Everything about Kilpeck totally explained
Kilpeck (
Welsh:
Llanddewi Cil Peddeg) is a small
Herefordshire village renowned for its small but outstanding
Norman (Romanesque)
church but also having the earthworks of a
Norman motte and bailey castle, no longer standing.
Kilpeck is about 14 km southwest of
Hereford, just south of the
A465, the road to
Abergavenny.
History
In the
Domesday Survey, Kilpeck (entered as Chipeete) was given by
William the Conqueror to William Fitz Norman
de la Mare, son of Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest in
Normandy and is descended from
Ragnvald Eysteinsson, earl of Møre and Romsdal. The castle is thought to have been built around
1090 as the administrative centre of
Archenfield.
According to the Domesday survey, Kilpeck had '3 ploughs, 2 serfs and 4 oxmen and there are 57 men with 19 ploughs.' There are mentions of a church on the site possibly from as early as the
7th century. There are vestiges of an enclosure, 200 yds (183 metres) by 300 yds (274 m) in the field, defining a
Saxon village.
Kilpeck church
» Main article:Kilpeck Church
The
parish church of
St Mary and
St David was built around
1140. It consists of a
nave,
chancel and semicircular
apse. It is remarkable for its wealth (and fine preservation) of
Norman stone carvings
(External Link
), both inside
(External Link) and out
(External Link), all original both in form and position and incorporating many
corbels with representations of human faces, hares, fish, fowl, stags etc. 85 of 91 corbels survive - an amazing rarity over so many centuries.
Kilpeck Castle
West of the church lies a ruined
motte-and-bailey and earthworks, which are less remarkable than the unique church. A few walls of the
12th century or
13th century keep still stand on top of the
motte; these are not well preserved. A fireplace and chimney flues are visible and two sections of standing castle walls.
Sources
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kilpeck'.
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