On 15th July 2026 a group of members visited Snodhill Castle – the trip having been postponed from the previous week when the weather heatwave meant the site was like a ‘furnace’ we were lucky to have much kinder weather and a very interesting and enjoyable visit.
Snodhill Castle was originally built to defend the Welsh border by William Fitz Osbern in1068 – initially in wood with later phases in stone. For 300 years between C13 – C15 the castle was owned by the Chandos family who were responsible for some of the more decorative features of the twelve sided keep. It seems that the Chandos family mostly used the castle and surrounding deer park as a show of power and prestige rather than a residence.
Unusually the castle chapel is a Royal Free Chapel with chaplains appointed by the King rather than the Bishop of Hereford. Also unusual is the double postern gate.
After the Civil War the castle was systematically dismantled by the Prosser family and most of the stone sold. This has made it particularly difficult to identify phases of building. Tim Hoverd, Herefordshire Archaelologist explained that they had excavated 37 trenches and the next phase would be to use ground penetrating radar.
Our excellent tour guide was Dr Sarah Lewis, latterly Inspector of Ancient Buildings for English Heritage (and a modest but talented artist with prints of Snodhill Castle for sale) and we also met Garry Crook, chair of the Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust who instigated the clearing and subsequent excavation of the site which had been long neglected.
Debbie Hughes
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.