Bredwardine Castle

Bredwardine Castle was sited in the village of Bredwardine, Herefordshire beside the River Wye (gbmapping|SO335444).

Early Norman Manor

Following the time of the Norman Conquest the manor was granted to John 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 the Baskerville 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 of Dafydd 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 of peritonitis in late 1879.

In St. Andrew's church in Bredwardine is Sir Roger Vaughan's alabaster tomb effigy. He fell at the Battle of Agincourt where his father-in-law, Dafydd Gam also fell, both being knighted as they lay mortally wounded on the field of victory by King 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 the Star of Abergavenny for her radiant beauty later married again, to Sir William Herbert. She lies buried alongside her second husband in the Priory 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