Richards Castle
| Richard's Castle | |
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 The B4361 road through the village - the pub is to the right |
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 Richard's Castle
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| Richard's Castle shown within Shropshire | |
| Population | 674 (2011) |
| Shropshire | 424 |
| Herefordshire | 250 |
| OS grid reference | SO492696 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LUDLOW |
| Postcode district | SY8 |
| Dialling code | 01584 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Richard's Castle is a village, castle and two civil parishes on the border of the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire in England. The Herefordshire section of the parish had a population of 250 at the 2011 Census. The Shropshire section of the parish had a population of 424 at the 2011 Census.
The village lies on the B4361 road, 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) south of the historic market town of Ludlow. It is to some degree a dispersed settlement, with an older core near the castle, some 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) to the northwest of the now larger main part of the village which is situated on the B4361. There is a Village Hall and a traditional public house called The Castle Inn, both situated on the B4361.
Today the fortress is reduced mainly to its earthworks and foundations. A polygonal keep stood on the high motte or mound. This was reached possibly via a semi-circular barbican. The bailey wall still stands twenty feet high in places and there are remains of several towers and an early gatehouse around the perimeter. There, earthwork remains of an outer ward enclosing the church (St Bartholomew's) and a borough defence.
Richard Fitz Scrob (or Fitz Scrope) was a Norman knight granted lands by the Saxon King Edward the Confessor before the Norman Conquest, in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire as recorded in the Domesday Book. He built Richard's Castle before 1051. The castle was a motte-and-bailey style construction, one of only three or four castles of this type built before the Norman conquest. Most were built after the conquest. Richard was last mentioned in 1067. His castle passed to his son, Osbern Fitz Richard, who married Nesta, the daughter of King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Wales.
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Wikipedia