Colonel John Birch besieged Goodrich Castle using a massive mortar nicknamed "Roaring Meg" — now displayed at the Hereford Museum. The cannon's thunderous bombardment broke the Norman walls. Henry Lingen's garrison surrendered on terms but Parliament subsequently slighted the castle. The dramatic ruins overlooking the Wye gorge owe much of their picturesque quality to the Civil War demolition. Goodrich's fall was among the last significant actions in Herefordshire.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
Research a location near Herefordshire