medieval Mortimers

22
Dec
2020

The Mortimers of Wigmore

MEDIEVAL MORTIMER FAMILY TREE

The Mortimers of Wigmore (1020-1425)

References

Image credit: RS. Nourse; http://aspilogia.com/ image licenced through creative common licence.

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22
Dec
2020
Family Trees

Family Trees

Medieval family trees

This is the home page of the medieval Mortimer family trees, showing the descent of the Mortimers and their relationship with many other noble families of the Middle Ages. Included are the main line of the Mortimer family – the Mortimers of Wigmore; and offshoot branches in Richards Castle, Attleborough and Coedmore. See links to the Mortimer family trees below.

  1. Mortimers of Wigmore, Herefordshire (main line)
  2. Attleborough, Norfolk
  3. Richards Castle, Herefordshire
  4. Coedmore, West Wales
  5. Chelmarsh, Shropshire
  6. Tedstone Wafer, Herefordshire
  7. Couhe, France
11
Aug
2020
A tour of Wigmore Castle

A tour of Wigmore Castle

Stepping into the past

Recently in August 2020, I was lucky enough to get the chance to visit Wigmore castle, home of the medieval Mortimer family. Wigmore is sadly in a severely neglected and dilapidated state, having been abandoned to the ravages of time and mother nature. The wooden steps up to the keep have now rotted away and the paths are overgrown with vegetation. Access to the keep is by fighting through weeds, but those who do make the effort will be rewarded with magnificent views over the surrounding Welsh Marches. The castle is remarkably well situated to give commanding views over the whole landscape.

Here was where the Mortimers held court, where treaties were signed, marriage alliances brokered, and great banquets held. Looking out over the quiet and secluded landscape, with only birds and the wildlife for company, it’s quite hard today to imagine a castle in its prime. This would have been a busy place, brimming with activity. Lord Mortimer would ride out at the head of his retinue, and upon his return, one imagines a sudden flurry of activity, as servants, cooks, groomsmen and sentries were all hurried into action. There would have been great hunts in the forests nearby, to supply meat for the castle table. A great boar’s head perhaps, to celebrate an important victory. Outside the castle, the landscape would have been quite wild to our eyes. Though the valley was mostly cleared of trees and dotted with small farms, rivers ran unobstructed, while wolves still lived in the dense Welsh woods close by.

The castle ruins

Surrounding Wigmore castle is a thick curtain wall, with concentric stone towers guarding its corners. Due to their strong foundations, it is these towers that have best survived the weathering of the past half millennium. Entry to the castle is through a large, well defended gate house, the only entrance in ancient times. Another exit might have been through a small, hidden doorway allowing the garrison to sally out of the castle. Around the inside of the curtain wall, wooden buildings were built right up to the edge of the stonework. These would have included the stables, blacksmiths, fletchers and other such quarters. Evidence for these among other parts of the castle has been unearthed in archaeological digs.

From the castle it is possible to see the village of Wigmore, and the remains of Wigmore Abbey in the distance, where nearly all members of the medieval Mortimer family were buried. With the glistening towers of Wigmore Castle looking over both the abbey and village, this whole setting would have been quite a site indeed!

Here begins our tour of Wigmore.

Related articles

Read more about the medieval Mortimers and their exploits in the Welsh Marches.

Posted by David Mortimer in History, Medieval Mortimers, 0 comments
06
Aug
2019
Medieval Mortimers

Medieval Mortimers

The story of the Mortimers begins here

Mortimer is a classic British surname with medieval Norman origins. As with other Norman names, it derives from a locality, in this case the small village of Mortemer sur Eaulne, in Normandy's Pay de Bray region. The Normans were descended from the Northmen, ruthless Vikings who pillaged the Frankish coastline in the Early Middle Ages. The Normans converted to Christianity and adopted Frankish culture, bringing their own unique skills and customs to England following the Norman conquest. A Norman knight Roger de Mortimer, perhaps accompanied William the Conqueror to England, where the name has existed ever since. The name was adopted by Roger’s descendants, and Mortimer is now one of the oldest Norman hereditary names in Britain. The medieval Mortimer family tree sums up the generations of medieval Mortimers and related families. The principal branch of the family tree were the Mortimers of Wigmore, who became Barons Mortimer then Earls of March. 

Chapter 1 - Mortimer Origins

Chapter 2 - The Welsh Marches

Chapter 3 - Marcher Dynasties

Chapter 4 - Pride before a Fall

Chapter 5 - Treason and the Law

DNA Studies

Mortimer might be one of the few surnames which can potentially be traced back to a single common ancestor; in this case the 11th century Roger de Mortimer who lived in Normandy. Though all Mortimers might be descended from the above Roger, it is impossible to prove using traditional documentation from medieval times to the present day, as past records were often patchy and detailed only the land owning elites. Even for the noble houses such as the medieval Mortimer family, it is sometimes difficult to establish close family relationships.

Following the British diaspora, the name is now found throughout the world, though England still has the highest number of Mortimers. DNA studies have the potential to cast light on how the different branches of the Mortimer family relate, particularly as more people join in the study. One such study is the Mortimer one name project. Read more in Favourite Websites.