exposed a frontier, was the secret of the Marcher independence. It was
a dangerous power, often selfishly exercised, inasmuch as the lords
combined frequently with the public enemy to gain their private ends
against the sovereign. At all times, also, it stood in the way of an
equal administration of justice, and much retarded the consolidation of
the empire.
Happily for the greatness of England, Edward I. not only saw this,
but on coming to the crown made that consolidation his earliest care.
He saw that so long as Wales remained an insurrectionary power, so
long would the Marchers be independent, and not to be relied upon as
subjects; and with that bold sagacity which marked his character, he
proceeded, not merely to put down insurrection as it rose, but to cut
off its root. This he attained in 1276–1282, by the destruction of
Llewelyn and the erection of the castles of Flint, Denbigh, Ruthin,
Conway, Beaumaris, Caernarvon, and Harlech, and the restoration or
recovery of those of Hawarden, Rhuddlan, Eulo, Chirk, Bere, Dinas Brân,
the tower of Dolbadarn, and some others.
Next, as occasion served, he reduced the Marcher prerogatives, of which
a very memorable instance occurred about 1292, when he took advantage
of a petty war between De Clare and De Bohun, on the borders of
Morganwg, to confiscate the estates of both, which he then regranted,
withholding their most objectionable privileges. At the same time, by
engaging in the Scottish wars, he both drew from Wales her best men and
employed them in the service of England and opened to the Marchers a
safe field for their military prowess.
Ralph, the first English Mortimer, died seized of above one hundred and
thirty manors, of which sixty-nine lay in Hereford and Salop. Hugh, his
son, held also the castles of Cleobury and Bridgenorth, and was active
in opposition to Henry II., who laid siege at once to his three castles
and so brought him to terms. He died in penitence as a canon of Wigmore
abbey in 1185, having confirmed and much augmented his father’s grants
thereto. He was buried before the high altar. Lord Hugh is reputed
to have built the castles of Caermarthen, Mapudrith, and Cymaron,
whichever those latter may be, in South Wales, and therefore may well
have been the author of the Norman work still to be traced around the
outer ward of Wigmore.
Roger, his son, seems to have found full employment in keeping down the
Welsh. He died 1215, and was succeeded by his son Hugh.
Hugh, the fourth lord, adhered to King John. In his time Llewelyn
attended a conference at Wigmore. He held for the king the castles of
Stratton-dale and Holgot in Salop. He died from wounds received in a
tournament, 1227; and was succeeded by his brother.
Ralph, fifth lord, flourished in the first half of the reign of Henry
III., very turbulent on the Marches. He built, in Melenydd, the castles
of Keventles and Knoclas, and to them added a social strength, marrying
dark Gwladys, Llewelyn’s daughter, widow of Reginald de Braose. He died
1246.
Roger, his son, sixth lord, took a lead in Welsh affairs, but with no
great success. Llewelyn took four of his castles, Melenydd, Keventles,
Radnor, and another. He adhered to Henry, fought at Northampton, and
had to flee from Lewes. He aided in the flight of Prince Edward from
Hereford, brought him to Wigmore, had a command at Evesham, and for
his services received the forfeited estates of the earldom of Oxford,
opposing on that account the wise restoration proposed by the Dictum
de Kenilworth. It was he who at that celebrated castle held the famous
tournament, in honour of which the great gatehouse, it is thought,
gained its name of Mortimer Tower. It has been supposed that he rebuilt
the castle of Wigmore, but most of the work now seen seems of a rather
later date. He died in 1282–3, and, said his epitaph at Wigmore—
Hunc dum viverat, vi Wallia tota timebat.
Edmund, seventh lord, eldest surviving son, succeeded, and commenced
his career by attacking the Welsh at Builth, and receiving and
transmitting Llewelyn’s head to the king. As some suspicion attached
to his loyalty owing to his Welsh blood, he was particularly active in
quelling the disturbances that followed on the death of the prince, and
it was in putting down one of them in 1303–4, also at Builth, that he
received a wound of which he soon after died at Wigmore.
