 Castles in Monmouthshire Castles in Wales Castles in England Castles in Scotland |
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Raglan Castle | |
County |
Monmouthshire | |
How to get there |
7 miles South-West of Monmouth, off A40 | |
History
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The first castle at Raglan was
established in around 1070 and survived until the early 1400s when it passed into the
ownership of William ap Thomas, a Welsh knight. He had fought with Henry V at
the Battle of Agincourt. Thomas built an unusual hexagonal keep with four storeys and thick tapering walls. The tower was surrounded by walls and a moat. A pale gold stone was used in the construction and the castle became known as the 'Yellow Tower of Gwent'. His son, William, Earl of Pembroke, added the Pitched Stone Court and the Great Gatehouse and rebuilt the Fountain Court. The castle became a comfortable residence for his family. During the Wars of the Roses William, a Yorkist, fought at the Battle of Edgecote. He was defeated and executed by the Earl of Warwick, 'The Kingmaker'. Sixteen years later Henry VII, who had once been held prisoner at Raglan, came to the throne and ended the conflict. By the time of the Civil War the castle was owned by the Earl of Worcester. Between the two courtyards an Elizabeth Great Hall had been built and the Earl entertained there on a lavish scale. The Earl garrisoned the castle for the King and in 1646 Parliamentarian forces besieged Raglan. The castle walls suffered weeks of bombardment and finally Raglan was forced to surrender, the last garrison in the south to do so. The Earl was taken to London where he died shortly afterwards. The castle was largely dismantled and was left derelict. After the Restoration the newly created Duke of Beaufort ransacked the castle for fittings for his home seat at Badmington. The castle was just an ivy covered ruin by the 19th century. |
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