- Bredwardine Castle
Bredwardine Castle was sited in the village of
Bredwardine ,Herefordshire beside theRiver Wye (gbmapping|SO335444).Early Norman Manor
Following the time of the
Norman Conquest the manor was granted toJohn de Bredwardine .12th Century Castle
It is thought that the castle was built in the second half of the
12th century .By
1227 the castle had become the property of theBaskerville family.In the following century it was held by Hugh
de Lacy .Refortification & Dismantling
It was rebuilt as a fortress during the wars of Stephen and Maud but then dismantled in the reign of Henry II or Henry III.
In the middle of the
15th century it was described as being a waste site with no annual value.The ruined castle and manor passed from the family of
Baskerville to the Vaughan family.Roger Vaughan was the son in law ofDafydd Gam and converted the castle and manor into a multi-gabled house. Now traces only of the stone walls of the tower remain.Bredwardine Church
Francis Kilvert was rector of the church [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/56658] at the time of his marriage but he was to die within a month or so ofperitonitis in late 1879.In St. Andrew's church in Bredwardine is
Sir Roger Vaughan 'salabaster tombeffigy . He fell at theBattle of Agincourt where his father-in-law,Dafydd Gam also fell, both beingknight ed as they lay mortally wounded on the field of victory byKing Henry V . Sir Roger Vaughan's effigy shows him wearing a fine suit of plate armour, his head resting on his helmet and his arms crossed on his chest, showing he died in battle. His widow,Gwladus , known as theStar of Abergavenny for her radiant beauty later married again, toSir William Herbert . She lies buried alongside her second husband in thePriory Church of St Mary, Abergavenny .References
* [http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/bredwardine.htm Bredwardine Castle]
*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, "The David & Charles Book of Castles", David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.