The
place for information on Ross-on-Wye and the Wye Valley
HISTORIC
PLACES OF INTEREST IN AND AROUND ROSS-ON-WYE
1
PREHISTORIC
LOCAL OCCUPATION
King
Arthur's Cave is just one of many small caverns which can be found
at the Doward,
close to both Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth. It was occupied by stone-age
man during the upper palaeolithic period and may well have been
occupied prior to that but the ice floe of the lower palaeolithic
has removed any evidence of this. Past finds in the cave include
a flint axe, a hearth, broken woolly mammoth and other large animal
bones. Unfortunately however the cave was 'excavated' using dynamite
in the 1870s, so what one sees now on visiting is not necessarily
the same view that greeted the troglodyte people of the upper palaeolithic
on returning home from a hunt.
The caves are not reachable by car but should you would wish to
discover them on foot, the precise National Grid Reference is: SO
54574 15607. Please respect the remaining archaeology of the site
however if visiting!
Entrances
to the two caverns of King Arthur's Cave, spring 2002.
A
view from the inside of King Arthur's Cave, spring 2002.
THE DOWARD AND KING ARTHUR'S CAVE IN HD VIDEO
Filmed
mostly in May 2009 but also using photography taken over
the years, this short high definition film shows King Arthur's
Cave and some of the surrounding area of the Doward, near
Symonds Yat and the Seven Sisters Rocks.
The view of the river in the film is shot from the Seven
Sisters.
The
music, excluding the 30 second introduction over the narration,
is my own composition and recording. I recorded 'Palaeolithic
Storm' in 1999 but remixed the original instrumental tracks
yesterday for this film. In case you are wondering, the
'caveman' voices are my own voice, reversed and pitch shifted.
The film
can be watched full screen by clicking the button at the right
hand side of the progress bar. More
HD films covering the Wye Valley and forest of Dean can be
found here.
STANDING STONES AND OTHER SACRED PLACES IN THE WYE VALLEY AND FOREST
OF DEAN
This
film shows some of the magical / spiritual places in the
Wye Valley and Forest of Dean. Beginning with a visit to
Arthur's Stone,
a Neolithic burial mound in Dorstone, Herefordshire (not
far from Hay-on-Wye) it then moves on to Trellech to show
Harold's
Stones, Tump Turret and the Virtuous
Well before moving on again to the Queen
Stone, the Staunton
Longstone and finally May
Hill. I shot the footage for this latest in the 'Wyenot'
series of short films over the month of May and the first
two days of June 2009.
Two other
people appear in the film. Dr Keith Ray MBE, the County Archaeologist
talks about Arthur's Stone. Also at Arthur's Stone you may
notice a young lady sitting near the stone. I don't know her
name. She was a nice young lady from near Peterchurch whom
I met whilst filming and have since affectionately named,
'The X-Files Lady' as our conversation was about UFO sightings
at sacred places such as Arthur's Stone and Warminster.
GOODRICH
CASTLE
Located
high above the river Wye near Ross-on-Wye, Goodrich
Castle was a medieval fortified palace which is now owned by
English Heritage and open to visitors. Mostly, the castle is still
intact. Although unoccupied by the sixteenth century it was still
able to withstand a major siege during the English Civil War. Built
around 1150, the keep is the castle's oldest remaining section.
Goodrich Castle,
photographed during the summer of 2000.
Goodrich Castle,
photographed during the summer of 2000.
WILTON
CASTLE
Located
beside the River Wye at Ross, the
ruins of Wilton Castle
date from the 13th century but there has been a fort at the site
since the reign of Stephen. Although the castle is private property,
it is possible to follow the public footpath and view this fortress
from the outside.
Wilton
Castle, a view from across the River Wye, summer of 2002.
Wilton
Castle, photographed during the summer of 2002.
ROSS
MARKET HOUSE
Although
Ross is a medieval market town, the current market house was built
between 1650 and 1654, replacing an older building. Ross
Market Building is still in use by local traders on Saturdays
and Thursdays and also houses the Ross
Heritage Centre, which is open to visitors during the summer
months.
Ross
Market House, photographed during the summer of 2000.
Ross
Market House, photographed during the summer of 2000.
THE
RUDHALL ALMS HOUSES AND PLAGUE CROSS
The
Plague Cross marks the burial site of the town's 315 victims of
plague in 1637 and is located within the grounds of St.
Mary's Parish Church. Located close to the cross are the Rudhall
Alms Houses, which probably date from the 14th century. According
to the plaque on the outside, these almshouses were repaired by
William Rudhall in 1575 and when restored again in 1960 the five
almshouses were converted into three without altering their Tudor
front.
The
Plague Cross, photographed during the winter of 2002.
The
Rudhall Alms Houses, photographed during the summer of 2002.
THE
GAZEBO TOWER
The
Gazebo Tower as it is now known was built, along with mock gothic
town walls, during the 1833 construction of Wilton Road. It was
built as part of Palace Pound
the house of John Collins and originally known as "Collins
Tower."
The
Gazebo Tower, photographed during the summer of 2000.
The
Gazebo Tower, photographed during the summer of 2000.
If you visit
Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire or the Wye Valley, would you please make
a point of
mentioning
WYENOT.COM (rather than just 'the internet'.)
Thank
you for your help!
