Goodrich, Herefordshire

Last updated

South side of Goodrich Castle Goodrich02.jpg
South side of Goodrich Castle

Goodrich is a village and civil parish in south Herefordshire, England close to Gloucestershire and the Forest of Dean, situated near the River Wye at grid reference SO574193 . It is known for its Norman and mediaeval castle built with Old Red Sandstone.

Contents

The parish includes the neighbouring hamlet of Symonds Yat East and had population at the 2011 census of 550. [1]

The village grew up next to Goodrich Castle, a 'Marcher Castle' dating to c. 1101 which stands on a high spur of land commanding a strategic position above Kerne Bridge, an ancient crossing point of the Wye.

Goodrich is on the A40 trunk road which forms part of the main route between South Wales and the West Midlands but is in a sheltered rural location. Goodrich has not retained its village shop or post office but has kept a village hall and two public houses. The village has a tennis club with three all-weather courts and an active village cricket club.

The Coppett hill nature reserve stretches along a hill above the Wye south of the village.

Church

The Church of St Giles contains the tomb of the Countess of Salisbury, who was charged by Henry Bolingbroke with bringing up his son, later to become King Henry V, after the death of Mary de Bohun his first wife. The young boy was brought up at nearby Courtfield at Welsh Bicknor.

Goodrich Castle

Goodrich Castle was first known as Castellum Godrici after Godric of Mappestone, the builder of the first castle on the site. Over time the name changed to Goodrich and the castle changed hands many times through the centuries, passing from family to family. In 1646, near the end of the English Civil War, the castle was besieged and captured, using a cannon cast in the Forest of Dean called Roaring Meg, from Sir Henry Lingen by Parliamentarians led by Colonel Birch. The castle is now in the care of English Heritage.

Goodrich Court

Goodrich Court was a country house built between 1828 and 1831 by Sir Samuel Meyrick. Goodrich Court and other nearby buildings became the evacuation home to Felsted School in the World War II years 1940–1945. Although demolished in the 1950s, Goodrich Court Stables and its walled garden still exists. Sculptor Jon Edgar lived and worked here between 2004 and 2007. [2]

Rocklands House

Rocklands House is listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in the 1700s and substantial additions were made in 1800 It was the home of many notable people over the next two centuries.

Role in history of aesthetics

Goodrich's prominent position overlooking the River Wye meant that both Castle and Court were stopping points on the first Wye Tour of William Gilpin in 1770. The trip from Ross-on-Wye to Monmouth was instrumental in the development of The Picturesque and Picturesque Tourism.

Railways

The village was served by the Ross and Monmouth Railway at Kerne Bridge station between 1873 and 1959 running through the scenic Wye Valley.

Goodrich Castle perched on the hill above the gently curving trackbed of the Ross and Monmouth Railway. Towards Goodrich Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1105446.jpg
Goodrich Castle perched on the hill above the gently curving trackbed of the Ross and Monmouth Railway.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross-on-Wye</span> Market town in Herefordshire, England

Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weston under Penyard</span> Village in Herefordshire, England

Weston under Penyard is a small village in Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitchurch, Herefordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Whitchurch is a village in Herefordshire situated on the A40, connecting nearby Ross-on-Wye to Welsh town Monmouth. It is located within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Bicknor</span> Human settlement in England

Welsh Bicknor is an area in the far south of the English county of Herefordshire. Despite its name, it is not now in Wales, but it was historically a detached parish (exclave) of the county of Monmouthshire. It lies within a loop of the River Wye and covers 8,502 acres (13.3 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walford, Ross-on-Wye</span> Village in Herefordshire, England

Walford is a village and civil parish in south Herefordshire, England, two miles south of the market town of Ross-on-Wye. It includes the settlements of Bishopswood, Coughton, Deep Dean, Hom Green and Walford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganarew</span> Human settlement in England

Ganarew is a village and small civil parish in south Herefordshire, England near the River Wye and the border with Wales. The village is located 0.62 miles (1.00 km) southwest of the village of Whitchurch on the main A40 road, and lies within the electoral ward of Kerne Bridge. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Monmouth and 8 miles (13 km) from Ross-on-Wye. It contains the Church of St Swithin and Ganarew Manor.