Roger, eighth lord, styled Lord Mortimer of Wigmore, created Earl of
March in 1328; served both in Ireland and Scotland. He was governor of
Builth Castle, took Cardiff from Hugh le Despenser, and had a grant of
Clun. He joined the party of Thomas of Lancaster against Edward II.,
had a narrow escape for his life while in prison, and in gratitude
built St. Peter’s Chapel in the outer ward of Ludlow Castle. In 1322,
after the battle of Boroughbridge, he fled to France, and the king
seized on Wigmore, causing an inventory to be drawn up of its contents
by John de Cherleton, the keeper. There were springholds, the artillery
of the age, cross-bows, English and Oriental armour and weapons, a
chess-board and a board for talles and draughts, five peacocks in the
courtyard, and grain and cattle in quantity. On the earl’s return,
followed his intimacy with the “she-wolf of France,” his acquisition
of a prodigious number of manors in England, Wales, and Ireland; his
seizure at Nottingham Castle, his attainder, and his execution by
hanging in 1330. It seems probable that this lord rebuilt the castle,
superseding the Norman work by that, in the Decorated style, which
still remains.
Edmund, his son, did not recover the earldom. He died young, a few
months after his father, in 1331, leaving a son, a minor.
Roger, tenth lord, who succeeded, had livery of Wigmore Castle before
he came of age. He obtained the reversal of the attainder and the
restoration of the earldom of March in 1352. He served Edward III. in
France, recovered much of the Welsh property, including Ludlow and
other estates coming by his grandmother, the heiress of Genville;
and finally died 1360, being then commander of the English forces in
Burgundy.
Edmund, eleventh lord and third Earl of March, his son, succeeded. His
abilities were early turned to account by Edward, who employed him
while under age in negotiating a peace with France, and afterwards as
Lieutenant of Ireland. He married Philippa, heiress of Lionel, Duke of
Clarence, and thus maintained the ancient honours and influence of his
name. He died at Cork 1381.
Roger, his eldest son, became fourth Earl of March. He was by Richard
II. made Lieutenant of Ireland, and by descent from the Duke of
Clarence declared heir of the Crown. His service was entirely in
Ireland, where he was slain. He was followed by Edmund, his son.
Edmund, fifth and last Earl of March, was regarded with excessive
jealousy by Henry IV., as heir to the throne, and was kept, during his
reign, under surveillance. Henry V., however, employed him in Normandy,
and in the next reign he, like his immediate forefathers, became
Lieutenant of Ireland. He died 1425, aged twenty-four years, and with
him ended the male line of Mortimer of Wigmore.
Among the castles returned as held by him, at his death, in the
Marches, were Blaenlevenny, Builth, Clifford, Dinas by Talgarth,
Dolveren, Denbigh, Knoclas, Kevenles, Ludlow, Montgomery, Norton,
Nerberth, Raidrey, Radnor, Usk, and Wigmore.
Richard, Duke of York, as his sister’s son, was heir of the vast
estates of the Mortimers, and transmitted them to his son, Edward
IV., when all became merged in the Crown. It was from the Honour of
Wigmore that Edward raised most of the power that enabled him to defeat
Owen Tudor at no great distance from the castle, and still nearer to
Mortimer’s Cross. The castle remained in the Crown till granted away
by Elizabeth. In 1601 it was purchased by Thomas Harley, and in 1643
dismantled by the Parliamentary forces, since which it has been a
gradually diminishing ruin.
THE CASTLE.
The tract of high and wooded land which lies towards the Radnorshire
border, between the waters of the Teme and the Lugg, converges and
descends towards the east until it forms a long spit or spur of rock
which terminates in the knoll now occupied by the parish church of
Wigmore. This ridge—straight, steep, and well defined—is bounded on
the south by a narrow valley, down which descends a brook from the
high ground of Wigmore Rolls, to fall, just below the church, into the
Allcox brook. To the north the ridge is still more strongly protected
by the broad expanse that probably gave its termination to the name
of the place, and is still called, by reduplication, Wigmore moor
and lake, and Leinthal lake; formerly, as their names import, watery
tracts, and which are still alternately drained and flooded by the
united channels of the Clun and the Teme on their way to Ludlow.
