Wigmore is in the northwest corner of Herefordshire 8 miles from Offa’s Dyke on the English side.

To the northwest of the church on a ridge of high ground coming down from Radnorshire between the rivers Lugg and Teme sits the ruined remains of Wigmore Castle. From this site the castle overlooked Adforton, Letton, Brampton Bryan and Leintwardine, as well as dominating the road in the valley below.

The remains command a strong position bounded on the south by a steep, narrow valley, to the north by a moor, and to the west by a deep apparently man-made ravine which crosses the ridge and cuts off the eastern section of the castle from higher ground to the west.

Wigmore castle once formed the central focus of a chain of strongholds – Clun, Hopton and Brampton Bryan to the North with Lingen and Lyonshall to the South. Also nearby were the castles of Croft and Richards Castle. This chain assured the garrison a speedy communication with the great fortresses of Ludlow and Shrewsbury in neighbouring Shropshire

The remains of the castle form a motte and bailey in outline, quite modest in size, considering the area that it commanded and the number of manors under its control. The motte lies to the NW end of a higher ringwork.

The main bailey to the SE, is a little larger than the motte, and is approached by a level enclosure.

The motte and bailey are defended by a series of banks with a ditch across the low remains of the spur. The motte is large and oval shaped with a top 50m along the ridge and 20m across. The motte stands 20m above the lower part of the bailey. There is no ditch between the motte and bailey. The inner bailey measures 100m E–W and contains the foundations of a building over 50ft long, which may have been the Great Hall. At one end of the bailey is a multi angular tower, which may have acted as a chamber block. From this tower the curtain wall climbs c75ft to the dungeon, a strong walled oval shell 36.5m x 18m with walls 2ft thick.

Walking towards the keep from the NE section of the curtain wall you come across the angled vertical stones of an arch, once the top of a doorway. This leads to a small semi-circular tower which would have provided flanking fire for a blind spot on the corner and dominated the approach to the castle up a ramp.

In the remains of the shell keep a window embrasure or stair access can be seen, and below this the curve of a spiral stair. This suggests that the entrance to the keep was via a spiral staircase from a possible barbican at the rear of the Hall or from the courtyard.

Midway in the SE curtain wall is a gatehouse defended by double ditches. This gatehouse still stands 2 stories high but it is submerged in its own rubble up to a height of 1.8m. It is possible to make out a gateway flanked by buttresses with sloping offsets. The walls of the external gate passage are largely buried. Access to the guardrooms was in the right tower by a newel staircase.

The curtain wall adjoining the gatehouse to the South stands some 3m above the raised internal ground level and about 6m above the ground outside.

Of the castle towers, the Eastern one is the only rounded one and is thought to be from the 13^th century.

In the outer bailey are two rectangular towers:

The South tower contained a series of chambers arranged on 3 floors over a vaulted cellar. It had 2 heated rooms at ground level and one larger heated room on the first floor.

The SW tower, hidden by debris, was of the same type but contains a single deep and narrow chamber on 2 floors over a cellar like basement. From here the curtain wall rises up the motte to the keep. At the foot of the motte is the top of a doorway in the curtain wall. This was probably the postern gate.

The defensive counterscarp bank between the two ditches encircling the bailey is interesting. The feature is strongest to the NE of the castle and entry was via an area of wide flat ground with 3 almost semi-circular projections into the outer ditch. It would seem very likely that these projections were open backed towers.

In the bailey there are traces of buried foundations.

Reconstruction of how Wigmore Castle may have looked:

© Bryan Byron.

1075: The castle and estate are granted to Ralph de Mortimer after William fitz Osbern’s son, Roger de Breteuil, rebels against William I and his lands are forfeited. Wigmore castle became Ralph’s seat in England and his lands eventually formed the Honour of Wigmore.

1086: Wigmore is listed in the Domesday Book as being held by Ralph de Mortimer. The castle is listed as having been built on wasteland called ‘Merestun’ by Earl William.

1115: Ralph was succeeded by his son Hugh, who was initially a staunch supporter of Henry I. In this year Hugh rebelled against the king in favour of his son-in-law Stephen de Blois. The Mortimer’s were dispossessed of their lands.

1135: On the accession of Stephen to the throne the Mortimer’s were reinstated with their estates.