Kerne Bridge is a hamlet in south Herefordshire, England, about 3.5 miles (6 km) south of the market town of Ross-on-Wye on the B4234 Ross-on-Wye to Coleford road. Situated on the left bank of the River Wye, it takes its modern name from the nineteenth century bridge over the river. It was once a significant stop on the now disused and abandoned Monmouth to Ross-on-Wye railway, and is now known for a popular canoe-launching site. It marks the northern start of the Upper Wye Gorge and is situated in the heart of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wye Valley</span> Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales

The Wye Valley National Landscape is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodrich Castle</span> 11th century castle near Goodrich in Herefordshire, England

Goodrich Castle is a Norman medieval castle ruin north of the village of Goodrich in Herefordshire, England, controlling a key location between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. It was praised by William Wordsworth as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire" and is considered by historian Adrian Pettifer to be the "most splendid in the county, and one of the best examples of English military architecture".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilton Castle</span> Castle in Herefordshire, England

Wilton Castle is a 12th-century Norman castle located in south-eastern Herefordshire, England on the River Wye adjacent to the town of Ross-on-Wye. The castle is named after the manor associated with it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coppet Hill</span>

Coppet Hill or Coppett Hill is a local nature reserve in the parish of Goodrich near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth Castle</span> Castle in Monmouth, Wales

Monmouth Castle is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south-east Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross and Monmouth Railway</span>

The Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of 13 miles (21 km) which ran between Ross-on-Wye, in Herefordshire, England and Monmouth, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerne Bridge railway station</span> Former railway station in Herefordshire, England

Kerne Bridge railway station is a disused railway station on the Ross and Monmouth Railway constructed in the Herefordshire hamlet of Kerne Bridge which also served the village of Goodrich across the River Wye.

The Wye Tour was an excursion past and through a series of scenic buildings, natural phenomena, and factories located along the River Wye. It was a popular destination for British travellers from 1782 to around 1850, and reached its peak popularity during the Napoleonic Wars, when travel to Continental Europe was not an option.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangarron</span> Human settlement in England

Llangarron is a small village and civil parish in southwest Herefordshire within 7 miles (11 km) of both Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,053. The civil parish includes the settlements of Llangrove, Llancloudy, Biddlestone and Three Ashes. The church is dedicated to St. Deinst. The village no longer has a post office nor pub, though it does have a community hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodrich Court</span> Castle in Goodrich, Herefordshire

Goodrich Court, Goodrich, Herefordshire, England was a 19th-century, neo-gothic mock castle built by the antiquarian Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in 1828. Designed by the architect Edward Blore, the court is described by Pevsner as a "fantastic and enormous tower-bedecked house." The court's situation, on a hilltop facing Goodrich Castle, so offended the poet William Wordsworth that he wished "to blow away Sir Samuel Meyrick's impertinent structure and all the possessions it contained."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marstow</span> Human settlement in England

Marstow is a hamlet and civil parish in south eastern Herefordshire, England. Most of the parish is within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Rocklands House near Goodrich, Herefordshire, England, is a building of historical significance and is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in the 1700s, and substantial additions were made in 1800. It was the home of many notable people over the next two centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerne Bridge (River Wye crossing)</span> Historic road bridge in Herefordshire, UK

Kerne Bridge was built over the River Wye in the County of Herefordshire, England in 1825–28, on the site of an ancient ford crossing known as Flanesford. It is designated as a Scheduled Monument. Carrying the B4229 road, it connects the parishes of Walford on the river's left bank and Goodrich on the right. It is situated in the heart of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and marks the northern end of the Upper Wye Gorge.

References

  1. "Civil Parish population 2011" . Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. Visit to Goodrich Court Stables by US Professor of Art Darryl Baird 'Re-visiting the Picturesque' Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine

51°52′16″N2°37′08″W / 51.871°N 2.619°W / 51.871; -2.619