Low on the ridge, and astride upon and occupying its whole breadth, is
what remains of the castle. Those who selected the spot were attracted
by an immense depression, clear, sharp, and steep, as if cut by art,
which here traverses the ridge, and cuts off its eastern portion from
the higher and broader ground to the west. Upon the eastern verge of
this ravine is piled up a mound of earth, in form conical and about
30 feet high, above its rocky base, though 100 feet or more above the
bottom of the ravine. The mound is about 30 feet diameter at its flat
top. It is probable that when this was formed the natural ravine was
slightly deepened, and on the near side rendered steeper by art.
Close east of the mound, and above 40 feet below its top, is a roughly
oval area, about 100 feet east and west by 50 feet north and south,
encircled by a bank of earth, outside of which was a ditch, which
included also the mound, and was probably the work thrown up by King
Edward, and so gallantly held against the Danes. It is very strong,
the ground falling away steeply on every side, and especially to the
north and west. Upon the mound stood the Norman shell keep; the oval
contained within a wall, most of which remains, was the inner ward. The
mound and its appended oval stood within, and partly on the edge of a
far larger area, which included the slopes, and extended nearly to the
base of the hill towards the south and south-east, and on those sides
protected the citadel. Towards the north and the west the steepness
of the ground rendered a second line of defence unnecessary, and the
mound and its oval formed there a part of the outer _enceinte_. This
second area was also covered by a ditch which descended from the south
side of the mound, and from the north-east part of the oval, and thus
formed the outer ward of the castle, in which probably were pastured
the cattle driven off by the Danes. The Normans enclosed this also
within a wall. This ward was covered by a deep and wide ditch, wholly
artificial; and this, again, at one point, by a second ditch across
the ridge, towards the south. Within the outer ward, attached to the
southern and south-eastern slope of the inner ward, was an enclosure of
moderate area, taken, of course, out of the outer ward. The earthworks
of this are slight, and it seems to be wholly of Norman origin, and
intended as a middle ward.
Thus, then, the original work was composed of a mound with a deep
ravine to its west, and placed on the edge of, and in part within, an
oval area on its east, the whole encircled by a common ditch. Then,
as the mound stood on the edge of the inner ward, so the mound and
inner ward together stood on the edge of the outer ward, which covered
them to the south and east, and included an area strong indeed, but
which required a considerable garrison to defend it. The outermost and
partial ditch, as well as the middle ward, were probably later works.
The Norman who first took possession of these formidable works
evidently laid his additions upon the English lines, either he or
his successor superseding the timber palisades by walls of masonry.
Upon the summit of the mound he built, as the foundations still show,
a circular or polygonal tower as a keep. From thence a curtain wall
sprang from its opposite sides and encircled the small eastern area,
forming the inner ward. The wall was so placed that it became a
revetment to the old bank, which thus took a place as a sort of ramp
within the area. The apex of the area, that is, the end opposite to
the mound, was capped by what appears to have been a round tower, of
which only a heap of ruin remains. North of this, the curtain, which
was the outer wall, is still seen to be of considerable strength. What
remains is about 6 feet thick and 30 feet high, and is strengthened
outside by a square mural buttress, or bastion. To the south a large
window-opening and some cross-walls indicate a domestic building. At
the south-west angle, next to the mound, is a fragment of a lofty
tower containing a well-stair. This marks the junction of one end of
the outer curtain with the wall of the inner ward, as the ruined round
tower does of its other end. Near this, in the south wall, much choked
with rubbish, is an opening with a low, pointed arch, once the gateway
between the inner and the outer ward, and which, combined with various
indications to be observed in the remaining fragments of the curtain
and its tower, shows that, whatever may have been the Norman defences
of this ward, they were removed and replaced by what is now seen in the
Decorated period.
