whose husbands were out of favour with the king or unmarried women. Upon her inheritance, Hugh le Despenser the younger promptly kidnapped Elizabeth in London and transported her to Herefordshire to be imprisoned in her own castle at Goodrich. Threatened with death, Elizabeth was finally forced to sign over the castle and other lands to the Despensers in April 1325. Elizabeth then married Richard Talbot, the 2nd Baron Talbot
Baron Talbot
Baron Talbot is a title that has been created twice. The title was created first in the Peerage of England. On 5 June 1331, Sir Gilbert Talbot was summoned to Parliament, by which he was held to have become Baron Talbot....
, who seized back the castle in 1326 shortly before Queen Isabella of France
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
landed in England and deposed both the Despensers and her husband Edward II; Talbot and Elizabeth regained their legal title to the castle the following year. Richard later received permission from Isabella's son Edward III to create a dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
under the keep for holding prisoners.
15th and 16th centuries
Goodrich remained the favourite home of the Richard Talbot's descendants for many years. During the early years, the security situation in Wales remained of concern. Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
rebelled against English rule in 1402 and Welsh forces invaded the Goodrich area in 1404 and 1405. Gilbert Talbot was responsible for fighting back the Welsh advance and securing the castle. As time went on, however, the threat began to diminish. During the 15th century the Talbots considerably expanded the size of the lord's quarters in the castle and provided additional accommodation for servants and retainers.
The Talbots became the Earls of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...
in 1442, shortly before the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
in which they supported the Lancastrian
Lancastrian
Lancastrian is an adjective describing:* A native or inhabitant of Lancashire* A partisan on the side of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses.* A person associated with Lancaster University....
faction. The wars meant that the Talbots were frequently fighting elsewhere in England, and often staying at their castle in Sheffield
Sheffield Castle
Sheffield Castle was a castle in Sheffield, England, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been constructed on the site at some time in the century...
. John Talbot
John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, 2nd Earl of Waterford, 8th Baron Talbot, KG was an English nobleman and soldier. He was the son of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Maud Nevill, 6th Baroness Furnivall...
died in the Lancastrian defeat at Northampton
Battle of Northampton (1460)
The Battle of Northampton was a battle in the Wars of the Roses, which took place on 10 July 1460.-Background:The Yorkist cause seemed finished after the previous disaster at Ludford Bridge...
in 1460, and the castle was forfeited and transferred to the Yorkist William Herbert. John's son, also called John Talbot
John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury
John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, 3rd Earl of Waterford, 9th Baron Talbot, KG was an English nobleman. He was the son of John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury and Elizabeth Butler....
, later made his peace with the king, however, and regained control of his lands and Goodrich Castle before his death in 1473.
By the 16th century the castle was becoming less fashionable as a residence. Goodrich was too distant from London to be a useful power base, and was gradually abandoned in favour of more stylish residences, Goodrich continued to be used as a judicial centre however; the antiquarian John Leland noted that the some of the castle was used to hold prisoners for the local court during the 1530s, and the castle ditch was sometimes used to store confiscated cattle taken from local farmers.
In 1616, Gilbert Talbot
Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury
Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 7th Earl of Waterford, KG was was a peer in the peerage of England.He was the eldest surviving son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, by the latter's first marriage to Gertrude Manners, daughter of the first Earl of Rutland.In 1568, Gilbert was...
died with no male heir and Goodrich passed into the hands of Henry Grey, Earl of Kent
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent KG PC was a British politician and courtier.-Family:He was a son of Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent and Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell...
. The Greys chose not to live at Goodrich, but instead rented the castle to a series of tenants.
English Civil War
Goodrich Castle became the scene of one of the most desperate siegeSiege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
s during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in the 1640s, which saw the rival factions of Parliament and the king vie for power across England. In the years before the war, there had been a resurgence of building at the castle. Richard Tyler, a local lawyer, became the tenant and constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
of the castle, and during the early 1630s there had been considerable renovation work. Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Earl of Stamford
Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford
Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford , known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill...
, with support from Tyler, garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
ed the castle for Parliament until December 1643, when increasing Royalist pressure in the region forced his withdrawal to Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. The castle was then occupied by a garrison led by the Royalist Sir Henry Lingen
Henry Lingen
Sir Henry Lingen , Lord of Sutton, Lingen and Stoke Edith, was a Royalist military commander in Herefordshire during the English Civil War, and later a Member of Parliament.-Ancestry:...
. The occupation was not peaceful, with Royalist troops burning surrounding farm buildings Tyler himself was imprisoned by Lingen, although not before he had begun to sell off his livestock and other moveable property. Some references to Goodrich Castle during this period refer to it as Guthridge Castle, a variant on the name Goodrich.