1155: Henry II sent out a royal army to deal with the Mortimer problem together with others on the Welsh border. He laid waste to several castles, Wigmore being spared because of its important position on the Welsh border. An agreement was reached between the King and the Mortimers. Although the King never fully trusted Hugh afterwards.

1181: Hugh de Mortimer died. Before his death he began the rebuilding of some parts of the castle in stone. Part of the gatehouse and the lower walling of the shell keep date to his lifetime.

c1191: Hugh’s son, Roger de Mortimer was forced into exile for a short while and his lands were left in the hands of Richard I’s chancellor. He regained his lands before he died in 1215 and his lands then passed to his two sons, Hugh and Ralph, in turn. It was these two men who were responsible for completing the rebuilding of Wigmore in stone.

1215: Roger died in this year and was succeeded by his son Hugh.

1223: Hugh was granted 20 marks (£12.66) by the King towards the strengthening the castle when Llywelyn ab Iorworth was threatening the border. 1227: Hugh died and was succeeded by his brother Roger. Roger was a loyal supporter of the King in the Baronial and Welsh wars. It was to this Roger that Prince Edward came to after he escaped from imprisonment at Hereford Castle under Simon de Montfort. Roger also took part in the Battle of Evesham. It was in thanks for his service to the King in this battle that he received the Earldom of Oxford and various lands. Roger de Mortimer is credited with reinforcing the castle in stone.

1272: Upon his accession to the throne Edward granted additional powers to the Wigmore Lordship, including the power of life and death.

1282: Roger was succeeded by Edmund who later died in 1304. Edmund was followed by another Roger who was just 17 years old. In 1301 Roger had married Joan de Grenville, who was heiress of the Laceys. This brought extensive estates in Ireland and Shropshire into the Mortimer family.

1316: Roger de Mortimer was forced to return to Wigmore to secure the March and his Welsh possessions against Llewellyn Bren. Roger was also appointed Lieutnenant of Ireland in this year. In 1318 – 1321 Roger was also made the royal justiciar.

1321: Roger becomes very influential over Edward II’s wife Isabella and in this year led an armed rebellion against the King. In the summer of this year he joined all the other Marcher Lords in the ravaging of the lands of Hugh Despencer, a favourite of King Edward II. This infighting soon turned into open war and resulted in a defeat of the rebels at the Battle of Boroughbridge. Roger de Mortimer submitted to the king rather than run the risk of facing him in battle. He spent 2 years as a prisoner at the Tower of London

1322: Following Roger’s rebellion a record was made of all the weapons at Wigmore Castle, they included: 3 Springholds, Crossbows of horn and wood, helmets for jousting and real war, suits of armour and chain mail as well as six tents and pavilions. Also detailed were a large chessboard and a table for playing draughts.

1327: Edward II was deposed and murdered by Roger and Isabella at Berkley Castle. Roger and Isabella ruled through the young Edward III. Within a year Roger had been made Earl of March and openly continued his relationship with the Queen.

1330: Once Edward III had come of age he arranged for Roger to be arrested at Nottingham and in the same year Roger was hanged at Tyburn. Wigmore Castle was granted to the Earl of Salisbury. Edward III was lenient in his treatment of his mother Isabella and had her pensioned off to live in comfortable retirement. Nor did Edward lay blame at Roger's sons for the sins of their father. Edmund died soon after the hanging of his father, leaving his brother Roger - a young boy - as heir, to whom Edward III later reinstated the earldom of the March when he came of age.

Roger distinguished himself as a loyal follower of the king and performed service to the Crown in the French Wars.

1351: Roger de Mortimer V died and his son Edmund became the 3^rd Earl of the March. His mother was the daughter of the Duke of Clarence the 2^nd son of King Edward III. He later became the Earl of Ulster and was Richard II’s Lieutenant in Ireland.

1354: Roger de Mortimer V married an heiress of the Earl of Salisbury and regained the Mortimer estates. Years later his grandson Roger took over the Wigmore estate and became the 2nd Earl of the March, a Knight of the Garter and Warden of the Cinque Ports.

After Roger de Mortimer V came another Edmund de Mortimer and then another Roger.

1380: Edmund died leaving the Mortimer fortune to his son Roger. This Roger de Mortimer VI, the 4^th Earl of March and the 2^nd Earl of Ulster was born at Usk on the 11^th of April 1374. Roger was important in English history right up until his death in 1398. King Richard II, having no heir of his own was encouraged to choose his successor and by general agreement he chose Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March.

