A HISTORIAN from Worcester will reveal some of the mysteries about England's first castle which have lain unanswered for nearly 1,000 years.

The talk on Saturday, August 20 affords a rare opportunity to hear the story of the first castle to be built in England which predates the Norman invasion by 15 years.

Brampton Bryan Castle is on the Herefordshire/Shropshire border in what would become the Welsh Marches.

Worcester author and historian Terry Wardle will be delivering the opening session at a weekend-long history event.

Although the talk is free there are limited places which have to be booked in advance and are going fast.

The first castle was built in Herefordshire by a Norman but surprisingly that was 15 years before the Normans invaded and conquered England and many of the facts surrounding the castle have been swathed in mystery for almost 1,000 years.

Mr Wardle is the only historian ever to have attempted to unravel the confusion surrounding the castle and tell the full story in his book England's First Castle, and his talk at the weekend will be a rare opportunity to hear the details of his research at first hand.

The event at which he is speaking is the Aardvark History Weekend, which this year will also include a talk from Adrian Durkin of Dudley Museum on Mediaeval Warfare, and lots of historical activities throughout the weekend.

It will be at Aardvark Books, The Bookery, Manor Farm, Brampton Bryan SY7 0DH, on 20 and 21 August.

Full details can be found at www.aardvark-books.com/Events

Mr Wardle's books on Worcestershire history include Historic Worcester Streets, which has histories of more than 600 city streets, Heroes and Villains of Worcestershire, the first collection of county biographies for a century, and The History of Barbourne with his youngest daughter Claire.

He is also an award-winning author, having won a literary award in Italy for his children's novel The Hardest Sum in the World, which was published in the UK, Europe and Australasia.