Snodhill Castle

It was another weekend when there were several good and interesting things happening that I'd have liked to go to. In Hereford, it was the River Festival, and up at the Bull's Head at Craswell there was a protest/party because the pub has been closed for 3 years now with no sign of re-opening.
But I really wanted to go to Snodhill Castle, where the Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust were having an open day and party to celebrate all the hard work that's been done to renovate and preserve the castle - and it really is a fascinating castle!

The best thing about this trip was that I could get the bus there and back.
I did ask how much a return to Dorstone was, since it's such a short trip, but it was only about 10p cheaper than the Explorer ticket, which gives limitless travel for a day, so it didn't really seem worth it.
There is no parking at the castle itself, so the Friends were using the yard at Dorstone Court as a car park, and running a shuttle bus to the Castle - on a one way system around the lanes because they are so narrow.

It was such a lovely day that I walked up, together with a couple from the Hay History Society and a couple from Bristol who knew the chap who is one of the leading lights of the efforts to preserve the Castle.
Snodhill is not a village, as such, but there are several big houses near the Castle, including Snodhill Court Farmhouse. As we passed it, the lady from Hay History Society asked me if I'd ever been inside. "It's got a Justice Room," she said, when I said that I had only ever passed by it. "And cells - so the Justice of the Peace must have used it." It's a rather fine 17thC farmhouse, with some earlier bits, and some corbels incorporated into the building which had originally come from the Castle - which must have been a rather fine building itself in its heyday.

Everyone got a printed plan of the Castle as they arrived, which sent you up the mound in a gentle spiral. We had entered by the West Bailey, and you could either go the "heart attack route" straight up the side of the mound, or the gentle track round the edge....
...which led to a tree with a bat box, and a level terrace around the mound. The slope down to the lane is very steep.
Moving on, the route went under the North Tower, and round to the hornwork that protected that side of the Castle from attack. There's also a fair sized badger sett on that side of the mound. Looking down the slope, there was the old pear orchard, and a large flat area which might be a prehistoric settlement, or a Norman outer bailey to the Castle, or medieval gardens. A dig there would be very interesting.
Further round, there's a good view up to the Keep itself:

It's 12 sided, which is unique.

Going back a little, there's another path up to the Inner Bailey and the other side of the Keep. Kilvert picnicked here, and the views were superb, right along the Golden Valley to Peterchurch one way.
I was determined to get right to the top - it is very steep, and I managed to scramble it. Mari Fforde and her family were up there - she works for Hay Castle, so had a professional interest in this neighbouring castle.
Down in the Inner Bailey, some of the children were finding this very interesting:

and here's a more general view:

The potted history at the bottom of the printed sheet takes the Castle from 1068, when it was built by William Fitz Osbern (also lord of Clifford, Chepstow, Wigmore and Carisbrooke). It was in the hands of the De Chandos family for 328 years, and eventually came to the hands of Elizabeth I, who sold it to her favourite Robert Dudley - who in turn sold it to the Vaughan family. By this time, it had a deer park, like the still existing Moccas Park nearby.

Down in the West Bailey there was a little exhibition of pictures of the renovation and excavation work so far, including a map of the deer park - and two cannon balls, which children were struggling to lift.
And there were cakes, and drinks. Scattered around the flatter areas were tables and chairs, and picnic rugs.
I also caught part of the tour, given by Garry Crook - there was a big crowd for that.

The whole thing has been a magnificent collaborative effort - the acknowledgements section of the printed sheet mentions local families and small businesses for everything from the cakes for the party to the banners that decorated the castle, to the chap who made the new gate from local oak, the fencers, and even the Nag's Head in Peterchurch for the sandwiches they provided at site meetings! And of course, Historic England, Herefordshire Council and Hereford Archaeology for their work on the site and financial support.

Anyone who wants to become a Friend of Snodhill Castle can visit www.snodhillcastle.org

I managed to catch the minibus back into Dorstone, where there was just time for a quiet half of Pandy Ale (from Grey Trees brewery) at the Pandy before I caught the bus back to Hay. Several lovely people offered to give me a lift back to Hay, but since I'd paid for the bus ticket already....