Wales Chepstow Castle, Monmouthshire

The ruins of Chepstow Castle stand high above the west bank of the River Wye. It was built by the Normans to control a key river crossing between England and South Wales.

It is the earliest datable secular stone building in England. The original name was Ystraiggyl, meaning bend in the river and it didn’t become known as Chepstow (market town) until the late C14th.

For more than six centuries Chepstow Castle was home to some of the wealthiest and most powerful men of the medieval and Tudor ages. It underwent continuous change not only to to meet the grandiose demands of its owners but also changes in weaponry and warfare. It is one of the best examples of castle development.

The castle was built in four successive stages. The plan below was photographed from one of the display boards in the castle. A cleared plan can be seen here.

• William fitz Osbern was responsible for building the first castle here in the C11th.
• William Marshal was responsible for strengthening the curtain wall in the early C13th, with towers to protect the approach to the castle and dividing the lower and middle baileys.
• William Marshall’s sons continued to improve the defences of the castle and especially the main gatehouse and added a barbican.
• Roger Bigod in the late C13th extended the castle increasing accommodation with a new hall block and kitchens.

There were no major additions after this.

More detailed history

William fitz Osbern, a relative and close friend of William the Conqueror, was created Earl of Hereford. He began building a castle here in 1067 to consolidate Norman rule. It was an excellent defensive site, being built on a cliff high above a loop in the river and flanked by a narrow steep sided valley. It would have been virtually impregnable. It was one of the first castles to be built after the Norman Conquest at the southern most end of a chain of castles along the Marshes to defend and control the border between England and Wales. The castle was built from stone rather than wood, using stone from local quarries as well as blocks recovered from the Roman ruins at Caerwent. There was a two storey stone Great Tower, with the only windows on the ‘safe’ river side. An external stair led to the first floor. This was surrounded by a stone wall, with a gateway controlling entry.

William fitz Osbern died in battle in 1071 and the castle passed to his son Roger de Breteuil, who lost everything when he took part in the attempt to coup against William in 1075. The castle was given to the de Clare family in 1115.

William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, married Isabel de Clare in 1189 becoming Lord of Chepstow. He was a loyal supporter of Henry II and was one of the richest men in England, renowned for his formidable fighting ability. The castle had not been improved or updated since being built. William expanded, enlarged and improved the castle, drawing on his knowledge gained while in France and on crusade.

He rebuilt the east curtain wall, forming separate lower and middle baileys.

Two round towers were added to give all round field of fire and additional protection for the main entrance into the castle. This was protected by massive oak doors sheathed in iron plates secured with iron pins, to prevent attackers from burning or battering them down. Mortise and tenon joints held an elaborate wooden latticework to the back. They are now on display inside the castle, replaced by exact replicas.

After his death, Marshall’s sons remodelled the great hall to make it more comfortable and with an extra storey added to provide private accommodation for the family.

They improved the defences of the castle by adding a massive main gateway, protected by two towers as well as a barbican guarded by a tower, off the upper bailey. A protective passageway was added between the Great Hall and the river cliff.

The castle was now divided into different secure areas that could be held separately in case of attack.

The male line of the Marshall family died out in 1245 and the castle passed to Maud, who married Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and they they lived on his estates in East Anglia. Their grandson, Roger Bigod, inherited the castle in 1270 and was responsible for the final appearance of the castle.

He improved the defences by strengthening the barbican with a gate tower and portcullis at the western end of the castle.

His most notable achievement were the improvements to the accommodation in the castle to befit a nobleman of his rank and status. This included a splendid new hall block and kitchens in the lower bailey, as well as the tower on the landward side, which included a private chapel, later named the Marten's Tower.

The upper floors of the Great Tower were extend along the full length of the building.

He was also responsible for building the Port Wall.The river protected the north and east of the town. The Port Wall with its towers now protected approaches from the south and west.This enclosed the castle, church and town as well as an area of fields and orchards. Entry to the town was controlled through a single gateway (much rebuilt).

Roger Bigod also was a generous patron of Tintern Abbey and was heavily in debt in his later years. Having no heir, in 1302, he made an agreement with Edward I that his lands and castles would pass to the Crown on his death in exchange for an annuity.

The castle passed through several owners. In 1403 it was garrisoned in response to Owain Glyndwr’s uprising although it was not attacked. With Edward’s success in subjugating Welsh resistance, the importance of Chepstow declined.

By the C16th, the castle served no military function and became a comfortable residence for the Earls of Worcester and their households. The curtain wall between the lower and middle bailey was converted into accommodation.

The castle was occupied by Royalist troops at the start of the English Civil War but fell to the Parliamentarians. They strengthened the southern wall of the castle overlooking the river to resist the use of artillery against the castle. A new inner wall was added with the gap filled with packed earth to absorb the shock of cannon fire. This also allowed rapid movement of troops to threatened areas.

It served as a political prison. One of the more famous political prisoners was Henry Martin, a Republican and one of those who signed the death warrant of Charles I. He later quarrelled with Cromwell whom he suspected of wanting to be king, and was imprisoned here for twenty years. The Marten's Tower is named after him. He and his wife occupied the first floor with their servants in the rooms above.