When Roger came of age he found the castles and mansions of the Mortimer estate in good condition. He lived a life of luxury and plenty.

1398: Unfortunately Roger never sat upon the throne as he died in Ireland at the age of 24 before Richard II was deposed by Henry of Bolingbroke, who later dubiously proclaimed himself  King Henry IV. Roger's son Edmund was only 8 at the time of his death, and King Henry IV arranged for him to be taken to Windsor to live in the care of loyal adherents to himself.

Roger de Mortimer VI's brother Edmund lived, who now held the Mortimer lands, appeared to show no signs of challenging Henry IV for the throne. He probably would have remained that way if he had not been captured by Owain Glyn Dwr (self proclaimed Prince of Wales) after attempting to fight off a raid by the Welsh in the Lugg valley. Henry IV refused to pay the ransom for Edmund which angered Edmund's uncle Henry Percy of Northumberland, also known as Harry Hotspur. Henry IV refused to allow Edmund's relatives to pay his ransom and this resulted in the Mortimer family rising up in rebellion.

Three main players took part in this rebellion: Owain Glyn Dwr, who wished to regain Wales; Edmund Mortimer who had married Glyn Dwr's daughter; and the Percys of Northumberland. The rebellion was put down at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 when Henry IV forced the Percys of Northumberland into battle before Owain Glyn Dwr or Edmund de Mortimer could arrive to assist him.

Edmund later took part in the French Wars and on the death of Henry V was sent as Lieutenant to Ireland.

1424: Edmund died at Trim in Ireland, apparently of a broken heart. He left no heir and so the estates fell to his nephew Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.

1455: Richard Plantagenet, son of the Duke of York and Anne Mortimer, was involved in a struggle for the throne during the Wars of the Roses and he returned to Wigmore Castle to gather some 4,000 men to march on London. It was also to Wigmore that he returned when defeated by the Earl of Somerset. Richard was slain at Wakefield and his cause taken up by his son Edward.

1460: Edward defeated Owen Tudor and the Earl of Wiltshire at the Battle of Mortimers Cross on a battlefield not 2 miles from the castle.

1461: Edward took the throne as Edward IV and Wigmore Castle became a Royal demesne. Wigmore Castle continued as a Royal estate until Queen Elizabeth I granted it to Captain Gelly Meyrick and Henry Lindley Esq. Captain Meyrick was executed at Tyburn for his part in Essex’s rebellion.

1601: The castle is sold by Elizabeth I to Thomas Harley of nearby Brampton Bryan. It was this change of ownership that sealed the fate of Wigmore Castle. Sir Thomas Harley's son Robert was a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause in a county that was predominantly Royalist. In 1643 Robert Harley's wife Lady Brilliana ordered Parliamentarian troops to dismantle the walls of the castle to prevent it from being used by opposition forces.

The ruins of Wigmore castle as drawn by the Buck brothers in 1731

Excavation and finds.

Excavation trench in the Inner Bailey.

In 1996 Marches Archaeology excavated a trench within the inner bailey at Wigmore Castle, on behalf of English Heritage. The excavation was to the Southwest part of the inner bailey against the inner face of the curtain wall. It consisted of a single trench 10m x 3m.

The object of the excavation was to provide English Heritage with more information about the form and dimensions of the walls, which had partially collapsed.

The earliest evidence of human activity on the site is a pit, so far undated but thought to be prehistoric.

At some time during the Norman period a timber building was erected on the site. Its large hearth shows signs of substantial reuse and alteration, most probably over a long period.

In the 13^th century the timber building was removed and a stone curtain wall erected to enclose the bailey. At the North end of the curtain wall was a building with fine internal plaster. In the space between this building and the bailey was an open area at one stage used for leadworking. There were 2 pits filled with lead and many trimmings from finishing of new lead.

In the 14^th century this building was removed and the entire trench covered with stone working debris, perhaps from the rebuilding or re-facing of the curtain wall. Within the curtain wall was a recess, most probably a fireplace, which shows that the curtain wall was not just a defensive structure but also part of the living space.

There was little evidence of the 15^th and 16^th centuries, suggesting that the castle had begun to fall out of use. Amongst the debris of this period were numerous sherds of medieval window glass, perhaps indicating that this area was a dumping ground.

The latest deposits in the trench were from the decay of the curtain wall in the 17^th century, confirming the gradual disuse of the castle.