THE parish of Kilpeck, in the county of Hereford, occupies a tract of rolling broken ground which intervenes between the Mynde, Orcop, and Garway ridge of hills and the river Worm, a stream which receives the drainage of a considerable valley, and finally falls into the Monnow, near Kentchurch. The railway from Abergavenny towards Hereford passes up this valley, which affords an excellent example both of the fertility and the picturesque beauty of the old red sandstone country of Herefordshire.
The castle, church, and the site of the long-destroyed priory lie near together about the village of Kilpeck, two miles north of the ridge, and a short mile south of the church and railway station of St. Devereux.
The ground falls rapidly towards the north, and is traversed by deep dingles, each with its contained streamlet. The hedgerows and steeper banks are covered with wood, and the grassy knolls and ridges subside into broad level meadows of unrivalled verdure, amidst which the plough is but little known.
Kilpeck Castle, as now seen, is composed almost entirely of earthworks. It consists of a mound and circumscribing ditch, beyond which, on the north, is a triangular platform, on the south an enclosure of a horseshoe figure, and beyond this again a southern platform much more extensive, but also somewhat triangular in outline. On the very edge, and to the east of these enclosures, stand the ancient Norman church and a farmhouse, parts of which are of some antiquity; on the west, about 200 yards distant from the castle, the ground falls rapidly towards a deep dingle, across the lower part of which has been thrown a strong bank of earth, while remains of other banks are seen higher up. By these means it is evident that there was formed a chain of long and deep lakes, perhaps at two or even three levels, which must have rendered any approach from the west, or Welsh quarter, exceedingly difficult and hazardous.
The mound is wholly artificial. It is conical and truncated, and of oval plan. Its summit measures, north and south, about 25 yards, and east and west about 40 yards, and its height is from 20 feet to 40 feet, according to the depth of its ditch, which is greatest on the northern side. The slopes are steep, the red earth having little disposition to slip.
The summit was crowned by a shell keep placed about 3 feet within the edge of the slope, and therefore about 23 yards north and south, by 38 yards east and west. It was polygonal in plan, with faces from 14 feet to 15 feet long. Of this shell there remain but two fragments, one on the north and the other on the west side, about 20 yards apart. These show the wall to have been polygonal without, and circular, or nearly so, within, also within vertical, but on the outside battering from 7 feet thick at the base up to 4 feet at 6 feet high, above which it was continued at 4 feet. The north fragment is about 40 feet long, with a sine of about 2 feet, and about 18 feet high; probably it was, with the parapet, about 25 feet. It contains a round-backed fireplace, 3 feet broad by 2 feet deep, which gathers in above into a cylindrical shaft of 12 inches diameter. On each side is a water-drain, as from sinks, passing through the wall. The other, or western fragment, is 30 feet long and about 14 feet high. This also has a fireplace, similar to the last, but 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep; on the north side of it is a water-drain. From the south end of this there remains a fragment of a cross wall, 3 feet thick, which belonged to an interior building; it is of the age of the outer wall. This outer wall seems to have been blown outward a little by a mine sprung from within. The summit of the mound is slightly convex, from the accumulation of rubbish, which the fireplaces show to be about 4 feet deep. It is said that a deep well was discovered here, but no trace of it is now seen. These walls are the only remains of masonry visible in the whole castle. From their general aspect and that of the fireplaces they seem to be Early English. It is clear that the shell contained buildings against the wall, which, from the water-drains, may have been kitchens.
The mound is surrounded by a deep ditch, which on the north is succeeded by the north platform, on the north-east, east, and south, by the horseshoe platform or outer ward, and on the west by a narrow bank, from the base of which the natural slope falls rapidly.
The outer ward is a platform of a horseshoe or lunated shape, varying from 90 yards to 180 yards broad, and covering full half the mound. Its concave edge forms the counterscarp of the inner ditch. Its convexity is bounded by a ditch from 10 feet to 30 feet deep, which on the east borders the churchyard, and on the south is succeeded by the south platform, the general level of which is 10 feet to 12 feet below the summit of the mound. The outer edge of this area has been raised by a bank, which along the south side and at the west end rises 10 feet to 20 feet, having been no doubt thrown up from the exterior ditch. The surface is scarred as by the removal of foundations, but not a trace of actual masonry is visible, and even where the bank has been cut through no stones are seen.
There remains the south platform. This is nearly at the level of the outer ward, though below that of its elevated edge. The area is considerable, probably above four acres. It is divided from the outer ward by the ditch common to both, and about 30 feet broad. To the west and to the east it has a ditch, but to the south a scarp of about 12 feet, the ground beyond being flat and at a lower level. The present entrance to this platform, now under tillage, is by a hollow way to the east side near the north end, which may be old.
The main entrance to the castle, that is, to the outer ward, was by a gateway at the south point, marked by a deep hollow way cut in the bank, and flanked by earth heaps, which may conceal the foundation of small towers. This entrance is approached from the east by a road along the ditch below the outer ward and the south platform.