The Scudamores of Kentchurch

The Scudamores of Kentchurch and Holme Lacy tells a fascinating story of two different branches of the Scudamores, a prominent and important Herefordshire family – one branch domiciled in the shadow of the Welsh borders in the Monnow valley and the other in the Wye valley.

The senior family of the eleventh century still resides at Kentchurch Court, whereas the Holme Lacy branch of the fourteenth century ran out of heirs and resources by the end of the nineteenth century. The two contrasting families reflect their own personalities and characteristics, with the more liberal, quiet and home-keeping family at Kentchurch becoming overshadowed some strong and flamboyant, others quiet and reflective, but the women have formerly been overlooked, even though they too played an important role.

by the prominence of the ambitious and powerful ones at Holme Lacy.

Although this book is primarily about the Scudamores, it has been written as a local history, introducing people and places set against a background of both national and local events that occurred in Kentchurch and Holme Lacy throughout many turbulent and intriguing times. The Scudamores have produced many male characters of fame, fortune and failure, Stories from the past include the marriage of Sir John Scudamore of Kentchurch to Alice, the daughter and heir of Owain Glyndwr, the Welsh freedom fighter who led serious uprisings along the Welsh borders during the late 1300s and early 1400s. This placed Sir John in an awkward political position, as he was an opponent of Glyndwr but held Welsh sympathies so was stripped of all official offices. After his last raid, Glyndwr sought shelter at his daughter’s home at Kentchurch, although his final resting place is still unknown. Similar to Jack of Kent, many legendry stories surround them, such as Glyndwr’s escapes from being captured by shoeing his horse back-to-front to stop him from being followed. It is said that Glyndwr’s spirit haunts the tower, since referred to as ‘Glyndwr’s Tower’.

At Holme Lacy, it was during 1632 that Sir John 1st Viscount Scudamore started to show an interest in producing cider, as shown in the accounts. Entries include a carriage for six hogsheads of cider to London, bringing one and a half dozen bottles from London, two and a half dozen of quart bottles, one and a half dozen of pint bottles, six dozen corks and a lock for the cider house door. The cider house or cellar was situated in the park where water was available from nearby springs. Sir John is credited with introducing the Redstreak apple, originally called the Scudamore-crab, which he grafted and propagated to produce such a fine cider that its reputation reached London where Charles I is reported to have preferred cider to the best wines. Sir John was one of the first to bottle cider, as the process of making bottles from strong dark glass had just been invented by Sir Kenelm Digby in the Forest of Dean. The bottles were stopped with corks and when the cork was drawn the drinker was regaled with the delightful nose of the Redstreak cider. n

The Scudamores of Kentchurch and Holme Lacy by Heather Hurley Logaston Press 2019 £12.95 www.logastonpress.co.uk