Map
Wigmore
Castle |
Wigmore. The village itself is not of great
size today in 1997, however that may not always have been the case. There was a
very substantial Castle here, the ruins of which are still in existence that
was the domain of the Mortimers a very powerful and influential family in the
Area so the village may have supported a larger community which in turn would
have supported the needs and logistics of the castle. There was a settlement in
pre Norman days and a castle and borough is recorded by the time the Doomsday
Book was compiled in 1086; so there was presumably a church there in Saxon
times. The Church at Wigmore stands in a near circular churchyard up on a stone
ridge with a wall around it and possibly implies still earlier foundations in
late Celtic or early Dark age. The dedication is to St. James the Lesser and
the patron festival is held in July. Just inside the entrance is an octagonal
font with a hollowed under edge to the bowl on an octagonal stem. Both the font
and the stem appear to be contemporary with the South Aisle which is 14th
Century so it would be reasonably safe to assume this is the font that the
Wigmore Corbetts were baptized in. The roof is a fine example of stub-tie-beam
type of five bays with three trench side purlins. Each truss has curved braces
to a collar forming segmental arches and there is one tier of cusoped wind
braces. on the sill of the vestry window is a stone, crowned head, a rare
feature in English medieval ecclesiastical sculpture. The face appears to be
that of a very young man, more of a boy; is it the face of Edward V. 1483? The
boy king was at Ludlow when he succeeded to the throne and may well have known
Wigmore the home of his Mortimer ancestors. I personally found the church and
the castle a little austere after visiting some of the other churches in the
area but an essential visit as part of the family history. Strange folk tales
exist about the Ravens that quote the scriptures from the church steeple at
Wigmore and the castle is supposed to be haunted. On the whole events at
Wigmore Castle seem to have reflected the broader historical and political
scene during the centuries after the Norman Conquest . Built by a Norman
Nobleman, William Fitz Osbern on land snatched from Saxon landowners, it was
then passed to Ralph de Mortimer and who was no doubt regarded with resentment
by the local people. In one of the many border uprisings of the time the castle
was seized by the rebellious Saxon hero ,Wild Eric who managed to hold it for
some weeks to the shame of Ralph and his family. It passed in the fifteenth
century to Edward IV who set out from here with his army to fight the
victorious battle of Mortimers Cross against the Lancastrians during the War of
the Roses. It is said that on that day the villagers of Wigmore were alarmed to
see three suns shining in the sky-Edward himself took this to be a good omen
and sallied forth to win the day! Even as a Royal residence, though the castle
was in a poor state of repair ,and the King made many complaints about the
ruinous state of the accommodation. Eventually in the sixteenth century it came
to be used as a prison ,as a more rigorous alternative to Ludlow Castle, and
was finally dismantled in 1643 by the Harley family
CHURCH OF SAINT JAMES .WIGMORE,. The reverend William Stephenson, M.A The
church was described in November 1645 by Richard Symonds who wrote about
Wigmore church describing the east window as 'very old and large with stained
glass bearing the arms of the Mortimers at various times in their history. He
goes on to say ' on the tombstone in the chapel is a figure of one in armor and
in his shield are engraved the three greyhounds which make good the report of
its being a tomb of the Wigmore’s, and that family were originally the
possessors of the land in that parish, which entitled them to their names and
to a chapel and a burying place in that church. The letters on the stone are
very ancient in character He Letters sent in Mar 1998. Enquired of the Parish
Vicar Wigmore Hereford .General inquiry into any local knowledge of the family.
He Letters sent in Mar 1998. Ye Old Oak Inn Wigmore Hereford, Letter to the
landlord asking him to pin it up in the pub as it is in the centre of the
village and may locate any local historians or any local knowledge |
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