Goodrich Castle - notes for teachers and pupils

Goodrich Castle is managed by English Heritage
Open: April - October, 10am - 6pm (5pm in Oct), in winter: Wed - Sun 10am - 4pm
[School classes can visit free of charge by prior arrangement with English Heritage.]

Picture Gallery

Literacy ideas linked to a visit of Goodrich Castle

History of the castle:

Goodrich does not appear in the Domesday Survey, but it was mentioned in a 12th century document as Godric’s Castle. This Godric is thought to be Godric of Mappestone.

Until the 12th Century most castles were timber motte and bailey fortifications. With royal permission, many of these were rebuilt with stone keeps and walls. The Norman keep at Goodrich is the earliest surviving piece of the castle. The small size of the rooms indicates that only a small garrison would have been stationed here. Later on stone gate houses, towers and curtain walls were often added. In the second half of the 13th C, the walls and tower were razed to the ground and completely rebuilt to a single plan: a rectangular courtyard and round towers in three corners, a gatehouse and chapel tower in the fourth.

Goodrich Castle during the Middle Ages:

The story of Goodrich Castle in the Middle Ages is intrinsically linked to the continuous struggles with Wales. In fact King John granted Goodrich to William Marshall, a prominent Marcher Lord and one of the most influential nobles in England (and very successful in tournaments, jousting etc.!) When the Marshall line died out, Goodrich reverted to the crown. Henry III’s half-brother, William de Valence and his son Aymer were responsible for the extensive rebuilding works:

Under the Tudors:

The Talbots held Goodrich during this period (John Talbot becoming Earl of Shrewsbury in 1442.) With the pacification of Wales, Goodrich lost in significance and toward the end of this period ceased to be the family’s main residence, although they would still visit occasionally.

Goodrich Castle during the Civil War:

During the early part of the war, Goodrich was held by Kyrle for the Parliamentarians, later on it was taken by Harry Lingen for the Royalists.

9 March 1646: John Birch, trader, soldier, governor of Bridgewater, then Bath and commander of parliamentarian troops, in a surprise attack, burnt stables at Goodrich and took 80 horses. (Colonel Birch was one of the signatories of Charles' death warrant).

Early June 1646: Colonel Birch laid siege. The offensive started with the use of cannon and attempts at mining underneath the walls. Countermining took place.

"Roaring Meg" (13 ¼ inch shot), then the largest mortar piece in England and specially commissioned for this siege, caused considerable destruction. The water cisterns were damaged whilst the water supply from outside the wall was cut off.

Part of the north-west tower (the Ladies Tower) collapsed, blocking a counter-mine and leaving an irreparable breach. Lingen and his garrison of 170 surrendered, after a valiant struggle, on 31st July 1646. Among the garrison were gentlemen from some of the most distinguished families in the county: The Bodenhams, Vaughans, Berringtons and Wigmores. The defenders were only granted their lives. It was the last of the royal strongholds in Herefordshire to fall.

After the Civil War, the castle was dismantled and never repaired.

[Sources: Herefordshire Under Arms, Charles Hopkinson, 1985. The Civil War in Hereford, Ron Shoesmith, 1995. Goodrich Castle: A Handbook for Teachers, English Heritage, Ailyse Hancock.]

For more information on the destruction of Goodrich Castle during the Civil War, click here

Tour

When walking around a castle, it is interesting not only to note the architectural features, such as the dungeon, but also to look at the stone that it was built of. We call the study of rocks, geology. Archaeologists need to study the soil and rock types involved in excavations.

[A good source for geological information relating to Goodrich Castle is a leaflet produced by the RIGS Group available from tourist information offices.]

The castle is built on a rock outcrop high above the River Wye. This defensive position utilises the river bluff which was formed at the end of the Ice Age, when the river carried the melt water from glaciers. The erosive power of this water cut the cliff.

Most of the castle is made of red sandstone (Devonian Old Red Sandstone, 395 million years old). Much of Herefordshire is covered with this red sandstone, which gives the soil a reddish colour. You can see it in many fields when the soil has been ploughed ready for planting.

The Barbican, which is well preserved, would have forced the attacker to capture and pass over tow bridges set at right angles to each other. There would have been a stone wall around it and lean-to timber buildings inside.

From the barbican you can get a good view of the buttresses of the South East Tower, called spurs.

In the Gate House (circa 1300), there are three different kinds of red sand stone. The colour variations are due to the presence of different compounds of iron in the stone. Notice the pebbles in the mortar.

Look out for the "meutriers" or murder holes, the porter's lodge and the garderobe.

In the Courtyard there is a well. This is possible because sand stone is porous and permeable. This means that water can drain out of the pores of the rock into the well. How far down you have to go to find water depends on the water table. In the Middle Ages, the water table was higher than it is today.

Note the arch pedestals near the chapel entrance. There would have been timber buildings in the court yard during the Middle Ages and a covered walk-way called a Pentise.

Goodrich Castle has a good example of a Garderobe, which is the name given to the toilet in medieval castles. These were little rooms built into the outer walls of castles with holes in the floor which led down a chute and emptied into the dry moat. Gong fermors (farmers) were employed to clean out the chutes regularly. If they were blocked, small boys had to climb up the chutes with a stick to unblock them.

