Goodrich Castle
History of the castle.
From its position high above the banks of the River Wye, Goodrich Castle commands an ancient ford crossing of the river. This route is thought to be the original Roman road from Gloucester to Caerleon via Monmouth.
Goodrich Castle does not appear in the Domesday Survey, but seems to have been in existence by 1101/2 as it is mentioned in a document under the name of Godric’s Castle. This Godric is thought to be Godric of Mappestone. One possible explanation for its absence from the Domesday Book is suggested that as the area had been laid to waste by the Welsh it had not been minutely surveyed.
1144 : William fitz Osbern seized the castle during the anarchy of the reign of Stephen.
In the following reign the Crown holds the castle and manor.
1203: King John granted the castle and manor to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, The castle was held by the service of 2 knight’s fees. Marshall’s son William died at Goodrich in 1245. He was the last male of the line to hold these lands, but as he had fought for the Barons at Lincoln, possession reverted to the Crown.
Elizabeth was forced to grant her rights to Hugh Despencer. Her husband Richard, 2nd Baron Talbot, who in the autumn of 1326 seized the castle, later disputed this.
1331 –1355: Lord Talbot was summoned to Parliament by the title of ‘Richard Talbot of Goodrich Castle.’ (Robinson- Herefordshire Castles and their Lords)
Richard Talbot apparently used the ransoms of prisoners of the French Wars to fund improvements to the fortress.
1356: Richard Talbot was succeeded by his son Gilbert who fought with the Black Prince in the French Wars. Sir John Talbot the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury was the hero of 40 battles and was slain at the battle of Chatillon in 1453.
For many years Goodrich was home to the Talbots, who were made Earls of Shrewsbury in the 15th century.
1460: On the defeat of the Lancastrians and the forfeiture of the castle, Goodrich was granted to the Yorkist William Herbert. However, John, the 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury made his peace with the king and regained control of his lands before his death in 1473.
1616: The death of the 7th Earl of Shrewsbury with no male heir brought Goodrich into the hands of Henry Grey, Earl of Kent. At this point the castle was no longer occupied.
1643: The Earl of Stamford who had seized Hereford in the interest of Parliament garrisoned the castle.
1646: The castle is the scene of one of the most desperate sieges in Herefordshire during the Civil War. The fortress is at first in the hands of Parliament, but was later occupied by a garrison led by the Royalist Sir Henry Lingen. Colonels’ Birch and Kyrle, along with 500 men on horse and foot, made an attempt at capturing the castle but only managed to burn the stables and outbuildings.
The castle remained strong and its defenders in good spirits. Colonel Birch gained fresh supplies and made successive attempts on the castle, which later surrendered. On the 31st of July terms were proposed and agreed that saved the lives of the defenders.
Colonel Birch was allowed to capture the fortress and its main contents of 30 barrels of beer. Besides Sir Henry Lingen were gentleman from some of the most distinguished families in the county, Bodenhams, Vaughans, Berringtons and Wigmores.
On the 25th of August 1646 a request was made that the castle should be completely destroyed, the following spring it was resolved that it should be degarrisoned and slighted, making it virtually uninhabitable.
1740: Goodrich remained with the Earls of Kent until this year when it was sold to Admiral Thomas Griffin.
The Castle later passed through various hands until 1920 when it was placed with the Commissioner of Works. It has been under the care of English Heritage since 1984.
Construction and restoration.
No remains of the Godric’s Castle mentioned at the beginning of the 12th century have been discovered, however it is highly likely that the rock cut moat follows the line of the original defences.
The earliest surviving piece of the castle is the Norman Keep of the middle to late 12th century.
The square enclosure with the angle towers was built around the keep in the early 13th century. Of this wall only the east wall and the foundations of the Southwest tower survive. The rest of the surviving curtain wall being of the 13th century when a period of extensive reconstruction occurred.
The barbican and the outer ward were added some time after 1296. The upper storey of the eastern range as well as the added room on the gatehouse occurred later in the history of the castle. In this year we have evidence of Royal clerks and workmen nearby, thus adding weight to the belief that the rebuilding of the barbican and keep happened in this period.
In 1280 and 1282 we have evidence of grants of oak trees from Royal forests being made to Goodrich, suggesting a period of rebuilding for the castle.
Excavations.
In 1988 a watching brief was carried out during the excavation of a trench for an electricity cable to light the ticket office. This long cable trench ran along the vehicular access road, around the outer edge of the ditch, past the barbican and into the outer ward.
During the work a Christian burial ground was discovered near the edge of the ditch to the South of the castle. The close proximity of the burial ground to the ditch suggests that it pre-dates the ditch.
Other finds discovered include pieces of medieval encaustic floor tiles and pottery sherds dating from the 13th – 20th centuries.