As the Royalist situation deteriorated, the south-west became one of the few remaining Royalist strongholds. Lingen, with 200 men and 90 horses at Goodrich Castle, conducted raids
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
on Parliamentary forces in the region, representing a continuing challenge. No action had been taken, however, to strengthen the castle's defences with more modern 17th-century earthworks
Star fort
A star fort, or trace italienne, is a fortification in the style that evolved during the age of gunpowder, when cannon came to dominate the battlefield, and was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy....
, and the castle remained essentially in its medieval condition.
In 1646, the Parliamentary Colonels John Birch
John Birch (soldier)
Colonel John Birch was a soldier in the English civil war and later Member of parliament for Leominster and Weobley, Herefordshire....
and Robert Kyrle marched south from their successful Siege of Hereford and besieged the castle, with the aim of eliminating one of the few remaining Royalist strongholds. There was some personal animosity between Lingen and Birch, and both were outspoken, impulsive men. Birch's first move was to prevent further attacks from Lingen, and on 9 March he burned the weakly defended stables in a surprise night attack, driving away the Royalist horses and temporarily denying the Royalist forces' mobility. Birch was unable to press home his advantage however, and over the next few months Lingen succeeded in replacing some of his horses and resumed his attacks on Parliamentary forces.
In June, Birch returned and besieged the castle itself. He found that it was too strong to be taken by direct attack, and instead began laying down trench
Trench
A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground. Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide , and by being narrow compared to their length ....
es to allow him to bring artillery to bear on the structure. Parliamentary attacks broke the pipe carrying water into the castle, and the cisterns in the courtyard were destroyed by exploding shells, forcing the garrison to depend on the older castle well. With the castle still holding out, Colonel Birch built an enormous mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
called "Roaring Meg
Roaring Meg (cannon)
Roaring Meg was the name of several powerful cannons used in the 17th century. It is not to be confused with Mons Meg, a medieval cannon preserved at Edinburgh Castle.-Created by Colonel Birch for the Siege of Goodrich Castle:...
", able to fire a gunpowder-filled shell
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
85 – in weight, in a local forge.
Birch concentrated his efforts on the north-west tower, using his mortar against the masonry and undermining the foundations with his sappers
Sapping
Mining, landmining or undermining is a siege method which has been used since antiquity against a walled city, fortress, castle or other strongly held and fortified military position.-Antiquity:...
. Lingen responded with a counter-mine tunnel dug out under Parliament's own tunnel. This would probably have succeeded, but Birch brought his mortar forward under the cover of darkness and launched a close-range attack on the tower, which collapsed and buried Lingen's counter-mine. Down to their last four barrels of gunpowder and thirty barrels of beer, and with a direct assault now imminent, the Royalists surrendered. According to tradition, the garrison left to the tune of "Sir Henry Lingen's Fancy".
Despite the damage, Tyler was able to move back into his castle, which was now protected by a small Parliamentary garrison. After investigation by Parliamentary agents Brown and Selden, however, the castle was slighted
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
the following year, which rendered it impossible to defend. The Countess of Kent, the new owner of the castle, was given £1,000 in damages, but chose not to rebuild the fortification as it was by then virtually uninhabitable.
18th and 19th-century history
After the Civil War, Goodrich Castle remained with the Earls of KentEarl of Kent
The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.See also Kingdom of Kent, Duke of Kent.-Earls of Kent, first creation :*Godwin, Earl of Wessex...
until 1740, when it was sold by Henry Grey
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent KG PC was a British politician and courtier.-Family:He was a son of Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent and Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell...
to Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Thomas Griffin. Griffin undertook some restoration of the castle but retained it as a ruin.
During the 1780s the concept of the picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
ruin was popularised by the English clergyman William Gilpin
William Gilpin (clergyman)
The Reverend William Gilpin was an English artist, clergyman, schoolmaster, and author, best known as one of the originators of the idea of the picturesque.-Early life:...
. Goodrich Castle was one of the ruins he captured in his book Observations on the River Wye in 1782, writing that the castle was an example of the "correctly picturesque" landscape. By this time, the castle was in a slow state of decay. Theodore Fielding, an early Victorian historian, noted how the "castle's situation, far from human dwellings, and the stillness which that solitude, insures to its precinct, leaves contemplation to all the solemnity, that is inspired by the sight of grandeur sinking in dignity, into decay". The Regency and Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
watercolour
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
artists David Cox
David Cox (artist)
- David Cox Junior :David Cox had a son of the same name who followed his calling as a watercolour painter. He was born in Dulwich, but educated in Hereford. He exhibited in London from 1827, although today he is known mainly through association with his father. He died in Streatham on 4 December...
and William Callow
William Callow
William Callow was an English landscape painter, engraver and water colourist.-Career:Callow was apprenticed to the artist Copley Fielding, where he learnt the technique of plein air sketching. He went on to study under Theodore and Thales Fielding, where he learnt to colour prints and conduct...
also captured Goodrich Castle and its landscape in paint, again invoking the picturesque, romantic mood of the setting at the time.
