Wilton Castle is a 12th-century

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

castle located in south-eastern

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on the River Wye adjacent to the town of

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...

. The castle is named after the manor associated with it. This castle in Herefordshire, still standing mostly to

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

height, remains a monument to its former lords. The Longchamps of Wilton in their time provided Bailiffs of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, Chancellors of

, sheriffs of Hereford and the Welsh Marches and enemies of King John. They were succeeded by the families of De Cantilupe (see

Thomas de Cantilupe Thomas de Cantilupe (25 August 1282; also spelled ''Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe'', Latinised to ''de Cantilupo'') was Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford. He was canonised in 1320 by Pope John XXII. Origins Thomas was the third ...

and links) and De Grey who between them built up a powerbase in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and the Marches. Matilda de Grey, née de Cantilupe, stood up in court in 1292 and lied through her teeth to King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

that the castle had been built by her Longchamp ancestors in the days of Edward the Confessor (1042–66). In fact, the castle could not have been built before 1154 and certainly the 'barony' never held the

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...

rights Lady Matilda claimed for it. The castle was primarily associated with a branch of the Norman-descended family of Grey, the Barons Grey of Wilton, a prominent dynasty of Norman

Marcher Lords A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...

in the Welsh Marches, who held it from 1308 or before. The castle passed from the family when William Grey was captured by the French at the end of the defence of

Guînes Guînes (; vls, Giezene, lang; pcd, Guinne) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, comple ...

in 1557, and was forced to sell the castle to raise funds for his ransom. The castle was finally destroyed in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

by troops led by local

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

Barnabas Scudamore, a period that saw skirmishes and sieges locally at

Goodrich Castle Goodrich Castle is a Norman medieval castle ruin north of the village of Goodrich in Herefordshire, England, controlling a key location between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. It was praised by William Wordsworth as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshi ...

, Ruardyn Castle and

Raglan Castle Raglan Castle ( cy, Castell Rhaglan) is a late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th centuries, when the succ ...

References

* Remfry, P.M., ''Wilton Castle, 1066 to 1646'' () * ''A History of the Manor of Wilton and the Parish of Bridstow, Herefordshire'', by R.A. Hart, published by the Ross-on-Wye and District Civic Society (1994)

External links

Wilton Castle Website

Ross-on-Wye - Wilton Castle

Castles in Herefordshire Ruins in Herefordshire Grade I listed buildings in Herefordshire Gardens in Herefordshire Ross-on-Wye Historic house museums in Herefordshire Grey family residences {{Herefordshire-geo-stub