ABSTRACT
Wigmore Castle, caput of the Mortimers, was one of the last great castles in England to survive unconserved, a natural ruin in a setting of decayed woodland pasture, high on a ridge in the northwest corner of Herefordshire. The castle was a scheduled ancient monument in private ownership and had been identified as being at risk by English Heritage. In a survey of English Marcher castles on the Welsh border it was seen as the most important of a substantial group, and the one which should be the first target for repair. The problem with Wigmore Castle was the fact that it remained in private ownership but that repair was only possible with the input of substantial public funds, estimated in the region of lm. The main thrust of archaeological research at Wigmore was the recording and analysis of the surviving ruins, carried out immediately in advance of conservation and using the same scaffolding.
