Penyard Castle

Penyard Castle has been dated to the first half of the 14th century, occupying high ground to the south of Ross on Wye. There are earthworks visible but little of the original castle now remains above ground. The site was quite extensive but by the 17th century the structure was ruinous and much of the stone robbed, reducing the original castle to a few standing remains. The stones were reportedly re-used for the building of the nearby Bollitree Castle.

Out of the ruins however, a 17th century house was constructed taking advantage of earlier foundations and reusing stonework to create a two bay two storey dwelling with lean-to outshuts. This had become ruinous by the mid-20th century and was in imminent danger of total collapse.

It was too dangerous to record the structure by ladders so a drone survey was carried out and photographically rectified scale drawing produced onto which we recorded the condition and repairs.

Partly funded by the Forestry Commission and supported by a Historic England Building at Risk Grant an extensive programme of masonry conservation was carried out during 2016-17. The contract was competitively tendered and let to a specialist conservation building contractor who completed the work to programme and within budget.