By 1682, the castle had passed to the Duke of Beaufort. The garrison was disbanded by 1690 and the cannons removed. The buildings were let to tenants. By the late C18th, much of the castle was a ruin. The courtyard was used for horticultural shows, fetes and historical pageants. The Beauforts tried to sell the castle in 1899 and it was eventually bought by the Lysaght family in 1914, who carried out some conservation work. The castle passed into the care of the Ministry of Works in 1953 and is under the care of CADW.

website

plan of the castle

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[Eleanor]

Chepstow Castle - the Lower Bailey

Seen from the outside, Chepstow Castle still looks remarkably intact with its massive gateway and the Marten’s Tower

The impressive two towered gatehouse was protected by two portcullises and murder holes as well as by solid wooden doors. The ground floors of the towers contained a prison cell in one tower and the porter’s lodge and guard house in the other.

A passageway leads through the gatehouse towers into the Lower Bailey, a large grassed area with the remains of the Hall Block and kitchen on the left and the Marten's tower on the right. This has a rounded outer wall with spur buttresses to protect it from undermining and a flat inside wall. It could be entered wither at ground floor level through portcullised doorway or at first floor level from the curtain wall. If needed, it could be shut off and separately defended from the rest of the castle

Ahead is the curtain wall separating Lower and Middle Baileys.

A spiral staircase to the side of the gatehouse leads to the top of the gatehouse tower.

From here there is a wall walk to Marten’s Tower, with views across the river to the iron bridge. The River Wye is tidal here with a tidal range of up to 15m, the second highest in the world.

The Marten's Tower was built by Roger Bigod as a self contained set of apartments on three floors over a vaulted basement. An internal spiral stair gave access to all floors, with fireplaces, window recesses and a latrine.On the top floor was a small chapel.

There are views down into the Lower Bailey.

On the opposite wall overlooking the river is Roger Bigod’s Hall Block and Kitchens, built to impress.

The Hall Block contains two ranges, separated by a cross passage, with storage alcoves, which may have been used for knives and table linen accessible to all serving staff. The window at the end has a view down to the river below.

Off is a latrine, which discharged directly into the river below.

The Kitchens are off to the left, with a serving hatch onto the cross passage.

On the left, stairs lead down to the vaulted cellars which had access to the river below using a pulley system.

Another staircase in the middle of the cross passage led up to the Great Hall above. At one end are three doorways leading to small serving rooms.

The Great Hall could also be reached by an external staircase from the Lower Bailey. The original castle gates are now displayed here.

The Lower and Middle Baileys are separated by a curtain wall. In the C16th a range of buildings were added to the wall to provide extra accommodation for the castle servants. The remains of small rooms and fireplaces can still be seen. There was a walkway on the inner wall overlooking the Middle Bailey.

Access to the Middle Bailey was by a gateway protected by a substantial round tower.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Chepstow Castle - The Middle and Upper Baileys

The Great Tower was the first part of the castle to be built in the C11th by William fitz Osbern. It is still an impressive structure dominating the Middle Bailey. It was extended by the Marshall’s who added the protective passageway between the Great Hall and the river cliff.

Not only did this increase the security of the castle as it could be blocked off at both ends, the top also gave a good observation platform from which shipping on the river could be watched and controlled.

The main entrance with its decorated Norman doorway was on the first floor either reached by an external wooden stair or from the wall walk. This has now been partially blocked off and entry is through a newer doorway cut through the wall.

This leads into the service basement of the now roofless and floorless Great Tower. The main hall was on the first floor which was lit by windows on the side nearest the river. At one end were four round topped alcoves. This may have been partitioned to give a private area or use by the family before additional private quarters were added above by William Marshall’s sons and also Roger Bigod. Much of this has now gone.

There are good views from the Middle Bailey of the river and surrounding countryside.

The Upper Bailey was the most secure part of the castle, with only a narrow entrance between the Great Tower and passageway.

it is an open grassed area with a protective wall at the far end which controlled entry to and from the Barbican beyond.

The South West or Marshall’s Tower is at one end. This was added by Marshall’s sons as part of their improvements and provided high ranking accommodation. Its inner walls were removed during the Civil War to make a continuous walkway round the curtain wall when the castle defences were strengthened to resist the use of artillery.

A gateway with massive wooden doors guards entry into the Barbican.

The Barbican was built by the Marshalls to protect the most vulnerable western end of the castle and a deep rock cut ditch gave extra protection.

The Barbican forms a small enclosed area protected to the south by the curtain wall with a round tower and a fortified gateway. The tower had three floors. There were no fireplaces or latrines and it was used purely for defence.

There is a small sally port in the curtain wall nearby.

The Barbican Gateway is a simple archway in a square tower protected by strong wooden gates and two portcullis. The slits can be seen from the curtain wall walkway.

Allow plenty of time for a visit as this is a big castle and there is a lot to see. It is one of the best preserved castles in Wales, illustrating castle development from the C11th.