Skenfrith Castle

Skenfrith Castle (Welsh: Castell Ynysgynwraidd) is an 

ancient medieval fortress with a substantial central tower.

Visit Date August 2023

Commissioned by William Fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford, in the early 12th century the castle comprised earthworks with timber defences.

What is left of the remains is the later constructed fortress by Hubert de Burge in the 13th century.

Built on an earthen mound this structure was one of the ‘Three Castles of Gwent’ (along with Grosmont and White Castle)

Controlling a large area of Gwent the three castles guarded the border country between The river Wye and the Black Mountains with Skenfrith Castle overlooking one of the main routes between England and Wales on the banks of the river Monnow.

 

In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place and in response, King Stephen brought together Skenfrith Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and White Castle to form a lordship known as the "Three Castles", which continued to play a role in defending the region from Welsh attack for several centuries.

Skenfrith was rebuilt in stone. In 1201, King John gave the castle to a powerful royal official, Hubert de Burgh (Earl of Kent) who destroyed the old castle and rebuilt the rectangular outer walls with the round keep and towers we can see today.

Hubert fell from power in 1232 and was stripped of the castles, which were placed under the command of Walerund Teutonicus

Walerund built a new chapel at the castle in 1244 and repaired the keep's roof

In 1267 the Castle along with the other two castles were granted to Edmund, the Earl of Lancaster

King Edward I' (20 November 1272 – 7 July 1307). In his conquest of Wales in 1282 removed much of the castle's military utility and saw the demise of the importance of the castle and by 1538, it had fallen into disuse and ruin.

In 1825, the Three Castles were sold off to Henry Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort. Skenfrith was eventually acquired by the lawyer Harold Sands, who carried out some conservation of the site; he went on to give the castle to the National Trust. Skenfrith was placed into the care of the state in 1936,

Skenfirth Castle is managed by Cadw

(Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect historic buildings and structures, landscapes and heritage sites) 

A visit to the castle would be enhanced by seeking out a disused mill on the south-eastern side of the castle. Much later than the castle of course dated 1867 at the 1st-floor level of the SW side; the mill continued to function until 1990 although by that time the mill had been converted to electric power.

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Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
51.878293893054106, -2.790379413287163

Google Search term:
Skenfrith Castle

What Three Words reference: -
///parked.sporting.help

OS Details: -
SO 45697 20264 : Altitude:141 ft

Additional information.

There is parking here (51.87809680428079, -2.790591909573205) for a a dozen cars or so and the place is easy to visit.

Off the B4347 from Monmouth and on to the B4521 takes you to Skenfrith.

There are no facilities at the site.

The site is popular in the summer months with locals sunbathing and swimming in the river.




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Hadleigh Castle

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Hadleigh Castle

Hadleigh castle's history began in about 1215 when constructed by Hubert de Burgh, but its most important time was to come later when extensively refortified during the Hundred Years War, becoming a strategic defence overlooking the Thames estuary.

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Visit Date June2022

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In 1215 King John bestowed many gifts to his chief minister Hubert de Burgh and the Manor of Hadleigh was just one of them.

Herbert was a loyal follower of King John and was to repay some of the king's kindness when he proved himself as a fine military man when he lead the successful defence of Dover castle during a fierce attempted siege in 1216.

During the young Henry III's childhood, Hubert was a very important influence on the young king and during this time he built this large turreted castle on the Manor of Hadleigh as a statement of his power. 

However the young king brought up by priests became devoted to church, art and learning, subsequently after quarrels with the king, Herbert's career and influence waned and he was forced to return his lands, including Hadleigh in 1239.

The castle remained in royal hands for many years however, it was not until almost 100 years later in the time of Edward II, that the castle was to be used as a royal residence.

By the time Edward II son became King Edward III the castle was to become important in the defence of England. Edward III tried to claim the French throne which led to war with France. He immediately realised the importance of the castle as it was ideally situated as a base for defending the Thames estuary against French raids during the Hundred Years War.

The barbican and two striking drum towers – one later used by Georgian revenue men looking out for smugglers – are part of Edward's substantial building works during the 1360s.

