Bishop's Castle
From Ars Magica
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Bishop's Castle and Lydbury (North)
These two settlements are listed togetehr, due to their close involvement with each other. At the time of the start of the game, Lydbury (North) was a well established manor, and Bishop's Castle was (as the name would suggest), the location of a castle belonging to the Bishop of Hereford. With time Bishop's Castle grew in importance, and supplanted Lydbury (North)
Situation - Lydbury North
Saxton Map:
Lydbury North lies on gently climbing land, above the muddy valley of the rivver Kemp. It stands about 2 km east of Brockton, which lies by the river about 1km south of Bishop's Castle.
Situation - Bishop's Castle
Saxton Map:
Bishop's Castle sits on a small but steep hill, above a stream that forms a tributary of the River Kemp. It stands about 1km north of Brockton which sits by the river, about 2km west of Lydbury (North). [[Lydham is about 2km morth-north east of it.
History
Pre Domesday
The history of Bishop's Castle begins in the eighth century when Offa, the powerful King of Mercia, who built the Dyke to defend his Kingdom, murdered Ethelburt, the young King of East Anglia. This was a terrible and treacherous act on the part of a Christian King respected, until this point, for his faith, wisdom and judgement. There are several accounts of the affair, but they all contain the same features. The head was separated from the body and the remains tossed into marshy ground by the river Lugg. From here they were later removed by Offa's Chamberlain and taken to a place called Fernley, which later became Hereford. Here the remains were properly buried, the tomb becoming a sanctuary and a place of miracles.
At some point after the murder of Ethelburt in 792, Egwin, known as Shakehead because of his affliction, having being cured of his trembling palsy at Ethelburt S sanctuary in Hereford Cathedral, gave the whole of his manor at Lydbury to the Bishops of Hereford. It was a very generous gift. Egwin Shakehead's estate consisted of 18,000 acres and its income would have been substantial.
The manor extended from the Saxon settlement at Lydbury to the borders of Wales and it included the land on which the future, Norman Bishops of Hereford would build a castle and town. The Lydbury manor was situated in a troubled area, vulnerable to attack from the Welsh. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Bishops of Hereford were appointed Marcher Lords responsible for the defence of the Marches or frontiers between Wales and England. Much of the Welsh Marches frontier was secured by Roger Montgomery and his brood of fighting sons. As they thrust their way into Wales, they were keen to secure the borders behind them. A series of motte and bailey castles were built and it seems likely that the first castle built in the vicinity of the present town was among them.
Domesday
"4 Land of The Bishop of Hereford
In Rinlow Hundred
4,1 The Bishop of Hereford holds Lydbury (North_ from the King; he held it before 1066. 53 hides which pay tax. In Lordship 4 ploughs; 38 villagers, 4 smallholders and 8 riders with 28 smallholders; they have 23 ploughs between them. 2 slaves. A mill which serves the Hall; woodland for fattening 160 pigs. A certain Frank and William the clerk hold one member of this land from the Bishop, and this manor's church with the priests and the land which belongs there. 1 plough there. In this manor 92 more ploughs would be possible than there are. Value before 1066 £35; later £10; now £12, 32 1/2 hides of this land are waste."
Post Domesday
To secure settlement and foster trade on the troubled border lands, the Normans created a series of these new, "plantation" towns, some more successful and enduring than others. They were protected by castles, sometimes by walls, but the most important incentive given to settlement was land. The towns were laid out in burgage plots along the main street or highway and the settlers brave enough to take up residence were granted the privilege of being burgesses and free men with rights to both their land and houses. This was no small incentive at a time when everyone not lucky enough to be born into the privileged'. nobleman class was the property of the nearest Lord of the Manor.
The small Norman town seems to have thrived despite anarchy and war and in 1167 a stone castle is built to replace the old motte and bailey fortification. The town is locally known as Y Trefesgob, "Town of the Bishops" and is regularly visited by the Bishops of Hereford when court sessions are held and fines and taxes, a lucrative source of income in medieval times, are collected. In 1226, it is also visited by the young Henry III when he tours the Welsh Borderlands. The town's growing financial importance, and the main reason for its thriving survival, is trade. In 1249 a Royal Charter is granted by King John, allowing a weekly market to be held plus an annual fair in June. This market is still held every Friday but, sadly, the May Fair as it came to be known, is no longer the highlight of each year.
By the late thirteenth century, the town is actually named as Bishop's Castle in official documents. In 1281, after yet another period of strife and anarchy, the castle has been completely refurbished, so completely, in fact, that it is called "new" and gives its name to the town.
Church
Castle
In the Domesday survey of 1086, no castle for the manor of Lydbury is mentioned but like many other minor motte and bailey castles, it may not have been listed. The Lay Subsidy Rolls for this period, however, do show that a castle connected with the manor of Lydbury was under the charge of the Bishop's of Hereford in 1087/88.
This castle would have been of the motte and bailey type, and it was built on the hill at the top of the present town. The castle was sited to guard the nascent town and its church. From this vantage point, the Bishop's castle could guard not only the group of dwellings that began to huddle beneath it, but also the "new" town that began to edge its way down the hill towards the church. By 1127, a "plantation" town seems to have been established on this line down the hill from the castle to the church on exactly the same line followed by High Street and Church Street today.
The small Norman town seems to have thrived despite anarchy and war and in 1167 a stone castle is built to replace the old motte and bailey fortification. The town is locally known as Y Trefesgob, "Town of the Bishops" and is regularly visited by the Bishops of Hereford when court sessions are held and fines and taxes, a lucrative source of income in medieval times, are collected.
