The court's situation, on a hilltop facing Goodrich Castle, so offended the poet William Wordsworth that he wished "to blow away Sir Samuel Meyrick's impertinent structure and all the possessions it contained."

Meyrick originally intended to buy and restore a genuine Marches castle as his ancestral home, but was unable to acquire one.

[1] He explored the possibility of buying Goodrich Castle after a visit in 1823; "the very thing to suit us, so exactly that it seems to have been made on purpose"; but was unable to complete negotiations.

The broadcaster Kenneth Kendall recalled life at the court during the evacuation; "The house was furnished with amazing furniture and paintings (with) armour everywhere.

[9] Enjoying a gatehouse, portcullis, battlements, a moat and towers,[8] it was also noted for the Armoury, a large hall which contained Meyrick's collection of armour.