The castle was praised by William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire". Wordsworth first visited Goodrich Castle in 1793, and an encounter with a little girl he met while exploring the ruins led him to write the poem We are Seven
We are Seven
"We are Seven" is a poem written by William Wordsworth and published in his Lyrical Ballads. It describes a discussion between an adult poetic speaker and a "little cottage girl" about the number of brothers and sisters who dwell with her...
in 1798. Other poets from this period were also inspired by the castle, including Henry Neele
Henry Neele
Henry Neele was an English poet and literary scholar. The son of an engraver, he was born in London and educated there in Nework Town, then working in an lawyer’s office....
in 1827.
By the 1820s, visitors could purchase an early guidebook
GUIdebook
GUIdebook is a website that contains screenshots of computer software.It shows a visual history of the software's user interface. It includes operating systems like Mac OS and Windows, desktop environments like GNOME and KDE, portable operating systems like Newton OS and Windows CE, and...
at the site outlining the castle's history, and Victorian tourists recorded being charged six-pence to wander around the castle. In the early 1820s, the antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick
Samuel Rush Meyrick
Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick was an English collector. He lived at Goodrich Court, Goodrich, Herefordshire, England, and introduced the systematic study of arms and armour.-Life:...
attempted to purchase the site, with the aim of converting the castle back into a private dwelling, but was unable to convince the owners to sell. Instead, Meyrick built the neo-gothic Goodrich Court
Goodrich Court
Goodrich Court was a 19th century, neo-gothic castle built by the antiquarian Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in Goodrich, Herefordshire in 1828.Samuel Meyrick was a noted antiquarian with a strong interest in Welsh history and claimed, incorrectly, to be related to the Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd. Meyrick...
in a similar style next door, which greatly displeased Wordsworth when he returned to Goodrich in 1841 and found the view spoilt by the new building. Goodrich Court was pulled down after the Second World War. The new bridge over the river Wye, built in 1828, and the 1873 railway line
Ross and Monmouth Railway
The Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth....
added to the number of visitors.The railway line closed in 1959.
Goodrich Castle then passed through various hands, until in 1915 the Office of Works
Office of Works
The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...
began discussions with its then owner, Mrs Edmund Bosanquet; large-scale collapses of parts of the north-west tower and curtain wall in 1919 contributed to Bosanquet's decision to grant the castle to the Commissioner of Works
First Commissioner of Works
The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It took over some of the functions of the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1851 when the portfolio of Crown holdings was divided into the public...
in 1920. The Commissioners began a programme of repairs to stabilise the ruin in its current state.
Today
Today, the castle at Goodrich is considered by historians to be the "most splendid in the county, and one the best examples of English military architecture". The castle is classed as a Grade I listed building and as a Scheduled Monument.Substantial remains still exist and are open to the public, managed by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The adjacent Victorian castle of Goodrich Court
Goodrich Court
Goodrich Court was a 19th century, neo-gothic castle built by the antiquarian Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in Goodrich, Herefordshire in 1828.Samuel Meyrick was a noted antiquarian with a strong interest in Welsh history and claimed, incorrectly, to be related to the Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd. Meyrick...
was demolished in 1949, restoring the original landscape. The Roaring Meg
Roaring Meg (cannon)
Roaring Meg was the name of several powerful cannons used in the 17th century. It is not to be confused with Mons Meg, a medieval cannon preserved at Edinburgh Castle.-Created by Colonel Birch for the Siege of Goodrich Castle:...
mortar, preserved by Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Council is the local government authority for the county of Herefordshire in England. It is a unitary authority.It is a relatively new council, formed on 1 April 1998 following the split of Hereford and Worcester back into two separate counties.It is currently run by Conservatives. It...
, has been returned to the site, along with a number of civil war cannon-balls
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
found at Goodrich during excavations in the 1920s.
Folklore
Several legends surround the castle at Goodrich. The Great Keep has the alternative name of the "Macbeth tower", after stories of an Irish chieftain held prisoner there. According to some tales, he died attempting to escape and his ghost is said to still haunt the tower.The events of the English Civil War also have left their mark. Local stories tell that Colonel Birch's niece, Alice Birch, fell in love with a handsome Royalist, Charles Clifford; according to these stories the two attempted to escape before the final assault but died in a flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
while trying to cross the River Wye
River Wye
The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
, and live on as ghosts on the site.