CSG Annual Conference - Hereford - April 2016 - Richard’s Castle

Richard’s Castle. An interpretation of how the castle may have appeared at the end of the 14th century. Image courtesy of Michael Roberts. See: http://www.ageoftheprinces.co.uk/latest-news.htm View from the east. The octagonal keep on the motte is dated to the late 12th century. (c. 1185-1200). The small round-fronted, apsidal annexe could have been a porch with a chapel above. The rectangular east gatehouse ( front, left) was probably late 12th century.

Richard's Castle the castle, and by the time of the Domesday The ‘Richard’ in question seems to be Richard Book (1086) it had become an established fitz Scrob, a Norman living in England before borough. Following the Norman Conquest the Norman Conquest in 1066. Scrob was one William I gave the castle to one of his most of several Norman lords who became favourites trusted and powerful barons, William fitz of Edward the Confessor during Edwards up- Osbern. The church, St. Bartholomew’s, dates bringing in France. When Edward became king from the 12th century (now owned by the in 1042 he gave large English estates to many Churches Conservation Trust). Like many oth- of his Norman friends, including Scrob. Around er castles along the Welsh Marches, Richard’s 1050 Scrob may have built the simple motte and Castle fell into the hands of the powerful Mor- bailey fortification here, one of the earliest Nor- timer family, though after 1537 it passed to the man castles in the country and one of only four crown. Henry VIII granted it to the Earl of that King Edward allowed to be built during his Warwick, and through him the manor passed reign. The new castle, and others, possibly at through the Heath, Cornewall, and Bradshaw nearby Hereford and Ewyas Harold, alarmed and Sawley family, the latter holding it it for the local inhabitants, who united in opposition the next 400 years. The ruins and earthworks to the Norman presence under earl Godwin of are immediately west of the churchyard. It is Wessex, father of the future King Harold. God- probable that it is the castle called Auretone win demanded that Richard’s Castle be surren- (Avretone) in the Domesday Survey when it dered, but King Edward refused and exiled the was held by Osbern fitz Richard. It then passed earl temporarily. A settlement grew up around to the families of Mortimer, Talbot and Pope.

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‘Richard's Castle’, in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire, Volume 3, North West (London, 1934), pp. 170-174 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/heref/vol3/ pp 170-174 [accessed 26 January 2016]. An outer ditch and enclosing bank to the NE probably encompassed the church and town and may have been stone-walled. The detached church tower, probably late 13th century is seen on plan east of the chancel, below the 600ft contour line..

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Richard’s Castle. Plan from R Allen Brown’s ‘English Castles’, 1970, p. 45, originally published in Curnow, P. E. and Thompson, M. W.,1969, 'Excavations at Richard’s Castle Herefordshire 1962-1964' Journal of the British Archaeological Association (ser 3) Vol. 32 pp. 105-128. The wall towers are lettered A-F, anticlockwise from just north of the gatehouse. Inset: The North-East Tower ‘B’, is described elsewhere as a Solar or Chamber tower. It seems to be a late insertion and could be the work of the Mortimers in the 14th century. Its corners may have been canted or chamfered, and the Mortimers may have had a preference for building with canted corners as a recognizable motif (see Ludlow, Wigmore). Here it seems more rounded than canted. Tower F’, with its small square nesting boxes has been converted into a dovecot, sometime in the 15th century. The arc of the inner ditch or moat was proven through excavation.

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Richard’s Castle. The bailey was entered on the south-east where the ditch is crossed by a causeway; the gateway is represented by a remaining fragment of masonry on the south side.