In the Chapel, mentioned in a charter in 1146, there is ornate stone work in different colours. The building stones are held together by mortar which contains small rounded stones of different colours. These are river bed gravels mixed with lime to give the mortar strength. This mortar is so strong in fact, that in some places it has worn away less than the red sandstone building blocks.

Note the piscina made of a buff coloured sandstone (for washing holy vessels), sedile (seat for priest) and aumbry (storage cupboard for holy vessels and books). The window over the altar is a 15th century insertion.

The Undercroft was used for storage.

Above the chapel were the Constable's Quarters which features the mechanism for operating the portcullis. The priest would also have lodged here during his stays.

Note the cruciform arrowloops on the wall walk. These are more useful for cross bows than the plain arrow slits.

The South East Tower: A round tower is more difficult to destroy than a square one. At the ground level you can see the bedrock and in the walls above, the square holes for the floor beams. There are also niches in the wall - lavabos, a kind of sink.

The Keep: this is the earliest remaining part of the castle, thought to date from the 12th century. The stone used is quartz conglomerate, perhaps imported from France, although more likely from a quarry closer to home (spot the quartz pebbles). This stone is much harder than Old Red Sandstone. It is a different colour from stone used in other parts of the castle. Note that the earlier door is now a window. The tympanum above the doorway and the chevron carvings on the jambs of the north window have been associated with the Herefordshire School of Sculpture (as in Kilpeck Church).

In the Middle Ages, there were different types of stone masons. The hewers cut the stone, the dressers shaped it, and the setters laid it. Limestone was burned to make quicklime and mixed with sand or clay and water to make mortar.

The Dungeon at Goodrich Castle (from the Norman word "Donjon") has been called Mac Beth's Tower according to the legend of a captured Irish chieftain and would have housed vagrants, poachers and perhaps the captured French knights, whose ransom money helped to re-build the castle during the 100 years war.

The Kitchen has a circular oven, a drain hole for sluice and a fire place with two small ovens.

The Great Hall,which was an important status symbol, was 60 foot long and had fine windows with metal bars. A 66 foot oak beam supported the ceiling. One door leads into the buttery, a storage and serving area for food, and the South West Tower provided sleeping accommodation on three levels. From the Great Hall you can see the stable block where there was room for 100 horses. (The horses would have had to be taken there via the barbican and down some steps at the other side of the castle).

The North West Tower which was octagonal (8-sided) was destroyed in the Civil War.

Some of the best rooms, as for example the Solar (the private living room of the lord and lady), had Plaster of Paris on the walls. You can still see small fragments of plaster in the ante-room leading to the North Hall/Solar. This was sometimes decorated with pictures. But this plaster was expensive as it had to be brought from France. Other luxuries available only in some rooms were glass windows.

A small postern door leads to the outer ward from below the solar. Notice the opening for a portcullis.

Outer Ward:The defensive situation utilises the river bluff which was formed at the end of the Ice Age, when the river carried the melt water from glaciers. The erosive power of this water cut the cliff. Along the outer ward you can see white sand stone. Quartz grains have been cemented with dissolved calcium carbonate, leaving the rocks soft and crumbly.

How was the Castle garrisoned?

Who helped to defend the castle when it came under attack?

In times of peace the lord only needed a few knights and men-at-arms to guard the castle. But if he was expecting an attack, the lord would hire knights who could fight with swords, lances, axes and maces, and mounted men-at-arms, who, like knights could fight on horseback, but who were lower in rank and only were paid about half of what a knight was paid. If the lord was not in residence, which was often the case, as great lords had several castles, a constable would be in charge.

The lord’s tenants, the people who farmed his land, had to do guard duty every year for a specified time as part of their rent. They could pay the lord to hire someone else to do this duty for them, so the lord often hired professional soldiers, called mercenaries.

Bowmen who used either longbows or crossbows were important for picking-off attackers from a distance. Arrow slits at Goodrich Castle, that is the openings in the wall through which archers could shoot their arrows, were either single slits or cross slits. The cross slits were designed for crossbows.

Foot soldiers fought with swords and bucklers (small fist shields) or with spears and axes. Armour was expensive, so unless you were a knight you might only have some chain mail and a quilted canvas tunic. Your helmet might be of metal or leather.

Heraldry

In the Middle Ages soldiers did not have uniforms, in fact each man had to provide his own armour and clothes.

In the early 12th century knights started wearing armour which completely covered them. When a knight wore his full armour, he was difficult to recognise. How did you know who was the enemy?

Knights decorated their shields with a symbol which people could recognise, called a coat of arms. Often they wore a tunic displaying their coat of arms over their armour. A son could use his father’s coat of arms and eventually each noble family wanted to have its own coat of arms. The soldiers who fought under the command of a knight would wear a badge or display some bit of colour to show whose side they were on.

So that knights did not duplicate someone else’s coat of arms, the king’s heralds started keeping records of all the coats of arms, hence the name, heraldry.