Snodhill castle is a rare pre-Norman castle built around 1050. It is likely this was to guard the fertile Dore Valley and the thriving Saxon villages in the surrounding lands.
The castle was built by Norman Superknight William Fitz Osbern, 1st Earl of Hereford during a campaign with an objective to assert Norman control along the Welsh Marches.
Snodhill Castles position, strength and size would have meant it was heavily involved in many political disputes and wars along the Welsh Marches.