Have you ever wondered why castles were built exactly where they are?
I don’t mean why they were built at all, just how and who decided where the first spade went in. I wonder about the pre-Conquest landscape – largely without castles as we know them – and the nature of the Norman invaders, riding about the countryside (presumably often hostile countryside), determining the precise spot on which these alien buildings would be erected.
In the absence of a helpful set of Ordinance Survey maps, how did they make those decisions? Did they have a hoard of surveyors, architects and castle-designers offering their services to the victors of Hastings? Was there a handbook on castle building they could refer to, how did the man on the horse know what he wanted his castle to look like?
(You can tell I haven’t been sleeping well can’t you…)
I just have this image in my mind of all these Norman knights riding around, pointing at hills and saying ‘Alors! Contruisez-moi un chateau la-bas! Vite! And a retinue of workmen with clipboards and abacuses (what is the plural for abacus?) following them around, tugging their forelocks.
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Goodrich in Herefordshire, between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye, is one of those truly defensive castles which appears to have grown organically out of the rock it sits on, and even today I think you’d nominate any architect who could come up with it’s design for an award. When you walk around it’s difficult to decide in some places where the building actually begins. How did they do that in the days before computers and 3D modelling?
In fact very little is known about the origins of the first castle at Goodrich.
It was probably first a wooden affair, rebuilt in stone about 1120. At the beginning of the thirteenth century it was given by King John to one of my historic heroes William Marshal (he of Pembroke Castle fame), and he had further work carried out, which in turn was rebuilt around 1280 as relations with the Welsh made the area increasingly dangerous and required stronger defences to be added.
Much of what you see now dates from that time and you can see similarities with the castles Edward I was having built in Wales around then.
Over time Goodrich was altered to make it a more comfortable residence, without compromising its defensive capabilities and if you were a high status visitor in the fourteenth century, you’d probably have been very comfortable staying there.
But as with so many other castles, it was besieged during the English Civil War and was heavily bombarded – you can still see the mortar ‘Roaring Meg’ which did so much of the damage. Later the castle was slighted to prevent it being used again.
After that, it was only a matter of time before it crumbled into ruins. Although in the eighteenth century it became popular with the romantic poets and painters who fell for its decaying charms.
If you haven’t been to Goodrich, don’t miss an opportunity to go. It’s got everything a textbook castle should have and is an ideal place to explain castle basics. It’s definitely what I call ‘a proper castle’.
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More Information
If you want to know more about the building and history of Goodrich, this is the link to the Wiki page.
If you’re visiting check here at the English Heritage website for opening times and prices. By the way, the cafe at Goodrich is particularly good and the last time we were there they served the best cheese scones I’ve ever tasted.
Oh and if you were a fan of the TV series a few years ago ‘Merlin’ – you might recognise parts of the castle, an episode was filmed there back in 2009.
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Dreaming In Stitches 
It’s fantastic, a real in-your-face-don’t-mess-with-me stronghold. I completely understand your thoughts on the decision making process. I would love to have been riding pillion with one of those early Normans as they forced their way through unknown, hostile lands. And once they’d decided where to build did they regret it later when they went around the next hill? A bit like when you finally choose a pavement café only to find a more attractive one with better cakes 100 yards further on…
That’s right, how did they know for sure where to put them. Oh for a time-machine eh?
You got me wondering how castles were built so I asked my architect husband – basically very early simple buildings were built without drawings such as a tower but then for more complicated structures it was the skill of a master mason who was commissioned to draw and then oversee the first castles and they became the fore runners to architects. The castle developed from the different aspects required at the time depending on how much fortification was required.
I haven’t been to Goodrich – a local castle to us is Skipton – one of the most well preserved ones with a huge Yew tree in the central courtyard – well worth a visit.
There’s a group of wonderful, crazy people building a castle in Burgundy. It’s a 10 year project and everything – planning, design, stonemasonry, carpentry, rudimentary plumbing, support services such as weaving etc – is being done in authentic style. Find them here: http://www.guedelon.fr/en/introduction_75.html
I lived in Yorkshire for a few years way back and visited Skipton Castle, it’s a beauty isn’t it. Do I remember rightly, wasn’t it defended during the Civil War by a lady? Was it Anne Clifford? So, master masons – did they come over with the Normans? I think we should scrutinise the Bayeux Tapestry for likely candidates, although come to think of it, there is a castle on it isn’t there, so very likely they did.
Probably “la-haut” rather than “la-bas”, but apart from that you’ve probably got the picture pretty close. Somewhere high, with building materials and water nearby.
I’ve not been to Goodrich. It certainly looks worth a visit!
Haha, yes. 🙂 It’s a really good one, definitely deserves to be better known.