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Pembridge Castle added to Castles and Fortifications in West Midlands by clinkadink on 23/10/2023

Parking & TOAL: 51.869025, -2.745608

The first thing to be borne in mind about Pembridge castle is that it is thirty miles south of Pembridge village. The reason for this is that both places share a family name. The village of Pembridge between Kington and Leominster gave its name to an Anglo-Norman family. They in turn gave their name to the second Pembridge castle at Welsh Newton by Monmouth. It should be remembered that the second Pembridge castle is a better description of the castle at Welsh Newton as there is a first Pembridge castle within the village of Pembridge itself. The purpose of the article which follows is to chronicle the history of the Pembridge family and unravel the history of Pembridge castle.

It is not certain when the manor of Pembridge came into the hands of the family that was to bear its name. In Domesday the manor (Penebruge) was held by Alfred Marlborough, the lord of Ewias Harold. Here it was noted that the land had been held by Earl Harold before Domesday at a value of £16, and according to the canons of St Guthlac's he and his father, Earl Godwine, had seized it illegally from them. The land had been waste in 1066 and was now worth £10 10s. Interestingly the land was measured as being of eleven hides minus one virgate. The question is why is one virgate missing from the productive land that the Domesday surveyors were looking for? It has been suggested elsewhere that castles were ignored in the survey simply because they were drains on local resources, rather than sources of revenue. If this is the case at Pembridge it may well suggest that the castle was already in existence in this border area. It would therefore seem likely that Ralph Pembridge (1075-1103+) was the first member of that family name to be granted the town by William Braose of Bramber (1073-c.1094). William apparently became lord of Radnor, some time soon after the Domesday survey. Some time in the period 1119 to 1139 and probably between 10 July 1137 and April 1138, it was noted that all the estates of Alfred Marlborough were in the hands of Miles Gloucester (c.1119-43) except for Pembridge. This was elsewhere noted as being held by William Braose.

Ralph Pembridge was one the leading men of the district who witnessed a grant of Philip Braose at Radnor, probably in the period 1094 to 1120, soon after the death of William Braose about 1094. By 1203 his descendant, Henry Pembridge, held five knights' fees in Herefordshire, which almost certainly included Pembridge. Henry died in 1211 and Ralph Pembridge fined with king John for 100 marks and one good horse to enjoy possession of his father's lands. Of this amount he immediately paid 25 marks into the Treasury. Ralph may well have been dead by 22 November 1221 when first mention is made of another Henry Pembridge who had certainly inherited Pembridge by 1230 when his overlord, William Braose, was executed by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. The lordship of Radnor was subsequently passed into the custody of Ralph Mortimer of Wigmore (1211-1246) who married one of the Braose heiress's to his own eldest son Roger Mortimer of Wigmore (1232-82). In 1242 Henry Pembridge was noted as holding Pembridge and the adjacent vills for one knight's fee of the honour of Radnor, then in the custody of Ralph Mortimer.

By 1249 it was noted that Henry Pembridge held Burton of Roger Mortimer's land of Radnor and soon after Henry was made escheator of Worcestershire, an office in which he was replaced on 4 May 1251 by Simon Ribbesford, another Mortimer tenant. Around this time Henry appears to have married Elizabeth Gamages, and through her inherited the lordships and castles of Boughrood and Trewern in Elfael. In 1255 Henry was made sheriff of Hereford, and pursued his new office with great diligence, and consequently tripling the paperwork being kept at the Exchequer. At the start of the first Welsh War of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1256 Henry Pembridge and his overlord Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, appear to have acted in unison for on 28 June 1258 a commission of oyer and terminer was given to Gilbert Talbot and Robert Turbeville touching trespasses and excesses committed against Roger Mortimer and Henry Pembridge in the parts of Wales, by Roger Tony, Richard Thunderley and Alan the constable of Painscastle. No doubt this concerned the manors of Boughrood and Trewern, which Henry therefore appears to have been holding as a member of the lordship of Radnor. On 23 February 1259 Henry was ordered to send 100 marks, from where he was serving with the army of Monmouth, to Roger Mortimer as part payment of his debt to the Crown, in order that Roger could continue his war against the Welsh. Roger's war took a decided turn for the worse in November 1262 when he, with Humphrey Bohun, was defeated at Cefnllys by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. As a consequence on 24 December the king ordered Henry Pembridge and others to defend the Marches, and soon afterwards Henry Pembridge in particular was ordered to defend 'his castle in the Marches'. Whether this castle was one at Pembridge, Pembridge Castle at Welsh Newton, Boughrood or Trewern is unknown, but one would suspect that Boughrood is meant, although all these regions were then directly threatened by Llywelyn.

