ENGLAND’S first castle was built in Herefordshire, according to a county-born historian.

Terry Wardle, who grew up in Hunderton, argues that the country’s first castle was built in the county before the Norman Conquest.

In his new book England’s First Castle: The Story of the 1,000-Year-Old Mystery, Mr Wardle claims the castle was built in Burghill in 1051.

He believes that the man responsible – a previously unknown Norman soldier called Osbern – was the lord of Burghill and Brinsop from 1051to 1052.

The book is the result of five years of work by Mr Wardle and came out of almost a quarter of a century of research on Herefordshire castles.

It has been published by The History Press and is available for £14.99.