The tower, of which a tall fragment remains on the south-western side
of the inner ward, marks the point of junction between the wall of
that ward, the keep, and the wall of the outer ward. This latter wall,
descending the steep natural slope, protects the inner ward gate from
the west, and shows what appears to have been a postern, and beyond
it a rectangular mural tower of bold projection, and marked outside
by a bold cordon above its base. This is evidently an original Norman
tower. Beyond it, being the southern wall of the ward, the Norman work
is distinctly seen. The wall was in process of being rebuilt, and its
imperfect junction with the new work is apparent. Of this later date is
a curious large rectangular building, on the wall, of bold projection,
and divided by a cross-wall into an eastern and a western chamber. It
was of two floors, and below them a basement which has been vaulted
over and fitted with exterior steps and doorways in the Perpendicular
period. The building itself is early and excellent Decorated, as shown
especially by the form and detail of a pair of two-light windows.
From this tower the curtain, of the same date, extends to the great
gatehouse which is to the south-east. This is much broken. It is
rectangular, with a portal-vault below and two chambers above; one for
the working of the outer, and one for that of the inner portcullis.
The rib of the central portal remains, with a drop-arch and a square
portcullis groove. In the inner chamber is seen part of a large
fireplace with a good Decorated hood. Only one portal-arch remains, but
from its position it is pretty clear that there were three. The archway
is much choked with rubbish. From the great gatehouse the curtain
curves sharply towards the north, enclosing the east face of the ward.
Upon it is a bold half-round tower, of which the lower part, well seen
from the ditch, and probably solid, is very perfect. It rises only to
the level of the ward. Thence the curtain turns the north-east corner
of the ward to the remains of a polygonal tower, or more probably
a square tower with the angles boldly chamfered; and from this it
ascended the slope so as to join the inner ward at its north-east
angle, where the traces have been mentioned of a large and probably
round tower; and thus is completed the circuit of the outer ward.
The middle ward is less easily traced. It seems to have been concentric
with the outer ward; like it, appended to the south-east face of the
inner ward, but of much smaller area, and much of that area occupied by
the steep hill-side.
The most considerable remains of its wall are towards the south-east,
and it probably had, on this side, a ditch of its own. The hall and
other of the domestic buildings seem to have stood here, on the level
part, judging from the very rude outline of the foundations.
Besides these defences, along the east front of the works of the outer
ward is a second ditch, carried across the ridge, here very low.
Between the two ditches is a platform of no great breadth, the rear of
which forms the counterscarp of the outer ward ditch, while the front
is scarped into three solid half-round bastions of earth, the outline
of which is followed by the counterscarp of the outer ditch. The figure
of this earthwork and the freshness of the cutting show that the whole
is a late addition, probably by the latter Mortimers, to cover the foot
of the outer wall, and, no doubt, strongly palisaded. Again, in advance
about a hundred yards on this front, and lower down the hill, a deep
ditch has been cut across the ridge, and its contents thrown inwards as
a high and steep bank. Again, in advance of this line of defence, the
hill, for 60 yards or 70 yards, is scarred with other earthworks of an
uncertain and subordinate character and purpose, but evidently old.
A good deal of masonry remains standing in various parts of the castle
area, and, no doubt, the main foundations of the whole fortress could,
with a little labour, be exposed. Although most of this masonry is of
Decorated date, there is evidence that a good deal of it is built upon
the Norman outlines; and probably, if search were made, a good deal of
buried Norman work would be exposed; and it would be shown, as indeed
it now is, to some extent, that the Norman castle covered pretty much
the area of the present works.
With the exception of the Norman tower and wall above mentioned,
the masonry above ground seems of Decorated date and of excellent
character. Enough remains to show, that with the slight exceptions
already mentioned, the whole castle was rebuilt in the Decorated period
in the earlier part of the fourteenth century. The work is of a very
substantial character, and the appearance of the castle when complete,
with its large _enceinte_, deep ditches, and lofty inner ward and keep,
must have been grand. The main approach lay from the east. The road
branched off from the Watling-street and was carried along the south
side of the ridge, between the high ground and the brook, on a sort of
shelf commanded by the works along the ridge.
It is evident that the earliest fortress was confined to the mound and
the small area immediately attached to it, but that the defences of the
outer area were speedily added to provide space for flocks, herds, and
herdsmen, and a sufficient garrison. The defences, in so thickly wooded
a country, would probably be of timber.