Unfortunately for the history of the castle Edward III's subsequent successors took little interest in the castle as a residence and the importance of the castle began to recede. This resulted in the castle being leased to a succession of tenants.

The demise of the castle proper came about when it was eventually sold to Lord Riche in 1551, Riche had even less interest in the castle and this led to him eventually selling it off as building materials.

Today as you can see not much remains of the castle but the setting of the ruins adds to the enjoyment of a visit to this site of once historical importance.

During the demolition, a tiled hearth was built into the floor of the hall to melt down the valuable window leads.

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Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
51.544610767349745, 0.6090745734243965

What Three Words reference: -
///mute.tile.gently

OS Details: -
TQ 81002 86071 Altitude: 158 ft

Additional information.
This is a fine ruin in a very beautiful setting. It gets busy with walker and is popular for picnics.
There is a good size car park at Hadleigh Farm (51.54785716762494, 0.6068869826787562) This is the site of a rare breeds farm and there is also tea rooms here.
The castle is a short well signposted 15 minute walk from here.

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East Orchard Castle.

 Visit Date 05-2022.

St. Athen in South Wales in recent times has been known for the RAF base here where the RAF’s non-aircraft, ground engineering technicians were and still are trained.

The Station officially opened as RAF St. Athan on 1 September 1938.

More recently, St. Athen has become base for the manufacture of the high-class Aston Martin SUV. Conversion of the three super hangars have been redeveloped into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

My interest here, however, goes back many hundreds of years before this.

We go back to the 11th Century for this story.

Two Orchards were laid here. Both the orchards were built by the Berkerolles who received the land from Robert Fitzhammon after the conquest of Glamorgan in 1091.

In one of the orchards, we find East Orchard Castle now a ruined building whose remains date mainly from the 14th century.

While it is named a castle, I suppose it would be classed as a fortified manor house however despite this it was not fortified in the style of one and is officially classed as post-medieval and broadly defined as a domestic manor house dwelling.

It has been in ruins since the late 18th century, the house having been dismantled from 1756.

While East Orchard is one of the mysterious ruins in the Vale. It must have been a substantial building. It had a chapel, a barn and a dovecote.

In the main manor house you can still see some of the features like the fireplaces and windows.

The layout and style would seen to confirm the mansion was entirely residential rather than defensive.

The manor looks like it may have been a two-story or even three story house.

An earlier structure on this site was destroyed in 1316 during a revolt led by Welsh leader Llywelyn Bren, but the residence was soon rebuilt.

The mansion was constructed for the Berkerolles family who had been resident in this part of Glamorgan since shortly after the Norman conquest, though much of their history is unclear.

The Berkerolles were subsidiary to the Lords of St Athan, and they occupied the mansion until the early 1400s when the house passed by marriage to the Stradling family from St Donats.

The Barn/Outbuilding and Dovecote

The Stradling family endured for several centuries and carried out various improvements to the buildings. The castle was sold in 1756 but then soon abandoned and partially dismantled, and has been ruinous for over 300 years.

The chapel in ruins (left) 

The three main structures outside the manor house, the Chapel, Barn and outbuilding can still be seen

The Chapel seen here on the left is in the most ruinous state and none of the features remain but just the remnants of the walls.

However, the barn looks like it has been used as a farm building more recently although now it is also in a poor state.

Although you can see some of the features you would find on a structure of this age.

The dovecote is still standing and looks externally to have stood the test of time better than the other buildings.

You can see internally the box holes are built into the walls where the nesting birds would have been. Not shown here is the massive tree that is now growing through the building.

The manor is mostly surrounded by a belt of woodland, on the west side of the shallow but relatively steep-sided valley of the River Thaw, 1.5 miles from the coast, near St Athan, with further natural protection provided by a tributary valley a short distance north.

Currently, it is a peaceful and tranquil place that is quite easy to get to and is in a very quiet part of St. Athen.

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Visit Information:-
Google Reference
51.403302827696336, -3.3973049137655678

What Three Words reference:-
///roaming.canal.offshore

OS Grid Ref
ST 02899 68068

Additional information.
Visiting is easy but parking near by may not be.

There is a small pull in lay-by (51.39926230839226, -3.397730966275135) but this is part of an maintenance access road. It should be ok at the weekends but please take care.

