NATURE
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Nelson memorial |
Leaving
the Town Hall behind you it's a short walk to the site of Hereford castle
- but don't expect to see battlements and turrets. |
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Look
at a city like Hereford - with its ancient river bridge, its Norman cathedral,
and its close prominity to the Welsh border - to have a spectacular castle.
But it doesn't not even the ruins of one, though looking around Castle Green
you can at least see where it would have been.
Hereford castle was a victim of neglect and England's turbulant history...
with Oliver Cromwell getting a good deal of the blame.
The English Civil war was a bad time for castles - royalist troops tended
to hold them, and parliamentary artillery tended to do fatal damage to their
walls in an effort to persuadethe King's soldiers out.
Hardly a trace of Hereford Castle remains, though its well worth visiting
the site where it stood, if only to see the splendid column put up to honour
Lord Nelson.
With its important river crossing and the nearness of Wales Hereford was
fortified from as early as 850 and were then extended in 900 to cover the
area (Castle Green) which later became the castle.
With the Norman invasion came the golden era of castle building though work
started in Hereford in about 1050, sixteen years before the most memorable
date in English history, and King Harold's close encounter with an arrow.
The castle was rebuilt after the Norman invasion and then strengthened with
stone and enlarged during the second half of the 12th century with the keep
being added a few years after.
It went to seed after that though but it got a facelift in the 15th century
and was described as one of the strongest in England.
The Prince escapes
There's also been a royal escape from Hereford Castle.
During the Baronial Wars of the middle of the 13th century - a period when
just about everybody claimed to be the rightful King of England, Prince
Edward, son of King Henry III, was imprisoned in the castle.
He'd been captured, along with his Dad, by the famous Simon de Montfort,
later to perish at the Battle of Evesham.
Security wasn't very tight though, and the Prince was even allowed to ride
his horse.
Nor surprisingly he took the opportunity to ride it rather further than
his captors had planned.
By the 17th
century and the English Civil War it has once again fallen into disrepair,
and once the war was over it was demolished and the motte reduced.
All that's left now is the building in the south-west corner of castle
Green, which may have been the Governor's residence.
The column in honour of Lord Nelson was put up in 1809, five years after
the Battle of Trafalgar.
There's no statue of Nelson atop the column because the money ran out
- instead there is an urn.
Nelson visited Hereford several times, and was a freeman of the City.
| This
walk was prepared using research done by the Herefordshire
and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust, who are based at
University College Worcester. Lots more information can be found on
their leaflet Explore Hereford. They have other leaflets with geological
walks for Worcester, Hereford, Bredon Hill and Goodrich, amongst others.
For more information ring 01905 855184. |
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