Goodrich Court

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A Victorian period image showing Goodrich Court and Goodrich Castle .

Goodrich Court was a neo-Gothic castle built in 1828 by the archeologist Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in the village of Goodrich in the English county of Herefordshire . With the exception of the gatehouse , it was demolished in 1949.

history

Samuel Meyrick was an archaeologist with an interest in Welsh history. He wrongly claimed to be descended from Prince Owain Gwynedd of Wales. Meyrick wanted to buy a Welsh castle as the seat of his ancestors, but this failed. So he decided to have his own castle built next to the ruins of Goodrich Castle , near the Welsh border, instead. He called it "Goodrich Court". The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner called the result a "fantastic and enormous, crenellated and tower-adorned house". Its location directly opposite a true Norman castle, a positioning that anticipated that of Peckforton Castle and Beeston Castle , led Sir Walter Scott to condemn them as "impertinent".

Goodrich Court was designed by Edward Blore according to Meyrick's instructions and built from the red sandstone available on site . It was a neo-Gothic building based on the Edwardian architecture of Goodrich Castle. To others it seemed more like a French castle. The house had a gatehouse, portcullis , battlements, a moat, and towers, but was also known for its Arsenal , a long hall that contained Meyrick's famous collection of weapons. Much of the castle's details featured the heraldic symbols of Aymer de Valence , a medieval nobleman who lived at Goodrich Castle in the early 14th century.

The gatehouse, the only remaining fragment of Goodrich Court to this day

After Meyrick's death in 1848, George Moffatt , a Liberal MP, bought Goodrich Court. The Moffatts extended the castle in the style of the previous building. B. stables. During World War II , the castle was used by the Felsted School , a school that had been evacuated here from Essex . When the school was relocated back to Felsted in 1946, all fixtures were removed from the castle and demolished in 1949. The gatehouse to the east on the road to Ross-on-Wye has been preserved to this day. It is described by Pevsner as "built of red stone with round towers and machicolations ".

The location of the building is now a nature reserve.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Harris: Moving Rooms: The Trade in Architectural Salvages . Yale University Press, New Haven 2007. p. 123.
  2. ^ A b Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Herefordshire . Yale University Press, New Haven 2003. p. 139.
  3. ^ A b Thomas Roscoe, Charles Meredith: Wanderings and excursions in South Wales with the scenery of the river Wye . Longman, London 1844. p. 101.
  4. ^ Peter Parley: Tales about England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales . General Book LLC, 2008. p. 17.
  5. ^ Peter Parley: Tales about England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales . General Book LLC, 2008. p. 18.
  6. ^ Peter Parley: Tales about England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales . General Book LLC, 2008. p. 105.
  7. ^ John Harris: Moving Rooms: The Trade in Architectural Salvages . Yale University Press, New Haven 2007. p. 291.

literature

  • Rosalind Lowe: Sir Samuel Meyrick and Goodrich Court . Logaston Press, 2003.

Web links

Commons : Goodrich Court  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Koordinaten: 51° 52′ 44,4″ N, 2° 37′ 24,6″ W