Balls of destruction return to display at Goodrich Castle

Thirty cannon balls, thought to have been used to break down Goodrich Castle’s defences during the Civil War, have gone on public display for the first time since the 1970s, after being rediscovered in a stairwell at the Herefordshire castle!

Staff were cleaning out an area below the wooden stairs in the castle’s grand keep, when they found the stockpile of cast-iron projectiles, which must have been put their for storage whilst restoration and repair work was carried out on the site in the mid 1970s. However, with the area largely inaccessible, the balls lay forgotten until a spring clean of the space revealed the hidden horde.

“Lots of leaves had blown through the open wooden staircase, and with little light to reveal them, the cannon balls had become a forgotten relic of the castle until they were re-discovered last year,” says visitor operations manager, Wendy Amer.

The cannon balls have been examined by one of English Heritage’s archaeologists, who confirms that they are likely to have been fired during the Civil War, either during the Siege of Goodrich in 1646, or when the castle was ‘slighted’ (damaged so that it could not be used again as a defensible position) following its surrender.

The balls are now on display within the castle grounds, carefully stacked in a pyramid and secured in a metal frame. Visitors can also see the cannon that helped break Goodrich’s Defences – Roaring Meg, a mortar which could fire projectiles weighing up to 200lb!

Goodrich Castle is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 5.00pm, then daily from 1 April. Admission prices are £5.20 for adults, £4.40 for concessions and £2.60 for children, or £13.00 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children). English Heritage members get in free.

For more information, please call 01600 890538 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/goodrich

ENDS

For further media information, please contact:
Jay Commins
PRO – English Heritage
Tel: 0113 251 5698
Mob: 07810 546567
Email: jay@fim.org.uk