That Henry Pembridge was ordered to defend one of his castles suggests that he had already taken the baronial side in the brewing conflict that was to be called the Barons' War. This impression is strengthened on 6 March 1264 when Henry Pembridge and other Marchers were ordered to stop Llywelyn, who was attacking the king's men in the Marches. Those actually being attacked at the time were none other than Roger Mortimer and his supporters and it would appear that Henry was not supporting his overlord, if not directly moving against him at this time. Whatever the case, Henry Pembridge survived the battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265 and was at the council of Westminster in September. Here he insulted Prince Edmund and, enraged, set fire to Warwick before being captured by the royalists. Henry was then given into the charge of Roger Mortimer, who had his own grudges to settle. Henry and his family were incarcerated at Wigmore castle and his estates forfeited to his overlord of Radnor. Roger then forced him to make a formal conveyance of Pembridge to him and ratify this before the court of the county at Hereford. Then, holding his sons hostage, Roger took him to Clarendon where he acknowledged his quit-claim before the king. Four instruments recording this are still preserved in the Mortimer cartulary, and well show Roger's determination to gain the rich land of Pembridge. On 16 November 1265 the king ordered the restoration to Henry of all the lands he had lost to the king's enemies. As Roger Mortimer had never been the king's enemy this did not include Pembridge and Henry Pembridge Junior failed in his 1267 attempt to regain the vill, and with this the Pembridge family appear to have accepted the loss, with Pembridge from now on being a demesne land of the lordship of Radnor. They remained however, lords of Pembridge castle by Welsh Newton until the death of Richard Pembridge in 1346.

The current ruins of Pembridge castle were founded before 1208 by Matilda St Valery, the Amazonian wife of William Braose (d.1211). The western front of the castle consists of a fine three storey round keep standing in a corner between a great hall and solar block and a much rebuilt twin-towered gatehouse. Although the towers here are unequal there are other gatehouses like this throughout the British Isles. Various English examples survive at Beeston, Bungay, Clifford, Dover, Longtown, St Briavels, the Tower of London and Whittington. In Wales they exist at Caerphilly, Carmarthen, Chepstow, Criccieth, Degannwy, Dinas Bran, Llanstephan, Llawhaden, Oystermouth, Powis, Rhuddlan, Tinboeth and White Castle. In Scotland they can be found at Kildrummy and Urquhart and finally elsewhere in Ireland at Carrickfergus, Castle Roche, Limerick and Roscommon.

The eastern front boasts the castle chapel and two unique turrets. Much of the castle still stands to battlement height, although much Victorian rebuilding has taken place. The castle is now a private house, rarely open to the public.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembridge_Castle

View and discuss this location in more detail on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.8698, -2.744954 • what3words: ///biggest.compiler.observer

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 22/10/2023. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location. Landowner permission may be required before taking off.

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Crawford Bridge, North Dorset (By gasbag43)

Crawford Bridge, so called because it carries the road from Spetisbury to Tarrant Crawford, is probably the best known of the many bridges that cross the River Stour.

it is a Grade 1 Listed building. It was built in the 15th century and widened in 1819, and has nine arches

Be wary of 2 low-strung cables crossing the river 10 metres from the bridge whose supporting poles are hidden in the trees which line the river banks

It’s a picturesque setting I’ve shot several times before from the ground – best timed for early morning misty conditions.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.81754, -2.116327 • what3words: ///pines.alpha.activates

Crawford Castle / Spetisbury Rings, North Dorset (By gasbag43)

The Spetisbury Rings (aka Crawford Castle) are Iron Age fortifications, the third in a series of Iron Age earthworks after Hambledon Hill and Hod Hill, before Buzbury Rings, Badbury Rings, and Dudsbury Camp.

In the 1850s, during the construction of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, two mass graves were found that contained over 80 skeletons leading to speculation that the site includes an Iton Age war cemetery similar to the one found at Maiden Castle with the dead arising from a large scale Roman attack.

