Goodrich Castle

History

The castle is thought to have been built by Godric of Mappestone soon after the Norman Conquest, originally as an earth and wooden stronghold, with a stone keep replacing it in the mid-12th century. In the late 13th century it was rebuilt on a grand scale and became the seat of the powerful Talbot family, who held it until it fell out of favour as a residence in late Tudor times. During the Civil War it changed hands between Parliamentary and Royalist forces before Colonel John Birch took it by siege in 1646 using the huge mortar known as Roaring Meg, after which the castle was deliberately slighted and left to ruin.

Architecture

The castle developed into a concentric design, with an outer curtain wall and towers wrapped around a mid-12th-century stone keep, combining defensive strength with comfortable living quarters. Its layout is thought to have influenced other English castle designs of the period.

Worth knowing

William Wordsworth called it the 'noblest ruin in Herefordshire'. He visited the area in the 1790s and was influenced by the setting, which may have contributed to his poem 'We are Seven', published in 1798.