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History

The irregular shape of the curtain wall followed the shape of the rock.  It was protected by five round towers and a gatehouse.  The only land approach to the castle was by the south and as the most vulnerable side it was double-walled.  The castle's most outstanding feature is the great round keep in the inner bailey at the north end of the site. 

It was constructed between 1200 and 1210 by William Marshall, one of Richard I's most important barons, and is considered to be the finest medieval round tower in the British Isles.  It is 80 feet high with walls 20 feet thick at the base, which has a diameter of 53 feet.  A spiral staircase is built in the thickness of the wall giving access to the four floors, the roof and basement which is slightly below ground level.  The tower is capped by an unusual stone dome.  To the east of the tower are two adjacent halls.  Under the outer hall, which has one wall forming part of the curtain wall, is a large natural cavern called the  'Wogan'.  This can be reached from the hall by a spiral stair.  

Pembroke Castle was closely involved with the beginning of the Tudor age.  In 1471 when Henry VI was captured at the battle of Tewkesbury and subsequently murdered at the Tower of London, the sole Lancastrian claimant to the throne was Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond.  He and his uncle Japer Tudor (Tewdwr) fled to Pembroke Castle where Henry had been born.  The Yorkist besieged the castle but Henry and Jasper were rescued and fled to France.  In 1485 Henry and Jasper returned to Milford Haven with 2,000 men.   From there they gathered up an army of 5,000 and at Bosworth defeated Richard III.   Richard was killed and Henry Tudor became Henry VII. 

During the Civil War the castle was garrisoned by the Mayor of Pembroke for the Parliamentarians.  However, in 1648 the Mayor changed allegiance.  This was a major blow for Cromwell but after a six week siege the castle was taken.  Cromwell slighted the castle so that it could not become a refuge for Royalists again. 

In the 19th century much of the castle was restored.