Wigmore Castle
Wigmore Castle | ||
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Grid reference grid reference SO407692 | | |
Site information | ||
Controlled by | English Heritage | |
Condition | Ruined | |
Site history | ||
Materials | wood and mats |
Wigmore Castle is a ruined castle about 1 km (0.62 mi) from the village of Wigmore in the northwest region of Herefordshire, England.
History
Wigmore Castle was founded after the
The form of FitzOsbern's early castle at Wigmore is unknown, but given the scale of his fortifications at Chepstow, Monmouth and elsewhere, it is likely to have been substantial and probably covered much the same area as the present castle. In particular, he probably had a natural ravine reshaped to create a deep ditch behind the motte. No evidence of early stone defences has yet been discovered, leading to the conclusion that FitzOsbern's castle was built of timber, but it is just possible that the dense vegetation and thick deposits of debris conceal the foundations of an early stone keep.
FitzOsbern was killed in Flanders in 1071, and his son Roger de Breteuil took part in the Revolt of the Earls in 1075; after the Earls’ subsequent defeat, William I seized the castle and gave it to another of his supporters, Ranulph de Mortimer (or Ralph de Mortimer). From this time on Wigmore became the head of the barony of the Mortimers, later from 1328 Earls of March.
In 1155 the castle was besieged by Henry II because Hugh de Mortimer refused to return Bridgnorth Castle to the crown. Two small earthworks to the east and west of the castle have survived to the present day, and may represent siege-works built for the campaign.
Parts of the walls were built or rebuilt in stone in the late 12th century or early 13th century, and further work was carried out in the 13th century, perhaps when
The castle was the subject of extensive works in the late 13th or early 14th century, when it was held by
Roger had succeeded his father Edmund in 1304, and strengthened the position of the Mortimer family considerably, acquiring Ludlow Castle and many lands in Ireland through marriage to the heiress Joan de Geneville. Roger was a leader of the party opposed to Edward II in the 1320s, and c.1325 became the lover of Edward's queen, Isabella of France. Following Edward's deposition and death in 1327, Mortimer, as the queen's lover and the effective stepfather of the young King Edward III, became the most important man in the kingdom. In 1328 Mortimer held a tournament near Wigmore, attended by the young king and almost all the magnates of England.[1]
Roger de Mortimer was executed in 1330 by Edward III, and his lands seized by the crown. Edward III spent several weeks at Wigmore in the summer of 1332.[2] Mortimer's grandson (also named Roger) regained Wigmore and the rest of his lands in 1342. His own son Edmund married Edward III's granddaughter Phillipa. In 1381 their son, Roger, inherited at the age of six and was declared the heir presumptive should Richard II (Phillipa's cousin) die childless.
Roger de Mortimer was killed in battle in Ireland in 1398 and when the male line of the Mortimers died out in 1424, the castle passed to Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York through his mother Anne Mortimer, sister of the last Roger Mortimer.
Wigmore castle is said to have been derelict in 1425,
Throughout the 16th century the castle was managed by the
After the Civil War, the castle was left in a state of ruin, and was gradually covered in trees and other vegetation. By the 20th century neglect and the growth of vegetation had left the remains of the castle as a scattering of ruins with features such as
Unusually, because it remained in private hands, Wigmore was not subject to the large scale clearances carried out at most other major historic sites in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 1995 Wigmore Castle came into the guardianship of English Heritage, which carried out some conservation work and small-scale excavation, making the site a little more accessible to visitors. Additional site presentation panels were installed in 2008.
Structure and topography
The castle was of great strategic importance as it lies almost halfway between the rivers
Wigmore Castle itself straddles the south-eastern edge of a spur, with marshland (since drained) to its north. The defences of the castle were further strengthened by the construction of ditches across the spur, between which the castle was built. These ditches acted as moats with the north-western one running past a mound, which was also fortified. This fortification was originally probably a wooden palisade, but later a stone keep was constructed in its place.
See also
References
Further reading
- Redhead, Norman, "Wigmore castle – a resistivity survey of the outer bailey", Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club, 46 (3): 423–431