Richard's Castle… continued the wall. All these fragments are of rubble and The castle consists of a motte and bailey, both retain little evidence of their date. When exca- surrounded by a continuous deep ditch, with vated in 1962-4, the top section of the mound traces of an outer enclosure on the west. The was unexpectedly found to have the buried motte occupies the west side of the site and is 65 foundations of an octagonal stone keep, 12m (40 yards (60m) in diameter at the base, 21ft (6.4m) ft) across, with a small forebuilding / chapel on at the top, and rises 60ft (18.3m) above the the north-east side overlooking the bailey. The bottom of the ditch on the west side. The bailey bailey, to the NE and SE of the motte is 85m is protected by a rampart representing the for- (279ft) in length, NE-SW, and 60m (197ft) in mer curtain wall which survives in places. The width at its widest point, north of the motte. area is divided by a scarp into two portions. The Fragments of curtain walling stand to heights of bailey was entered on the south-east where the 6m (20 ft) along the NW side of the bailey and ditch is now crossed by a causeway; the en- further excavated fragments of curtain wall and trance gateway is represented by a fragment of towers around the N and E sides of the bailey, masonry on the S. side. The footings on the N including the ‘D-shaped’ tower ‘B’ perhaps side include a garderobe chute. The surviving 14th century. Surrounding both motte and bai- stretch of wall, on the north-east side of the ley is a ditch with a small outer bank. Running bailey, is about 50ft. (15m) long and 18ft (5.5m) NE from the NE side of the outer bank is a high. A further stretch of wall survives, climb- second bank with a ditch towards the NW. This ing the north slope of the motte; it stands some bank extends for some (46m) and indicates the 12ft high; near the foot of the slope are remains former existence of an outer enclosure contain- of a semi-circular tower on the outward face of ing the church and perhaps the early village.

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Richard’s Castle. View from the motte looking north toward the highest & longest stretch of bai- ley wall between notional towers ‘D’ and ‘E’. (RAB’s English Castle’s plan).

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ABOVE: Looking north from the bailey. The motte, tower and eastern wing-wall from the south. BELOW: The remaining lower courses of a semi-circular (or ¾ round) tower ‘F’ at the base of the mound, later utilised as a dovecote. Tower mid-late 13th century.

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ABOVE: Left: Reconstruction of the 40ft diameter (with 12ft thick walls) octagonal motte top tower with the later chapel annexe from the onsite display panel. View from the north-east. The three storey tower is shown with ladder communication. Right: The sloping east talus of the tower from the north. BELOW: The chapel from the west, from above the remains of the octagonal tower’s talus. Presumably the central recess is far a window and altar table.

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Views from the motte looking south (above) and east, towards the church & graveyard (below).

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ABOVE: Richard’s Castle. Left & Right: The Bell Tower - south (left) & east faces. The detached bell tower of the church of St. Bartholomew. Detached towers are relatively rare, although there are seven in Herefordshire (e.g. St. Marys, Pembridge) and it dates from the late 13th century or early 14th century. They were sometimes built detached, often, it is suggested, for defensive or military purposes, though this is a difficult argument to sustain in the early 14th century. The tower apparently had a wooden spire, which burned down in 1800 and was replaced with a slated roof, and weathervane. The bell tower openings, rather than louvres, now appear to have dove/ pigeon nesting boxes.

LEFT: The Bell Tower from the north. The third ‘Y tracery’ opening in the belfry. All the openings in the tower face north, south or east, with the door on the west. The Y tracery is similar to that seen in Ludlow Castle (Great Hall of the 1280s, and St Peters chapel, of the 1320s. Y tracery is a distinctive feature of the period, but enjoyed a relatively short period of popular- ity. It appears to have developed in eastern France (Picardy, Burgundy, Champagne) and was an important element in the English Court style at the end of the 13th century (Bony, The English Decorated style, 1979, 11). Geoffrey de Geneville (d. 1314) came from Joinville in Champagne and he or his son Peter (d. 1292), who both stood high in royal favour with Ed- ward I, may have been the patrons; or possibly Roger Mortimer in the 1320s. It was also used at Robert Burnell’s palace at Wells. See R K Morriss in Shoesmith & Johnson, 2006, 164-6.