Whether the earliest Norman lord erected works in masonry is doubtful;
probably not. Probably these were added by his successor at the end of
the eleventh or early in the twelfth century. So protected it must have
been very nearly impregnable. The walls of the keep and inner ward were
quite out of the reach of any catapult, ram, or temporary wooden tower,
owing to the steepness of the ground outside. Probably also the wet
character of the low ground to the north and south would effectually
cover these fronts, as the ravine would the west front. To the east the
ground was firm and the country around open, but here the artificer’s
defences were multiplied.
The parish church was no doubt built by the Mortimers, though it
contains no record of them either in tombs, arms, or inscriptions. It
is of large size, and much of the north wall of the nave at its west
end is of herring-bone masonry, and an unusually extensive example
of it. The opposite or south wall, though faced inside and out with
modern plaster, exhibits, high up, a Norman loop, and is evidently of
the same, rather early Norman date. It is curious that a rural church
of the Norman period should have been laid out with walls so high and
a span so considerable. Possibly this was intended for the seat of the
religious house which Ralph, the first Mortimer, founded before his
death, and which was known as Wigmore Abbey.
THE DEFENCES OF YORK.
Diruta prospexit mœnia sæpe sua.—NECKHAM.
How oft hath Time these walls beheld destroyed!
No man of English race, at all acquainted with the history of his
country, can enter the city of York without feeling something of
that respect for a glorious past of which all men are more or less
conscious, and which in the higher and nobler sort acts as an
incentive to greatness both in thought and deed. It may, indeed, be
that those who dwell within the city, or have been familiar with it
from childhood, are less conscious of this feeling than those who
visit it as strangers, and to whom the noble river, ancient walls,
and venerable minster, stand out unassociated with the concerns of
every-day life; but, on the other hand, the men of York cannot but feel
for their birthplace something of the love of children for a parent,
something of the pride of citizens of no mean city, something of that
secret charm by which every man, worthy of the name, is attracted
to his native land. Not London itself, the capital of the empire;
not Canterbury, the seat of that other Metropolitan of our National
Church, call up more varied or more brilliant recollections than are
inseparably associated with the name and title of York; associated with
the fortunes of that great branch of the House of Plantagenet, which,
though without success, yet with so steady a persistence, contested the
Crown of England.
Spells of such force no wizard grave
E’er framed in dark Thessalian cave;
for the name of the city evokes a long train of the best and noblest of
the land, who, during the Wars of the Roses, staked life and fortune
upon the House of York; nor, within the four seas of Britain, is there
found a city which combines with so flourishing a present so many
memorials of the past, so much still visible to the eye, so intimately
connected with those centuries during which the English name and
nation was being built up. No man can unfold a map of the Northumbrian
territory, nor penetrate into its recesses, without observing how
copious are the traces of our Scandinavian ancestors. Those names
That have their haunt in dale or piny mountain,
Or forest, or swift stream, or rocky cleft,
are still vocal in our ears, and intelligible to our understandings.
They speak to us with no uncertain sound of those hardy mariners who
crossed the German Ocean in search of prey, and whose long ships
were known and dreaded in every creek and upon every river along the
seaboard of Britain. Saxons and Danes, Jutes and Angles, each and all
have left their traces over the broad plain of York, traces of those
long and bloody struggles during which these not remote kinsmen were
becoming fused and welded into the Englishman. No Englishman, and
most of all no Yorkshireman, can forget that it is neither from the
native Briton nor from the Roman colonist, but from these Teuton and
Scandinavian sea-kings, fierce and lawless as they were, that we derive
all those qualities that have made England a great nation. The history
of York, indeed, and of the material defences by which it is still
surrounded, is older by some centuries than the history of England
and the English people; and long before we arrive at the times of
the Scandinavian invaders, we have to deal with the remains of these
masters of the world, under whom this city rose to be what its own
historian has pronounced it, “a second Rome;” the mart and “emporium of
the common produce both of sea and land.”