The hillfort is a scheduled monument and being overgrown, is best viewed from the air

Easily accessible via a footpath up from the village below

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.8169, -2.122035 • what3words: ///orbited.newsprint.suspends

Willy Howe, East Riding of Yorkshire (By MickeyMoo)

Willie Howe (or Willy Howe), is a massive Neolithic round mound or barrow that stands on the northern edge of a small low spur of land that juts out into the Great Wolds Valley just 200 metres from the Gypsey Race, an intermittent or 'winterbourne' stream that threads its way eastwards through the valley before reaching the sea at Bridlington.

Please be aware there is a model aircraft flying club adjacent to this site. There maybe others flying at the same time you arrive. Be respectful and communicate with others so you have a clear understanding.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.13602, -0.376641 • what3words: ///happen.muted.stems

Colmer's Hill, West Dorset (By gasbag43)

Colmer’s Hil overlooks the village of Symondsbury, west of Bridport. It’s the main landmark in the area, is clearly visible from some distance away, and therefore a good location to gain fine drone’s eye views of the beautiful countryside which surrounds it.

The hill itself is a worthy subject as a location with a distinctive conical shape topped with pine trees planted there during WW1.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.7399, -2.794626 • what3words: ///sponge.magnitude.professes

Eggardon Hill, West Dorset (By gasbag43)

Eggardon Hill is located on chalk uplands approximately four miles to the east of the town of Bridport. It has panoramic views as far as the coast, and is an Iron Age hill fort dating back more than 2500 years. It also has 2 Bronze Age burial mounds on its summit.

The smuggler Isaac Gulliver (1745-1822) (who owned Eggardon Hill Farm) is reputed to have planted a stand of pine trees on Eggardon Hill, to provide an aid to navigation for his ships as they approached the Dorset coast. Although the trees were later felled on government orders, the octagonal earthworks used to protect them from the elements is still visible today and marked on Ordnance Survey maps of the area

The southern half of the hill is National Trust land

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.7491, -2.643692 • what3words: ///switch.snail.firepower

Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Trafford (By DroneGeek)

Old Trafford is a cricket ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1857 as the home of Manchester Cricket Club and has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. From 2013 onwards it has been known as Emirates Old Trafford due to a sponsorship deal with the Emirates airline.

Old Trafford is England's second oldest Test venue after The Oval and hosted the first Ashes Test in England in 1884.

Plenty of local roads to TOAL. However I flew from Brian Statham Way and let the security guy know on the car park gate, just in case.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.45631, -2.286862 • what3words: ///never.mason.trim

Carshalton Park, Sutton (By grandad1950)

Lots of space to fly. I believe the circles are from air raid shelters in world war 2.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.3616, -0.161147 • what3words: ///mutual.expect.cake

North Leverton windmill, Bassetlaw (By bryand)

North Leverton mill has been making flour and animal feeds continuously for the last 200 years. Now restored by volunteers who open it to the public on Saturdays (so flying on weekdays is preferred). Parking and TOAL from the lane outside the mill. An exposed site which may be windy.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.32944, -0.837536 • what3words: ///shampoo.circulate.curry

Tolworth Court Farm Fields, Kingston upon Thames (By RCX489)

A quiet, open area with around ten large meadows, thick hedgerows, and some nice oak trees. Some of the meadows are pretty wild and don’t see many visitors.

The space is mostly used by dog walkers, but they’re easy to spot from a distance, making it a safe location for flying. It’s a public site within Kingston borough, which means no local bylaws restricting model aircraft use.

Plans are in place to convert the area into a wetland, which could make flying more interesting but may also draw more visitors.

Generally a nice area for local flying.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.37031, -0.280596 • what3words: ///study.nods.much

Winey Hill, Kingston upon Thames (By RCX489)

Winey Hill has great views over Surrey and Chessington World of Adventures.

It sits right next to the zoo area of the adventure park and is surprisingly spacious for a suburban location. Woodland stretches to the south, and the high position gives great transmitter range.

The hill is within Kingston borough, which doesn’t have bylaws against model aircraft flying (though please check for yourself). The area is public but also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), so keep noise levels down and keep away from wildlife.

There are roaming horses around from the nearby stables. Most are just curious, but one was a bit aggressive. Best to have someone with you who can keep them at bay if needed.

Access is via a public bridleway, which is a fair walk from the road. But there’s also a private road leading to the bottom of the hill, it serves many houses, so using it shouldn’t be a problem.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.35273, -0.320154 • what3words: ///swear.cloak.exit


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