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Further Reading King, D. J. Cathcart, 1972, 'The Field Archaeology Brooks, Alan, 2012, Herefordshire (Pevsner Archi- of mottes; Eine kurze übersicht' Château Gaillard tectural Guides: Buildings of England).Yale Uni- Vol. 5 p. 101-112 versity Press Currow, P. E. and Thompson, M. W.,1969, 'Exca- Morgan, T., 2012, ‘Richard’s Castle: conservation of vations at Richards Castle Herefordshire 1962 standing remains 2011-12’ Transactions of the Wool- 1964' Journal of the British Archaeological Associ- hope Naturalists’ Field Club Vol. 60 pp. 121-28 ation (ser 3) Vol. 32 p. 105-128 Goodall, John, 2011, The English Castle 1066-1650 Brown, R. Allen, 1969, ‘The Norman Conquest and (Yale University Press) p. 52 the Genesis of English Castles’ Château Gaillard Shoesmith, Ron, 2009 (Rev edn.), Castles and Moat- Vol. 3 pp. 1-14 ed Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press) pp. 246-49 Davidson, Brian K., 1969, ‘Early earthwork castles: Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of a new model’ Château Gaillard Vol. 3 pp. 37-47 England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central Eng- Hogg, A. H. A. and King, D. J. C., 1967, 'Masonry land and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeolo- Press) p. 476 gia Cambrensis Vol. 116 p. 71-132 Salter, M, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire & Worces- Thompson, M.W., 1965, ‘Richard's Castle’ The tershire (Malvern: Folly Publications) pp. 57--8 Hundred-and-Twelfth Annual Meeting at Hereford, Remfry, Paul M., 1999, Nine castles of Burford Barony, 1965, CAA pp. 22-4 1048 to 1308 (SCS Publishing: Worcestershire) Renn, D. F., 1964, ‘The first Norman Castles in 1998-99, 'Pre-Conquest Castles in Herefordshire' England 1051-1071’ Château Gaillard Vol. 1 pp. Castle Studies Group Newsletter No. 12 pp. 33-4 125-132. Remfry, Paul M., 1997, Richard's Castle, 1048 to Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain 1219 (SCS Publishing: Worcestershire) (Heinemann) pp. 40-1 Halliwell, Peter, Archaeological Research Section RCHME, 1934, An inventory of the historical mon- Woolhope NFC, 1997, Herefordshire Archaeological uments in Herefordshire Vol. 3: North-West p. 172 News Vol. 67 p. 29 No. 2 (plan p. 173) Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by coun- Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn ties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 101 Beetham House: New York) pp. 6, 136 Harfield, c. G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Record- Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of ed in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review the British Isles (London: John Murray) pp. 192-3 Vol. 106 p. 371-392 Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles from the Air (Cam- England (London: Methuen and Co) bridge University Press) pp. 196-7 Gould, I Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Stirling-Brown, R., 1989, Herefordshire Castles (pri- Herefordshire Vol. 1 pp. 245-6 (plan) vately published) pp. 16-17 Allcroft, A. Hadrian, 1908, Earthwork of England Helen Clarke, 1984, The archaeology of medieval (London) pp. 430-1 England (British Museum Publications, London) pp. Mackenzie, J. D., 1896, Castles of England; their 117-20 story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 King, D. J. C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (Lon- pp. 115-16 don: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 210 Clark, G. T., 1884, Mediaeval Military Architecture Thorn, F. and Thorn, C., 1983, Domesday Book: in England (Wyman and Sons) Vol. 2 pp. 401-4 Herefordshire (Phillimore). Robinson, C. J., 1872, A History of the Mansions Fry, P. S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Manors of Herefordshire (Logaston Press, and Charles) p. 284-5 2001 reprint) Renn, D. F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain Robinson, C. J., 1869, The Castles of Herefordshire (London: John Baker) p. 293 and Their Lords (London: Longman) pp. 118-20

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