Short Break in Herefordshire - Part 2: Wigmore Castle

 

Very occasionally one can visit a place which is atmospheric and special with a massive sense of history and place and sometimes "sacredness" too.  For me, places such as St Catherine's Oratory, Isle of Wight; Avebury, Wiltshire; St Dwynwen's Island and Holyhead Hut Circles,  Anglesey; the Chapter House, York Minster and the Roman ruins at Wall are some examples. I would now add the romantic and picturesque ruins of Wigmore Castle to this list.

Wigmore was one of the largest of the castles built near the England/Wales border after the Norman Conquest. It was a major centre of aristocratic power and control for the surrounding area during Medieval times.

The original castle was founded c1067 by William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford, who was a close associate of William the Conqueror. This castle had reinforced timber walls on top of the earthworks.  Following the death of FitzOsbern the castle passed to the Mortimers who rebuilt the castle in stone.

The church of St James below the castle.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit this as well - it contains Norman herringbone masonry.

The lane fromWigmore and the church leads to a public footpath to the castle.

 Here we are walking in what was the outer bailey looking towards the Inner Bailey and Keep.

The castle was built on a steep narrow ridge which was ideal for defensive purposes.  It was further strengthened by deep ditches and strong walls.

The castle is divided into 3 main parts.

1. The Outer Bailey which probably contained stables, granaries and other storage buildings.
2. The Inner Bailey surrounded by a deep double ditch and two walls formed the main residential area.
3. Above this was a heavily defended shell keep on the motte with thick walls and a tall tower.

To the North and West were deer parks and fishponds and a dovecote and rabbit warren to provide fish and meat.

In the valley where land was flatter there were farms and about a mile away was Wigmore Abbey where some of the owners of Wigmore were buried.

The Mortimers

From 1075 shortly after the Norman Conquest until the early 15th century (1425) Wigmore Castle was owned by the powerful Mortimer family who built the castle the remains of which can be seen today.

During the C12th and early C13th the castle was rebuilt in stone. In the early C14th Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287-1330) constructed extra towers with fireplaces and window seats that were used as lodgings. Further work was carried out in the C15th.

In 1329 Roger Mortimer organised an impressive tournament at Wigmore which was attended by the young King Edward III and his mother Queen Isabella (Roger Mortimer's lover). In 1327 Roger and Isabella had manage to arrange to depose and murder her husband  Edward II in favour of  the 14 year old Edward.  Mortimer used his position with the Queen to accrue power and land and effectively ruled England for 3 years.  But in 1330 Edward III arrested Roger Mortimer who was later executed for treason. Although the castle was returned later in the C14th to the Mortimers following Roger's execution, Ludlow Castle had become their main residence.

The Mortimers were one of the most important families in England. Roger Mortimer (1328-60), 2nd Earl of March, was a founder member of the Knights of the Garter. The 4th Earl, his grandson, also called Roger (1374-98) was for a short while heir presumptive to the English throne.

This is the Gatehouse into the Inner Bailey with a D-shaped East Tower (the main survivals from the C12th and early C13th). Curtain walls surround the bailey.

Huge bracket fungi on this tree!

Going through the Gatehouse you pass into the Inner Bailey.

The hawthorns with berries in this area were just full of flocks of Redwings.  Also at one stage a kronking raven flew over which was a highlight :)

Views of the Keep.  You can't at the moment walk all the way up to the keep as the steps have deteriorated and are at present unsafe.

Views over the Herefordshire countryside from the walls.

The platform you can see here in the centre of the photo is where the Great Hall once stood. In the picture below you can see the surviving corner shell.  In the Keep high above are the remains of the more private chambers of Lord Mortimer.

The castle had fallen into ruins after the Civil War. When English Heritage took over the site in the 1990's walls had fallen and plants had grown around them as if absorbing them back into the landscape.  English Heritage wanted to preserve this link to nature and associated biodiversity and the picturesque ruins and most plants were allowed to remain as they were.  Rare and unusual species were found here, for example, the Lesser Horseshoe Bat and wild flowers such as Ploughman's Spikenard.  Debris that had fallen was left in situ and grasses, ferns and flowers growing on walls were carefully moved to provide "soft capping" to protect the walls from rain and more invasive plants.  Some collapsed walls are buried several metres below the surface but most of the castle's original plan can be recreated.

Conservation work has included two archaeological digs. These revealed that in addition to towers along the curtain walls there were timber buildings all along the the walls of the Inner Bailey

All the above photos were taken by me with the Pansonic Lumix bridge camera. The following pictures were taken by D with the Canon SX50 camera.  The first few were taken when D continued along a path through woodland. I stayed behind - there was a very steep muddy slope and I was worried not about getting up it but getting back down without falling!!!

It is certainly a place we shall be returning to and I have ordered a Logaston Press book On the Trail of the Mortimers which lists more places to visit!

I know some of you are interested in Matilda, Lady of Hay, (Bovey Belle?) so I've given a few details below of her daughter Annora who was connected to Wigmore.

Annora, one of William and Matilda de Braose's children, married Hugh Mortimer, heir to Roger Mortimer of Wigmore.  She was with Matilda when she fled to Ireland after she and William were outlawed by King John. She was imprisoned with her mother at Bristol after they were captured when they fled to Scotland.

She was eventually released in 1214 when her husband inherited the title of 4th Mortimer Lord of Wigmore.  Hugh died in 1227 after an accident at a tournament.  They had no children and Annora eventually became an Anchoress at Iffley in Oxfordshire. Its believed she died around 1241.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

References: English Heritage Website and Information Boards at the castle.

Matilda, Lady of Hay by Peter Ford Logaston Press