Alternatively St. Athen Village (1 mile away) or at Four Cross Station (Petrol Garage) about 500 yards away.




Once at the lay-by there is a walkway just past the eastern end of the Lay-by walk up the steps and over the style (this is an official "marked" pathway).

Enter the field on the left of the stile and keep forward along the hedge, past the old pillbox and to the top right hand side of the field. Here there is a style although the step part was broken. After this stick to the path for 5 minutes and the Castle will come into view.

BTW Google maps directions do not take you this way but this is by far the best way (the OS app is better here)

Thank you for visiting this blog.


If you would like more information on this location please feel free to contact me.

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Loughor Castle.

 Visit Date May 2022..

Loughor Castle is situated in a strategic location on the north of the Gower coast and the site has a long history.

Its history starts in around 75 AD when the Romans built a fort on the site then known as Leucarum, which took its name from the Celtic name for the River Loughor (in Welsh, Llwchwr; Leucara, in Latin).

It was used as a military fort intermittently until the 5th century when it was abandoned.

When the invasion of the Normans spread to Wales in the late 1060's they occupied the fort and as in many cases in Wales rebuilt their settlements on the older Roman sites.

Early in the 12th century, the Normans extended their control over southern Wales and the Earl of Warwick, Henry de Beaumont, became the area's overlord after he had been given the Gower Peninsula by Henry the first.

By 1116, an oval ringwork castle existed on top of the earlier fort.
At this time the castle and its defences would have been wooden structures.

In 1151, the Welsh attacked Loughor Castle and burned it. Curiously scorched Norman chess pieces, possibly dating to this event, have been unearthed at the site.

The Normans once again took charge of the castle and the first of the stone structures of the castles were constructed.

In 1203 King John Gave the castle to his ally William de Braose; William was a powerful Marcher Lord.

The rectangular stone tower that now dominates the site was constructed.

Though greatly ruined, the two-storied tower retains enough of its original structure to give a fairly complete picture of how it was used.

The fireplaces, fine windows, and garderobe (latrine chute) suggest that the tower was residential, perhaps housing the lord of the castle and his household.

William allied himself with the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great and war broke out. William died in 1211, but his son, Reginald, continued fighting and married Gwladus, Llywelyn's daughter.

In 1215, the castle was captured by Llywelyn's forces and control of Gower was granted to Reginald.

Two years later, however, Reginald made peace with the English Crown and Llywelyn removed him from power, replacing him with the Welsh prince Rhys Gryg.

Llywelyn married another of his daughters, Margaret, to Reginald's nephew, John de Braose, and in 1220 Llywelyn gave him Gower and Loughor Castle,

In 1232 the castle was inherited by John's son, William de Braose, and in turn his son, also called William. In the second half of the century, Wales saw a renewal of fighting, and the castle was attacked again in 1251 which lead to the stone defences being improved once again.

In 1302, William de Braose granted the Loughor estate to his seneschal, John Yweyn, for life in exchange it is said for an annual fee of a greyhound collar.

On John Yweyn's death in 1322 the lands were seized by John de Mowbray, William's son-in-law he was executed later the same year however for taking part in a rebellion.

Edward fell from power in 1327, and the Loughor lands were granted to John de Mowbray's son, John.

This was the last of the importance of the castle and its condition started to deteriorate, For a few hundred years the site continued to fall into ruin then in the 1940's the main tower of the building collapsed and the ruin was left as it can be seen now.

Although not much is left of this historic place there is enough to warrant a short visit to this historic place which is close to the beautiful Loughor Estuary.

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Visit Information:-

Google Reference

51.66219879408081, -4.077424328580057

Search term

Loughor Castle.

What Three Words reference:-

///declining.fatigued.romance

Additional information.

Visiting is really easy as the castle is located alongside the main A4240 road in the village.

You may be able to park on the road however, there is a small car park (free) close by (51.66332518930001, -4.078047165998971).

It is a short walk 5 mins from here to the castle and you will also be rewarded by great views of the river and the estuary from here.

Thank you for visiting this blog.

If you would like more information on this location please feel free to contact me.

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