A Visit to Goodrich Castle

Approaching Goodrich Castle from the south, the first things that are noticeable are the strength and solidity of the towers at each corner and the depth of the dry moat. This is no fairytale castle – it is built to impress not the romantic but rather the potential attacker. Indeed on the day I visited medieval warfare was right to the fore as there was a re-enactment group of knights in armour staging fights for visitors (see my companion article here).

Goodrich Castle is said to have begun with a timber and earth fortress soon after the Norman invasion, but the earliest surviving remains are of the stone Norman keep that replaced it some time in the mid 12th century. The round-topped windows with columns and decorations make it quite distinct from the rest of the castle, as does the greyer-coloured masonry (the rest of the castle is in pink-red sandstone).

Photo: Norman keep at Goodrich Castle (photo by author)

The exact date the tower was built is open to question. It might have been during the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, when the castle was seized by one of the powerful de Clare family, or it may have been soon afterwards (Richard “Strongbow” de Clare is one candidate for the building work), or during the later part of the century after the castle was seized by the crown when Richard Strongbow fell out of favour.

Goodrich was passed by marriage in 1203 to the great warrior knight William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, who started building an outer wall (though not the one we now see). These defences were necessary because the castle was regularly under attack by the Welsh: in 1216 William Marshal even had to leave King Henry’s coronation feast early to rush back and see off Welsh forces.

In 1247 the castle passed to William de Valance, a nobleman from France and a half-brother to King Henry III. It was William de Valance who built the impressive outer wall with corner towers that we still see today (demolishing William Marshal’s outer wall in the process).

Photo: outer walls and towers as seen from bridge at main entrance (photo by author)